Imperfection is Just As Beautiful

Imperfection is just as beautiful if not more beautiful than perfection.

I was more inspired by the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing than the "regular" Olympics. The XXIX Olympics was a great event, but simply a good show in some ways. The Paralympics had some sadness to it. One taxi driver mumbled to me that it was heart-wrenching for him to watch the Paralympics competition. I felt the pity and the "why bother" attitude in his tone. Many of my friends here were inspired by the physically challenged athletes; but, for the most part, Chinese society needs to open its arms wider to accommodate better the marginalized and the disadvantaged.

Relatively speaking, Chinese society and infrastructure is not friendly to the disabled population. A wheelchair-bound individual cannot move about in Beijing, let alone in other cities in the country. I would never haul two suitcases from the airport to my apartment using the subway unless I were desperately poor and could not afford other means of transportation. Escalators are not guaranteed to be there, and you have to walk up and down the stairways. Elevators are there sometimes, and they are often locked and not available. When you have two 20 kg suitcases to deal with, you can be considered physically challenged. The sad fact is that I do see poor people transport their luggage in the subway. Some of them don't have suitcases, just two big tote bags.

To see and hopefully to accept imperfection is good to begin with. Only people with confidence are comfortable with their shortcomings and handicaps. Chinese have yet to get used to this new notion and to love themselves deeper in the face of imperfection. There are good examples, although the media and society don't show them often. Parents in China are as dedicated to their disabled children as parents in other parts of the world. But the media and society shun away from them and rarely shine a positive light on this group of people. Some Chinese even believe the traditional idea that imperfection stems from the wrong-doings of a person's previous incarnations. A sense of guilt and shame is quite common. The Paralympics is good for Chinese audiences; the Games made it easier for the disabled population get out of their isolation and to push the envelope a little.

Chinese are obsessed with perfection and that's not heathly. This burden is unbearable and is not sustainable. Chinese have to learn to accept the reality of imperfection, and have the spirit to overcome, not to overcompensate, for it. Politically, it is also good to accept imperfection; that is the hallmark of democracy. Mediocrity is a fact of life, and we are making a conscious decision to trade this for the long-term stability of the society. An error-free, austere political machine is just a facade. It is inherently unsustainable and there is no breathing room in it.

The Paralympics was a good thing for China. Many of us should be thankful for not feeling challenged in any perceivable way. One day, we will all become disabled as we get older and by then we should be able to realize the need to provide equal opportunities to the disadvantaged. I like the 1997 Academy Award winner for Documentary Short Subject, "Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien" that says "sooner or later, we'll all become handicapped." It is a 35-minute film. Watching it will be good for you spiritually and philosophically. :-).

Reflections on the 2008 Beijing Olympics

The Beijing Olympic Games were "truly exceptional Games," said International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge at the Games' closing ceremony staged in the National Stadium in northern Beijing on Sunday night, August 24, 2008.

This is a fair overall assessment of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. A few reflections are in order since I was in the city for the last two years and attended three events, men's gymnastic, women's skeet shooting, and men's boxing.

[China's Favorite Sporting Son]

China's favorite sporting son, Liu Xiang, had to pull out of his defense of his 110 meter hurdles title due to an Achilles tendon injury, leaving his legions of fans heartbroken. He is a man who could be more influential than the PRC President in what he says and does. He is now depicted as a cartoon character in one TV show I happened to glance at recently; every child in China will probably recognize him. I hope that a hero like him can do more for China beyond the 110 meter hurdles event.

[Nationally Organized Sport Promulgation]

China has a national-level office, the State General Administration of Sport, to promulgate sporting events and training and to win medals in many venues. This is another good example of Chinese efficiency in execution when action is needed. A news report last week mentioned that 800 million RMB was spent for the 2008 Olympics in athletes training; and with 51 gold medals, each cost about 15 million RMB (about 2.2 million US dollars).

As far as I know, there is no counterpart in the US. Almost all sports organization are grass-roots organizations. Rules and regulations are defined and run by these non-profit organizations. I am familiar with high school level wrestling and swimming, as these are the sports my children participated in. I think that reaching the grass-roots level should be the aim for China to be sustainable in medal counts. A healthy and fit population should be the eventual goal of any government-sanctioned effort.

[Handing Over the Olympic Flag to New Host City London]

London Mayor Boris Johnson received the Olympic flag from Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong during the closing ceremony on Sunday, because London is hosting the next summer games in 2012. To the Chinese, it might seem odd to see the Beijing Mayor having such an honor. Mr. Guo is not even listed in the CCP page, which lists 30 or so names as members of the Politburo of the CCP Central committee. If you want to count "status or standing" in Chinese politics, that is where you should look first.

The tradition of having a city, rather than a country, bid to host the Olympic Games is something novel to the very centralized Chinese system in the first place. Mr. Guo, as the mayor of the host city, was the one to do the job, and not anyone else, which was refreshing and food for thought for the Chinese during the closing ceremony. Incidentally, it was the first time I saw him on TV in the two years I have spent in Beijing.

[Extinguishing the Olympic Flame]

I was quite sentimental about the extinguishing of the flame. It signaled an end and put a period at the time horizon. Chinese are not used to, and often are reluctant and sometimes even superstitious in, talking about and facing end games in many social and personal circumstances. Facing it in front of a billion of viewers in China was a good experience and a good mental exercise. No rationale, no explanation, no thing required for this. An event to accept and to reflect upon is a simple and beautiful thing.

[Collateral Damages in the Last Stretch of the 2008 Beijing Olympics]

There were so many accomplishments in completing projects and construction on time for the Olympics. The pleasant surprise of fast clean-ups on streets and subways in the early summer was a clear indication of the can-do spirit around the city and probably in the country as well. The question, then, is when and where the government is going to take action.

In the preparations for the Games, there was much collateral damage. The "undesirables," including migrant workers, were moved out, and visas for foreign students were not extended for the summer. For the sake of not getting embarrassed or having to be bailed out, I acquired a "temporary residence permit" and always carried it along with my passport in my backpack.

Torch relay crowd control tactics were all very raw and rudimentary in the Chinese style. This is often offensive to non-Chinese and is in bad taste in general. Speaking of the torch relay, there were about 8 hours of torch relay with 800 runners in Beijing. This equates to 36 seconds per runner, which is pathetic to me. It was a "who's who in Beijing" event to me, an attempt to balance out demands from all corners of the society and government.

My barber shop owner complained about slow business and many restaurants were not packed at all for the summer. All these temporary alienations hopefully can be well compensated by the great success of the Games and will be forgotten hopefully after a few years.

Obviously, what I have just said is all officially false information from the government's point of view. For me, I am a stubborn donkey and I like to think and observe myself without being told and fed of any truth.