I know what you mean. It has also been reported that some western countries removed the homeless people from the street during the time that major events took place, like the world expo, G-8 conference, etc, when the whole world were eyeing on them. I am not saying two wrongs make a right. My point is this kind of window cleaning job during a major world event is not limited to any single country.
I agree that all countries do this. And I believe Athens had to do a ton of stuff in order to prepare themselves for the Olympics too, and really barely managed to pull it out. Perhaps it's because I never lived through a city preparing for such a huge event as the Olympics(closest to this was the SB in Houston), so the house-cleaning done in Beijing, and really all over China, was on a scale that literally blew my mind. I swear if even half the stuff that went on had taken place in Houston, the whole city would've rioted.
Every country does it, to some extent. You'll see more complaints in China naturally with high population density in big cities. I just wonder how NYC handles it if they win the Olympics bid. Anyway, really appreciate you perspective to sympathize for the suffering of locals. Fortunately, the majority of them took it with understanding and a sense of responsibility and pride, though I have heard a lot of complaining too. My main beef with the government is they tried a bit too much for the sake of a perfect image in foreigner's eyes.
A country needs a certain amount of stability, prosperity and openness to successfully host a contemporary Olympics. I certainly don't think any country directly south of the Mediterranean could do it, just yet.
That doesn't necessarily mean I agree with the policies though. I still think what China has done in Tibet is wrong and there are many injustices. However; I do think that it does imply a different strategy for getting China to open up. That is, the U.S. has to put everything in the context of addressing the PRC's fear of losing power as well as bringing prestige / economic progress upon the Chinese people and gov't. If the U.S. took that tact, we might have more success. To a large degree I think that has been the U.S. position - free trade and engagement while trying to prod China on human rights.
I don't expect people in the US to agree with it, understanding how the other side works is a giant first step.
And i think it would be a giant step to see Chinese truly understand how the American mindset works....most of those who express opinions here are not drones of the media....but there's a deep sense of liberty that China's gov't consistently stomps on that is antithesis to American ideology and heritage. One can not underestimate how deeply americans feel about tyranny and oppression. Americans do not fear China's economic prosperity - they believe in the strength of their own nation - we have held off Japan, The USSR, and the EU. What America is up to isn't a secret. It's debated in the halls of congress. Anyone can figure out from the back and forth debate where this nation is. But that's not the case for China. You have only the voice of an authoritarian regime, with the discussion behind closed doors. That is what I think frightens most Americans and makes them uncomfortable about China.
