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Chinese Gold Standard
Posted by Matt on Aug 22, 2008 @ 6:45pm

So I was watching the Olympics last night and something hit me.  China kept winning medals in Women's Gymnastics and it's pretty obvious to the world that some of the girls they're using are probably 12-14 years old (the requirement is that you turn 16 the year of the Olympics).  The announcers mention it almost every time one of the little girls get up.  They're like, "Now I know everybody at home is right now questioning how old these Chinese gymnasts are."  I'm sitting at home like, "You're freaking right I am!"  I'm interested to see if they're going to try to keep up the charade in four years when these girls are going to supposedly be 20 years old and will actually finally look like they're 16.  They'll probably just get a whole new set of 13 year olds from their concentration training camps so that they don't have to deal with the issue.

As I was watching though, I started to ask myself, "What's the purpose of China cheating?"  When it all comes down to it, what is a country trying to do by winning medals at the Olympics…gain respect and prove their country's skill on the world stage, right?  So if you're gonna cheat…and the WHOLE WORLD is gonna know it (come on, who are they kidding?)…I don't really think you're gaining the respect of your competing nations.

Then, China did the same thing with the way they prepared Beijing for the games.  They shipped all the homeless out of the city, shut down family-run businesses, restaurants, and manufacturing facilities (putting tons of people out of work), arrested protesters (just for applying for a protesting permit, which they said would be allowed), etc.  Apparently, they thought the world would be most impressed by a clean city and gold medals, and not by a country that actually treats their citizens with respect.
 
Matt