Olympic Opening Ceremony, China, 2008

And so it came to pass that the eyes of the world turned to the east, and a great peace descended across the planet. Suddenly, there was a feeling of contentment. The wars of yesterday were forgotten in the face of some dancing. The gross abuse of human rights were forgiven because the world could see some festivities through the choking smog. The execution wagons ceased to matter as people waved ribbons. And because we got to see some fireworks, we forgot about the crushing of Tibet and the awful violence of Tiananmen Square. Even the most unforgiving of people, the terrible cynics of the media, decided to let bygones be bygones as editors everywhere realised they could all use the headlines “Let the games Bejing!” And humanity realised that it was pretty much willing to sacrifice anything in return for a bit of a party.

Yep, I am being cynical. And probably naïve. But this gushing praise for a brutal, totalitarian Communist regime simply because they were able to put on a bash to celebrate the start of the Olympics really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I understand the argument that if we engage China, maybe they will become less extreme and actually start implementing much need reform in their country. I also think such logic is hopelessly flawed. China is using these Olympic games to bolster their international image and develop their national ego. Nothing more. The fact that they have managed to put on this glorified school sports day will change precisely nothing within China. And it is disappointing that the coverage of the opening ceremony has so comprehensively failed to acknowledge that.