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Sunday, August 24, 2008
Assessing the Beijing Olympics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We happened to drive by Atlanta’s Olympic flame this morning, and someone in the car pointed out how small and puny it looked compared to Beijing’s version. And it surely does.
From China’s point of view, the 2008 Summer Olympics have to be counted a major success. The Games went off without a hitch, the Chinese Olympic team did very well in competition and the world got a taste of what China can accomplish when it sets its mind to something.
But as others have pointed out, where did the Chinese get the money for the Bird’s Nest and its other spectacular venues? The answer is by selling us the shirts we wear on our backs, the plasma TVs hanging on our walls, the shoes we put on our feet and the electronics we plug into our walls. A significant wealth transfer has been underway for the past 10 years, and we saw the fruits of that on NBC.
For those who paid attention, we also saw the Chinese government’s absolute firm grip on power, tolerating nothing that might be perceived as dissent. That apparent “unity of mind” gives China certain economic, political and military advantages, but it brings challenges as well.
I should also mention a point made in the new movie “IOUSA.” In 1956, the British, French and Israelis seized control of the Suez Canal from Egypt, over the strong opposition of the United States. However, President Eisenhower quickly forced the British to withdraw and surrender control of the canal by threatening to dump large U.S. reserves of British currency, an act that would have crippled the pound and Britain’s economy.
Today, 45 percent of our massive national debt is held by foreigners in the form of dollars. Japan holds the most, followed by China and then Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing states. If we continue to borrow so heavily from other nations, we could surrender a potentially dangerous degree of our own autonomy.
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