A slender hope for more freedom emerged out of a natural catastrophe that left more than 50,000 dead. Unfortunately, in the last few days, the Chinese government appears to be reverting to its old ways. Web sites asking critical questions of the government are being closed down. A scholar from Nanjing Normal University was arrested for drawing attention to the problems of having nuclear facilities near the earthquake zone. Even civic groups with the most benevolent intentions can be seen as a threat by a government that views all independent collective activities with deep suspicion. Patriotism is encouraged in China, but not when it runs outside of official control. How will this affect that great jamboree of global patriotism, the Olympic Games?
In some ways China and the Olympic Games were made for each other. The People’s Republic of China can no longer really be described as a Communist country, Marxism having been pretty much discarded on the rush to economic wealth. But like most autocracies with strong 19th-century roots, China still is a society given to mass spectacles, national pageants, officially boosted nationalism and grand state-led projects. Chinese nationalism — with its belief in the Darwinian struggle of nations — is rather anachronistic, and so are the Olympic Games.
… Aggressive nationalism usually goes together with authoritarian politics. When people have no legitimate means to show dissent, vent their frustrations, express critical opinions in public, and generally take part in politics, nationalism fills the void. As long as they can control it, this suits authoritarian rulers. In China, a certain unspoken sense of guilt may also play a role. The same people who demanded democracy in 1989, when they were students, are now often among the fiercest nationalists. The educated urban elite has prospered since the Tiananmen Massacre, and when people are reminded of the political compromises this involved, resentment can flare up easily.
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