China News Service, Beijing, February 20 Title: Why is it said that the Beijing Winter Olympics is a great and precious Olympic Games?
Author Zhang Laiming Deputy Director and Researcher, Development Research Center of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
On February 4, 2022, the Beijing Winter Olympics opened. This day is the traditional Chinese festival of spring, which means that the cold winter is about to dissipate and everything is revived. The convening of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games has made Beijing a "city of double Olympics", so that this year's Spring Festival has more significance for the people of Chinese, and has brought valuable enthusiasm, strength and hope to the world facing multiple sufferings.
On the evening of February 4, the opening ceremony of the XXIV Winter Olympic Games was held at the Beijing National Stadium. Photo by Cui Nan, a reporter from China News Service
In 2008, as the world was plunging into a financial crisis, China worked with international partners to eliminate interference, hosted a Summer Olympics in Beijing that showcased great unity, and subsequently worked with major countries to coordinate macroeconomic policies and address the predicament. 14 years later, mankind is facing more severe challenges and more difficult choices, with the efforts of all parties, the Beijing Winter Olympics opened on time in the century epidemic, 2892 athletes from 91 countries and regions, as well as more coaches, technicians, medical team members and media journalists to participate in this grand event. Using sports as a medium, this Winter Olympics will demonstrate the practical possibilities and historical values of human beings to overcome differences, enhance unity and tide over difficulties together.
On the evening of February 4, the opening ceremony of the 24th Winter Olympic Games in Beijing was held at the National Stadium. Photo by Mao Jianjun, reporter of China News Service
This is a Winter Olympics held at the threshold of human history. Compared to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, we are at a time when the challenges seem more severe. In Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018, a women's hockey team of athletes from North Korea and South Korea competed in the Olympic Games, and whenever the team appeared, the audience would put up a banner that read "We are one family". In 2022, when freestyle skiers jumped in the air on the Beijing Shougang Ski Jump, the world was still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 400 million people infected and 5.89 million people lost their lives so far, the vaccine gap is difficult to bridge, and there is a lack of consensus on international prevention and control strategies. At the same time, populism is rife, economic globalization is facing adverse currents, the climate change crisis is worsening, and the sharing of responsibilities is mutually prevaricating; regional hotspot issues are increasing unabated, and the prospects for peace seem to be bleak. "The situation we face is like a five-level alert global fire – namely the pandemic, global finance, climate action, the impossibility of cyberspace and peace and security – that requires the full mobilization of all nations to extinguish it," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. ”
This is a Winter Olympics in which humanity comes together across differences. The New York Times commented on Feb. 5: "Whatever the context, the Olympic Games have always represented a grand festival of shared humanity and sporting achievements. In a polarized world, there are few occasions where so many people from all over the world can be brought together. "Perhaps it is at this time that we are in particular in need of a successful Winter Olympics that will give hope to people in the dark and show the common pursuits and ideals of mankind." According to the International Olympic Committee, with the support of digital technology, the Beijing Winter Olympics has become the highest-rated Winter Olympics in history, and audiences from five continents have truly realized the "end of the world" through television, computers and mobile phone screens. Secretary-General Guterres said: "At a time when we see so much populism, racism and xenophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim hatred, it is a wonderful message to come here and be with athletes from all cultures, countries, races, religions. It is a message of tolerance and mutual respect. "That's why we have reached a consensus against the political kidnapping of the Olympic movement, because any form of so-called boycott ultimately hurts the Olympic spirit, the international Olympic movement, and a gathering that marks the common spirit of humanity."
This is a Winter Olympics that showcases the unity of humanity. Like the Tokyo Olympics, which closed eight months ago, we tried to use a successful Winter Olympics to demonstrate human solidarity and indomitability in the face of adversity. In his speech at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, IOC President Mr. Bach said: "Fiercely competitive opponents can also coexist peacefully and respect each other. This is the mission of the Olympic Games, to unite people in the midst of peaceful competition. "In the Winter Olympics, sports are the only language. In the freestyle ski women's aerial skills final, American Caldwell made a mistake in the last jump and missed the medal, but she still excitedly hugged Xu Mengtao, a Chinese athlete who won the championship at the four Winter Olympics, and said to her, "I am really proud of you." In the curling mixed doubles round robin tournament, the athletes of the Chinese team presented the "ice pier" Olympic commemorative badge to the athletes of the American team who had just defeated them, and were warmly thanked and returned by the American athletes. After winning the gold medal on the men's snowboard jump, China's Su Yiming hugged norway's Mons Reiswellan and runner-up Canada's Max Parrott to express their respect for their predecessors and thank them for inspiring them to move forward. George Orwell once said that "sports equal war minus shooting", but seeing athletes wearing national flags standing on the podium of the Beijing Winter Olympics hugging each other and sincerely congratulating each other, we believe that in addition to "faster, higher and stronger", "more unity" is indeed the proper meaning of the Olympic spirit, which should also be extended to fighting the epidemic, economic recovery, responding to climate change, and resolving regional hotspot issues.
