Denouncing China

While the Chinese government is far from perfect, and has many areas of improvement, Western media bias against China seems to be way overboard.

For example, a story on the hardships endured by the Opening Ceremony performers:
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/news/story?id=3543618

One comment reads, "...Of course you can accomplish more with slaves than free people, but what's the point? It's the same insane justification that people who run sweatshops use. Why worry about human rights when you can ship more units at a lower price, right?"

Note the last paragraph: "All the tears, the sweat, and sometimes even blood that we shed, I now think it was quite worth it," said Ren Yang, 17, also of the Tagou school. "When we performed that night, all that I could feel in my heart was joy. Pure joy."

Anther comment reads, "...I am an volunteer in Beijing, and am a normal Chinese. This days, I and other volunteers work ed very hard in the Olympics village. Sometimes, we did not have time to eat also. But we were so happy to do this, for the people around the world coming my hometown. When I read the article, I feel so sad. I think the writer did not admire our hard work. I think the performers just like me, they do that becasue they are pursuing happiness. By the way, we can quit the job as we like if we can not endure the so called bad condition."

It seems to me that those who endured the hardships did so on a voluntary basis. If this was an article about the hardships endured by Olympic athletes, then they would be praised - no one would criticize the IOC for setting up competitions that would increase the likelihood of injury and hardship.

An editorial on the Olympics:
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/columns/story?columnist=caple_jim&id=3551321

The unfortunate tone of sarcasm seems to run throughout the article:

"Re-education through labor" means, I suppose, that they were performers in the Closing Ceremony.

Not to say that what China did with regards to the protest zones was correct, but the reference to the Opening/Closing Ceremony performers was out of line.

In China... You also have a country where many people still use squat toilets.

And what's wrong with squat toilets? There are actually many advantages over Western toilets, including the fact it lends itself to a more natural position, and is also easiser to clean. I might not mind owning a squat toilet instead of a Western toilet, as one is not inherently superior to the other.

China spent the last 8 years preparing for a spectacular event, putting it's best foot forward. The Olympics were a well-organized and well run event, and China should be applauded for it. It has tried to make itself more open to the world, and while by Western standards it has fallen short, it has come a long way already. Further criticism is not constructive and is a vicious distortion of what China has accomplished thus far.