Global Times editorial: Paris Olympics witnesses an open and confident China
2024-08-12
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"At a time of deglobalization, they are living out the new globalization." This is the evaluation of the performance of the new generation of Chinese athletes at the Paris Olympics in an article in Asia Weekly. From Pan Zhanle, who calmly said "this is my normal level" in the face of doubts, to Zheng Qinwen, who said after winning the championship that the title of "Queen Wen" was well deserved, to He Bingjiao, who received the award with the badge of the Spanish Olympic Committee to pay tribute to her opponent who withdrew due to injury, young Chinese athletes are winning praise with their confident conversation, lively expression and persistence in the Olympic spirit. The performance of athletes is never isolated. They show the spiritual outlook of the entire Chinese society, and also let the Olympics witness the open and confident Chinese society.
On August 3, 2024, local time, France, the Paris Olympic Games women's singles tennis gold medal match, Zheng Qinwen won the championship (Visual China)
It feels like China's young athletes are becoming more and more "speakable" and expressive, which is the most discussed topic at home and abroad in addition to their performance in this Olympics. These young Chinese athletes certainly did not suddenly become "speakable" after attending some special training class. Their expressions that have gone viral and resonated with people are actually a vivid reflection of the self-confidence and high spirits of the entire Chinese society. Compared with their predecessors, young athletes are more courageous in expressing their desires and pursuits, and fully demonstrate their hard work and struggle, but they are also more able to enjoy the fun of competition and sports, and expand unity and friendship in competition. These characteristics are highly consistent with the overall outlook and mainstream values of Chinese society.
As early as three years ago during the Tokyo Olympics, the BBC published an article saying that Chinese people have begun to perceive the charm of the Olympics in a more three-dimensional way, mentioning popular views in Chinese society such as "Gold medals are important, but those who strive hard deserve praise" and "Winning or losing is not important, trying your best is the best." In the last Olympics, everyone expressed high support and appreciation for athletes such as Su Bingtian who achieved a historical breakthrough. This time, in many events, everyone also paid more attention to appreciating the spirit of sports, the beauty of competition, and paying attention to details, humanity and emotions. The Chinese view of the Olympics is not limited to competing for medals, but carries the desire for a fairer, more progressive and better self and world.
In addition to medals, the focus and discussion of the Olympics in Chinese society is more on "breakthroughs" and "struggle". The Chinese people not only give applause, flowers and cheers to the champions, but also to Wu Peng, Deng Lijuan, Zhang Yufei, the entire Chinese delegation, and athletes from various countries who failed to stand on the podium but demonstrated the Olympic spirit. In some events that did not win medals, historic participation and breakthroughs have also been widely watched and praised. More important than gold medals is the courage to overcome and surpass oneself. This cognition has been deeply integrated into Chinese society. The lens of Chinese society now looks at the Olympics, not only for the performance on the field, but also for the efforts and contributions behind each athlete and each breakthrough in each event.
The National Public Radio (NPR) of the United States said that the medal table of this year's Paris Olympics showed that China has firmly established its position as the biggest rival of the United States in the Olympics, especially in terms of gold medals. In fact, from the controversy caused by the arrangement of medals in the United States at the Tokyo Olympics to the close attention paid by the US media to the medal table in the Paris Olympics, many people found that the United States was not as "relaxed" as imagined, and China was enjoying the Olympics. If the medals show China's hard power in participating in the Olympics, then the performance of Chinese athletes and Chinese society during the Olympics well demonstrated China's soft power.
From Liu Changchun, the "first Chinese Olympian", to the return of the Chinese delegation to the Olympic Games in 1984 Los Angeles, to the successful hosting of the Olympic Games and Winter Olympics in Beijing, and then to the Paris Olympics, this road is epic, with many ups and downs, and countless honors and pride. Generations of Chinese athletes represent the style of China and the times. Looking at the faces of Quan Hongchan and Pan Zhanle, who are full of vigor, vitality and peace, we are all very sure that this is the appearance of the "young China" that our ancestors expected.
On July 31, 2024, local time, in France, Pan Zhanle won the men's 100m freestyle final at the Paris Olympics. (Visual China)
What does such Chinese sports bring to the world? When Japanese and Korean commentators cheered for Pan Zhanle for becoming the first Asian to swim under 47 seconds, we saw confidence; when Litvinovich, who participated as an individual, was moved by Wang Zisai and Yan Langyu's initiative to hug each other, we saw gentleness. Chinese athletes are illuminating the world with warmth and kindness, and inspiring people with hard work and struggle. Behind them is China. The Olympic spirit is not only a spirit of bravery and hard work, but also a manifestation of unity, friendship and mutual understanding. Chinese society pays attention to the breakthroughs and progress of the Paris Olympics, and the Paris Olympics has also become a witness to China's openness and confidence.