This is a Winter Olympics that interprets human civilization. Mr. Cai Yuanpei once said: "Complete personality, the first is in sports." Shahid, president of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, who attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, said: "The Olympic Games represent the best side of humanity, people gather to compete, humbly accept victory, graciously accept defeat." "From the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD, the best athletes of the Greek city-states gathered in Olympia to compete with beauty in the sun, which led to the birth of the Olympic Truce. The Olympic Games represent peace and honor, represent the athlete spirit of transcendence, teamwork, fair competition, respect for rules, respect for opponents, and these most essential qualities of human civilization will also be the foundation for us to continue to move towards a common future. After the final of the men's slope steeplechase skills in snowboarding, Su Yiming and his coach believed that the referee had a deviation in scoring, perhaps allowing himself to miss the gold medal, but still expressed understanding of the penalty made in the limited time of limited information, saying that it was part of the sports competition, imploring the outside world to understand the difficulty of real-time scoring, stop criticizing the referee, and sincerely congratulate the gold medalist.
On February 15, in the final of the men's big jump for snowboarding at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Su Yiming withstood the pressure and won the gold medal, which was the first time that China won the gold medal of the Winter Olympics in the event, refreshing the best record in the history of the Winter Olympics.
This is a Winter Olympics in which Chinese people express their sincere desire to promote world peace and development and build a community with a shared future for mankind. President Xi Jinping pointed out that we should bear in mind the original intention of the Olympic Movement, adhere to mutual respect, equal treatment, dialogue and consultation, strive to resolve differences, eliminate conflicts, and jointly build a world of lasting peace; we should carry forward the spirit of the Olympic Movement and unite to meet the common challenges of the international community; we should practice the purpose of the Olympic Movement, adhere to the common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind, promote exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations, and jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind. During the epidemic, the Chinese government and the Chinese Olympic Committee donated masks to sports organizations and local organizations in Italy, Spain, Iran, the United States, France, Japan and other countries to support the local sports community in fighting the epidemic and demonstrate the close solidarity and mutual assistance of the international Olympic family. Zhang Yimou, general director of the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games, said that the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is more to show China to the world, and in 2022, it is more to expound the common emotions of human beings, from "I" to "we". The changes in the opening ceremony show the changes in the worldview of Chinese people over the past 14 years. In order to set the stage for this feast for all mankind and use the common language of sports to bridge the gap between different countries and ethnic groups, the staff of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee and many volunteers gave up their Spring Festival holiday, and 22 million Beijing citizens and more than 4.1 million Zhangjiakou residents and even all Chinese people also made their contributions. Many athletes, such as Aaron Bronck and Tessa Maud of the U.S. team, invariably gave high praise to the organization of the Winter Olympics, especially the friendly and enthusiastic volunteers. At the 139th Plenary Session of the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Bach announced that the Olympic Cup will be awarded to all Chinese people to thank the Chinese for their outstanding contributions to the Beijing Winter Olympics, he said: "We can clearly feel the warmth, energy, hospitality and support given to us by Chinese people from all walks of life and all ages. "At this moment, long live the great Olympic spirit and the great unity of the people of the world, which should further become the strong voice of the times for mankind to move towards the future."
People say that the pandemic of the century and geopolitical conflicts are big tests, but whether it is a natural disaster like infectious diseases or a man-made disaster like a world war, such a test is not the first time that mankind has faced it. The test is whether human beings can overcome their own weaknesses and jointly move towards a bright future. Our generation, reading the history of past wars and suffering, questioned our forefathers why they did not join hands to stop human suffering. So today, in the face of the epidemic, geopolitical conflicts, climate change and other common challenges facing mankind, do we abandon prejudices and calculations and strive for the common future of mankind, or do we indulge in the relative gains and losses of the moment, and stand by and even reap the benefits when other countries are struggling? Our children and grandchildren will torture our choices today with their pen and ink. (End)
About the Author:
Zhang Laiming, deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council and member of the Party Group, has long been engaged in the research of politics and law, social construction, and international issues.