Русская версия"I think if we make a preliminary assessment then one can say that
the Games contributed to further modernization of China," deputy
foreign ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke said.
"All of the
preparations led to significant progress in the country. I think it
can also be said that the Games contributed to a further opening up
of China."
Peschke noted the global debate after China won the right to stage
this month's Games over the human rights situation in the country
and what impact the Olympics could have on Beijing.
"If you think of China 20 years ago, nothing of the sort would have
been possible. Thousands of journalists were in China, reported
about China," he said at a news conference. "I think it can be said
that the Olympic Games made a positive contribution to the future
of China."
IOC chief heralds "truly exceptional" Games
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Rogge, left, chose not to criticize Hu's China publicly
International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge closed the
Games according to IOC tradition, calling the Beijing Games "truly
exceptional" before inviting "the youth of the world to assemble
four years from now in London to celebrate the Games of the XXX
Olympiad."
"These were truly exceptional Games," was Rogge's final verdict,
avoiding the phrase "the best Games ever" which his predecessor
Juan Antonio Samarach used when applicable.
"Thank you to the people of China, to all the wonderful volunteers
and to BOCOG!" Rogge said in his speech. "Through these Games,
the world learned more about China, and China learned more about
the world.
"To the athletes tonight: You were true role models. You have shown
us the unifying power of sport. The Olympic spirit lives in the
warm embrace of competitive rivals from nations in conflict. Keep
that spirit alive when you return home," said Rogge.
Rogge spoke at "the end of 16 glorious days which we will cherish
forever," praising "these dazzling venues" such as the Bird's Nest
and the water Cube.
Liu Qi, head of the organizing committee BOCOG, said: "The Chinese
people, teeming with enthusiasm, have honored the commitments they
solemnly made."
The formal act came halfway through a glittering party attended by
China President Hu Jintao and other dignitaries which featured
drummers with giant instruments suspended from the sky and hundreds
of actors.
A turn for the bizarre as London handed Olympic mantle
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London had its first eight minutes of Olympic glory in the handover
ceremony, arriving on a double-decker bus which opened into a stage
on which guitarist Jimmy Page and sung by Leona Lewis rocked the
house with the Led Zeppelin classic "Whole Lotta Love".
Soccer icon David Beckham then rose messiah-like from the depth of
the bus, before kicking a ball to the athletes gathered in the
Bird's Nest stadium.
Rogge then closed the Games and the Olympic flame then went out
unceremoniously marking the symbolic end of the Games.
It was a typically surreal spectacle, fittingly so given the whole
atmosphere of the Games which were detached from reality as never
before.
Competition took place in a world of its own, a Planet Olympia,
while host China's communist government ruled outside as if Olympic
values had never come to town.
There was nonetheless hope that China and the world had reached a
better understanding of each other during the August 8-24 Games --
with one of the lasting memories the hundreds of thousands of
friendly and helpful Olympic volunteers.
China penetrated the Olympic planet with a record haul of medals to
dethrone the United States atop the final tally. But it also cried
1.3 billion tears when poster boy Liu Xiang limped out of the 110m
hurdles.
China built no white elephants as gigantic state-of-the-art venues
such as the Bird's Nest and Water Cube were the stage for 11,249
athletes from 204 countries competing in 302 medal events.
Record-breaking Games
The arenas are part of a lasting legacy for the world's most
populous nation after seeing 43 world records and hundreds of other
records.
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American swimmer Michael Phelps was the king of the pool as he won
eight gold medals with seven world record results, surpassing Mark
Spitz' seven golds at one Games from 1972 and improving his overall
golden tally to an Olympic record 14 - five more than anyone else
in the Games' 112-year history.
But the records didn't only tumble in the Water Cube as athletics
in the Bird's Nest located just opposite also saw new milestones.
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt redefined the sprint when he won the
100m in 9.69 seconds, the 200m in 19.30 seconds and helped the
4x100 relay team to 37.10 seconds, a feat never achieved before the
Beijing Games.
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Bolt out of the blue: Sprinter Usain was no.1 on the track
Bolt was joined as three-time gold medalist by British cyclist
Chris Hoy, Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice and Chinese gymnast
Zou Kai.
There was national glory galore as China became only the third
nation other than the US and the Soviet Union to top the Olympic
medal table, following Britain in 1908 and Germany 1936, both also
hosts at the time.
