I spent ten days
in China in October 1994. The closest thing to a “red October” I’ll likely see,
that journey — I was part of a press junket previewing the Wonders exhibition,
“Imperial Tombs of China” — was as distant from western perceptions of communism
as my memory can recall. Needless to say, the government officials who hosted
our wide-eyed party of journalists were on their A game, just as all of China
should be when the Olympic Games open in Beijing Friday. But whatever lengths
may have been pursued 14 years ago to close the gap between east and west —
between perception and reality, one might argue — are among the components of
the continued efforts to bridge opposite sides of the world, and balance the
relationship between the last two “super powers” our planet is likely to host.
Whether from Hong
Kong (then still a British territory), Xi’an (where jaw met floor as my party
walked among the long-buried terra cotta army of Emperor Qin Shi-huang-di), or
Beijing (we took a short bus ride to the Great Wall), my memories of China start
with the crowds. Walking around the Forbidden City one afternoon, I made the
comment that on every block we’d seen, whatever day of the week, it always
seemed like a ball game had just finished, with the departing fans filling
sidewalks and streets, cars and cabs bumper-to-bumper, pedestrians young and old
eager to get to their next destination.
But the crowds
were invariably friendly. My group stood out in China, even with a contingent of
guides and translators. Adding a significant language barrier — a barely
rudimentary knowledge of the romance languages will get you nowhere in the Far
East — those of us from the Mid-South were curiosities, but only until the first
smile was exchanged.
I call on these
happy reflections because I’d like to believe that the controversy that follows
any western discussion of China — be it over Tibet, Darfur, or human rights in
general — can become part of the international hug that every Olympic gathering
aims to be, and not the central distraction (violent or otherwise) we remember
from Beijing ’08. China has room for improvement as it gains ground on the
developed world — and it’s gaining fast, folks — but so does every nation with
interests that stretch global harmony. An open mind on the part of Olympic
athletes should be enough to inspire open minds on the part of traveling sports
fans, journalists, dare I say even diplomats and heads of state. Yes, China must
improve its treatment of all its people. That improvement will come quicker
through dialogue — which starts with a visit to Beijing — than it will through
finger-pointing or threats of international action.
A significant
bonus during my visit to Beijing was a college friend joining me from his home
in Tokyo. A Japanese native, Tamio moved to America in elementary school,
graduated with a degree in economics from Tufts, and returned to Japan not long
before my press junket. He emphasized during our travels — probably during our
stroll on the Great Wall — that wherever I go, wherever I live, when I read
about China now, it will feel closer to home. And he was absolutely right.
There was a free
night we had in Beijing, in which Tamio and I bravely took to the streets
without our formal supervisors or translators. We happened upon a small
restaurant (maybe five tables) not too far from the Forbidden City. If there
were other diners in that restaurant, I don’t remember them. What I do recall is
the most energetic and friendly wait staff I’ve seen before or since (and, alas,
a bathroom upstairs that was outdoors and alongside a fire escape). Tamio and I
enjoyed a full meal — rice, dumplings, some chicken and vegetables — and a tasty
bottle of red wine. All for five American dollars. I’ve tried to do the
economics on this for 14 years now, and still can’t grasp how fundamentally
different two societies are when a meal in one would cost ten times what it does
in another.
Suffice it to say,
that same meal in central Beijing would cost more than five dollars today, and
it’ll cost much more 14 years from now. It’s but a tiny sample of a gap being
closed, a bridge being slowly built between east and west. And over the next two
weeks, as, couch-bound, I watch runners, swimmers, and gymnasts compete
for the world’s attention, China will, indeed, feel quite close to home.
