| Show An Olympic force for change Sue Meng Special to The Washington Post PostA PostA PostA A rash of protests disrupted the Olympic torch relays in San Francisco Paris and London H Hu Jia a e Chinese hines a activist vist was sentenced to to 3 2 1 years years in prison this month for inciting subversion of Communist Party rule The central government continues to crack down on unrest in Tibet What was to be bea a triumphant medal count for China is quickly becoming a tally of its human rights abuses It looks as if the Olympics are doing little to change China and China is doing a lot to change the Olympics But the Chinese government is one thing 13 billion billio Chinese people are another It is important not to conflate China with the Chinese government The Olympics have stirred an enormous outpouring of nationalism within China and among Chinese abroad We should not dismiss Chinese nationalism as part and parcel of the Communist machine Nationalism has forged civic engagement cutting across groups normally divided by age class and geography This engagement leads to greater awareness of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship Far from legitimizing an authoritarian regime the Olympics foster the kind of nationalism that will help the Chinese carve out a civil society which may be the best antidote Already the Games have become a rallying point for millions of Chinese eager for China to take its place on the international stage Chinas China's turbulent history in the century makes clear why hosting the Olympics strikes a deep chord of national pride In a single lifetime millions of Chinese will see the pendulum swing from the famine and isolationism of the to recognition and global integration in 2008 From all corners comers of the country and from overseas Chinese are flocking to Beijing to witness history The Olympics galvanized Chinese nationalism Chinese nationalism will change China Nationalism in China does not necessarily mean meana a blind capitulation to governments government's repressive tendencies Increasingly there is a civic dimension to Chinese nationalism Zhu a professor at Shanghai University argues that compared with 10 years ago people today are more aware of their civic rights which include the right to information the right t to question the authority of the government and the right to be protected from retaliation Cases have already arisen in which ordinary citizens claimed their status and rights as citizens and sued for those rights Often these lawsuits have been brought against land developers and local officials who have run mn roughshod over individuals In hi 2007 Zhu a farmer fanner in province became the first man manto manto manto to win a lawsuit against the local government for demolishing his farmhouses without his consent Although the success rate in incases incases incases cases against the government is still extremely low the number of people aware that such a aright aright aright right exists is growing People have also exercised their right to vote in village elections and used popular investigative news programs and publications to expose wrongdoings by local officials Certainly these are the bright lights of a generally repressive regime but butin in their glow we see a changed understanding of what it means to be Chinese A good sign for the future of the rule of law and human rights in China is that national identity is increasingly determined by civic groups and virtual communities rather than by the government alone To be Chinese is no longer whatever state propaganda says says' sayS sayS' it is Moreover people are less dependent on the government ment v t j t j t i I f iT pi pin n nM to satIs satisfy f y t their elf bo basic nee needs s. s Charities clubs and assoC associations associations' atio s of all aU kinds are booming Lily J Tsai a political scientist at MIT has shown that in villages village of similar size wealth and location the determining factor for whether there is effective provision of public goods such as paved roads safe drinking water and working schools is the presence of su such h organizations as village lineage groups and temple committees committe s Insofar as it establishes common common ground and encourages the growth of civil society and communal associations nationalism might be just what j f China needs Americans see Chinese I nationalism and point to the I dangers such as how it fu fuels ls the crackdown in Tibet But for us to be a constructive part t of change in China we must recognize the advantages o of Chinese nationalism China be goaded to change The last time China faced international pressure from without and massive rebellions within a year dynasty collapsed and the country into civil war If It the goal is real change not just moral condemnation the key is t to look at forces within China Today's growing civic I engagement might one day be an effective check on onan onan 1 an authoritarian state The Olympics provide the catalyst f- f for the Chinese to rally around 5 1 a collective identity China will i 0 have its moment in the sun What Whai follows is the harvest i The writer a Rhodes Scholar with a degree in ill modem modern Chinese Chines A studies from Oxford is a student J Jat at Yale Law School C |
