[Beijing 2022] From the Summer Olympics to the Winter Olympics, China Plays Its Role as a Great Power
Editor's note: The translators WANG Wenyan and DUAN Xuepei are students of School of Foreign Languages and Literature of Beijing Normal University.
The opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics was held at the National Stadium, nick-named the “Bird’s Nest”.
Photo: Xinhua News Agency
On February 4, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games began as scheduled finally. Fourteen years ago, the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games mirrored the development of China to the whole world. And today in the same city, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games showed China’s new look to the world.
From the Summer to the Winter Olympic Games, changes have taken place. First, the focus from “I” to “We” is a prominent one. The song “You and Me” performed at the opening ceremony in 2008 told stories between the world and China. While at the opening ceremony of 2022, a giant and magnificent snowflake formed by 96 guides with names of participant countries explained the philosophy of “Together”. And it is a convincing way to show that instead of focusing on “You and Me”, China is concerned with “We”, a concept related to community of common destiny.
Nowadays, everyone in the world has a stake in both the COVID-19 pandemic and the long-term sluggish international economy. Therefore, concerted efforts are expected to be made in order to break through these barriers. When it comes to “Together for a Shared Future”, the official motto of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, it is also a call for greater solidarity of the international community. On January 25, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and Xi noted that the notion “Together” advocated by the Olympic Movement was needed more than ever. Instead of riding separately in some 190 small boats, countries around the world should stay together in one giant ship and sail toward a brighter future.
Second, the emphasis on the protection of people is another highlight of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, the Winter Olympics is the first international multi-sport event held as scheduled. Hence, how to prevent personnel participating in this Olympics and Chinese people from the pandemic is the top priority and the biggest challenge. In fact, before the 2022 Olympic Games, there have been concerns among Chinese people that though the domestic epidemic was under control, the epidemic in foreign countries was still worrying, and countries carried out different measures in face of the prevention and control of COVID-19. Thus, about the upcoming Olympics, people worried that this international event would pose a safety risk to local residents and participants. Fortunately, after knowing more about the “closed-loop management” concept, they gradually eliminated their frets.
To ensure the smooth running of the Winter Olympics, the sporting event is managed in a “closed loop”, keeping athletes, staff separating from residents completely to prevent disturbance on and off the field. The move reassures local residents as well as athletes. An Australian athlete said in an interview with broadcaster ABC News, “I actually think the bubble is really excellent. I feel really safe. And I think the fact that every single person inside the bubble is doing a PCR test every day gives me a lot of peace of mind.” Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. is the son of Juan Antonio Samaranch, former President of IOC. He also said the “closed loop” of the Beijing Winter Olympics is probably the safest place in the world.
Third, from the construction of the venues to the design of the opening ceremony, it can be seen that China is not only focusing on this Winter Olympics, but also looking farther ahead, combining this event with the daily exercise of the people and the low-carbon development of the country after the event.
Most of the venues used for this event are renovated from the old ones, and the comprehensive utilization and green low-carbon of the venues have been taken into account in the process of both the construction of the new ones and the renovation of the old ones. The famous Water Cube can realize the operation mode of “swimming in summer and curling in winter” through the “ice-to-water” technology. Wukesong Sports Center, the basketball venue for the 2008 Olympics, can be converted from a hockey court to a basketball court within six hours. The Ice Ribbon is the only new venue at the Beijing 2022 Games for the ice competition. The ice making technology it uses can make the carbon emission close to zero... At the Olympic flame lighting ceremony, the Winter Olympics adheres to the idea of “a small flame can also represent a torch”. The torch was put on the snowflake-shaped platform instead of lighting the Olympic Cauldron. This innovation has eliminated the burning fires at the past ceremonies and saved a lot of fuel.
In short, if the 2008 Summer Olympics let the world know China in a new development period after reform and opening up and accession to the WTO, then, in 2022, China will undoubtedly present to the world an image of a more mature and responsible superpower. Whether it is the slogan of the Winter Olympics, “Together for a Shared Future”, which calls for us to tackle global challenges together; the people-oriented approach, which gives top priority to the life and health of every citizen in China; or looking to the future, planning the construction and operation of the stadium and supporting facilities from a long-term perspective, integrating the concept of environmental protection, all these show the maturity and responsibility of a country, and are what China, which is getting closer to the center of the world stage, needs to show.
