Geoffrey York, reporter of the Globe and Mail, writes in his Middle Kingdom blog:
When you talk to ordinary Chinese people, you find overwhelming support for the Beijing Olympics, and excitement about the results. But you also discover that many ordinary people have made big sacrifices for the Olympics – without even having a choice in the matter.
I’m not talking about the dissidents, the activists, the petitioners and the ethnic minorities and others who were arrested or evicted from Beijing. They are probably not the biggest fans of the Olympics any more.
I’m talking about the ordinary workers, farmers and small-business people who have lost a significant chunk of their modest income as a result of the Olympics. This is not a trivial matter for them – they are not wealthy people, and even a small loss of income is painful to them. Yet most of them still loyally support the Olympics. Or at least they are careful not to complain too much.