The regular sweep of table tennis golds, seven of eight diving
golds, multiple gymnastics success and first ever boxing golds
allowed China to end the Games with 51 gold, 21 silver and 28
bronze for a total 100 medals.
The US had more overall medals with 110 on a 36-38-36 breakdown,
with Russia third on 23-21-28 (72) and Britain getting their best
haul in a century with 19-13-15 (47) for fourth place in a first
showing of what the team could at home in London 2012.
But there was more to the Games, most notably the hug and kiss
between medal-winning shooters Natalia Paderina of Russia and
Georgia's Nino Salukvadze three days into the hostilities of their
countries.
Controversy not far below carefully constructed surface
On the downside were the infamous kick of Cuban taekwondo fighter
Angel Matos at the referee and six doping offences highlighted by
Ukraine's Lyudmila Blonska who was stripped of her heptathlon
silver and faces a life ban as a second-time offender.
The IOC conducted a record 5,000 tests and 39 positive cases were
recorded in the month before Olympic testing. Rogge spoke of a
growing deterrent effect which also comes from new rules that
Olympic doping offenders are barred from the next Games.
But the IOC had not much to laugh about in its relationship with
China as plenty of promises appeared to have been broken, the human
rights situation did not improve as China pledged it would, and the
obsession with being in control stifled attempts to give a party
atmosphere to the Games.
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Outside the Games, the crackdown continued unabated
China promised to improve human rights when it was awarded the
Games in 2001 and said it would grant broad freedoms for foreign
media to cover the event unhindered.
But independent rights group Human Rights Watch last week accused
China of human rights violations linked to the Beijing Games.
It cited a list of "documented" abuses included "media censorship,
the abuse of migrant construction workers who built the Olympic
venues, and the unlawful forced evictions of hundreds of thousands
of Chinese citizens from their homes to make way for these venues."
The authorities have also come under fire from media groups for
blocking access to sensitive websites.
Meanwhile the United States is urging China to release immediately
eight American nationals detained after pro-Tibet protests in
Beijing during the Olympic Games.
The IOC managed to intervene as far as internet access for the
media inside the Olympic bubble was concerned, but outside all 77
applications for protests were rejected and foreign media hindered
in its coverage.
"The IOC and the Olympic Games cannot force changes on sovereign
nations or solve all the ills of the world. But we can - and we do
- contribute to positive change through sport," said Rogge.
Gold medal for propaganda
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Yang Peiyi was the voice of another angel, Lin Miaoke
China spent billions of dollars in infrastructure, the venues and a
remarkable Olympic village, but there were also the fakes at the
opening ceremony -- fake fireworks footage, a fake girl singer and
fake ethnic groups.
Chinese propaganda left nothing to chance; something which marred
the atmosphere as only ticket holders were allowed on to the
Olympic Green and an Olympic party atmosphere in the city was not
welcome.
The communist leadership continued to vaunt the XXIX Olympic Games
as a "milestone of the way to the great resurgence of the Chinese
nation".
In true old communist tradition, it congratulated itself on hosting
the "successful Games", at the same time forestalling growing
criticism by proclaiming: "We have fulfilled the confidence the
world put in us."
The world, so the proclamation continued, "made the right decision"
in awarding China the Games. But it is a judgment that only covers
the blemishes beneath the golden polish.
Despite the illusions, hosts deserve credit
The host nation's avalanche of gold also disguised the fact that
China is not a sporting nation and that its successes were achieved
through massive state funding as used to be the case in the former
Soviet bloc.
Another contradiction is the fact the world's biggest developing
nation was able to stage the most expensive Games in the history of
the Olympic movement.
The chronic poverty that is almost everywhere was not to be seen
inside the "Olympic bubble" - neither the beggars nor the hordes of
poorly paid itinerant workers who built the spectacular sporting
venues.
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The smog will make its return to Beijing soon enough
Never before was the Chinese capital so clean and spruced up. But
that was due to emergency action rather than a legacy of the
Olympics. Once the athletes leave the chimneys will resume belching
smoke and car fumes will again make the air barely breathable.
Despite the criticism, China also deserves respect. The genuine
friendliness of the 1.5 million volunteer helpers enabled the
country to present a new face to the world.
Mobilizing all the powers at its disposal in the vast nation, China
was able to give the athletes a superbly organized Games --
something only possible in an authoritarian state.
(Deutsche Welle)
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