The Chinese spectacle

The Chinese cannot be ignored. They've been doing interesting things all around the world.

Olympics 2008 was another strike that reverberated all round the world. The spectacle that unfolded at the Bird's nest at Beijing was a treat to all senses. The colors, the lights, the sounds - alluding to their rich culture, their history and art (that I know nothing about but got a sense of). A once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase everything they were capable of doing. The cost? 10 billion dollars (just one estimate). A communist country being so extravagant with their money? For what? Is it just vanity? To prove a point to the rest of the world?

Why am I being cynical when it made their entire nation proud? And all the rest of the world take notice? Is there something so terribly wrong with what they did? People like to see their hard work and dedication get noticed. People love success. People yearn for popularity. And power. It's human nature. It is not that they do not care about their starving population. It is just a question of priorities. I am not being sarcastic. It is probably better to use up the money to tell yourself and prove to others that you are great and all powerful than to see the money get diluted somewhere for some rather untraceable cause and see the same population wallow in poverty even after decades.

All said and done, the reason why I began this post was to appreciate the effort involved in organizing such a massive event. It is so difficult - with all the bureaucracy - to get something as inconsequential as permits to use my company bus belonging to another office. For official purposes! With government money in the order of billions how does one keep track of where it goes? How does one handle corruption? The organizers and participants must truly have been proud after the way the opening ceremony went off!