If anything, the opening ceremony of the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing was a blatant show of China's nigh-unlimited resource of human talent. If China were to build the Great Pyramids of Giza, they'd easily succeed. After years of imperialism - of being bullied and being looked down upon, China has finally had enough and is now unleashing its true potential.
Ok, so maybe I'm glossing over the nitty gritty details of China's human rights record - e.g. the pageant of 55 children dressed in traditional costumes of the officially recognized ethnic minorities of China over a backdrop of the government's efforts to decimate these minorities. But come on, a total of over 15000 performers - Wow!
As an aside, it was very interesting to watch the Parade of Nations. To me, it reflected the current political makeup of the world - specifically Korea fielding two separate teams, Taiwan walking under the banner of 'China Taipei' and Hong Kong having its own contingent.
In the distance, I spot the Malaysian flag and I sit up in anticipation. (Apparently, the countries are ordered according to the number of strokes in the first character of their names in simplified Chinese.) But my excitement is shortlived when I realize that the Malaysian contingent is dressed in baju Melayu and baju kurung of the royal golden-yellow hue.
I was in Malaysia just a few weeks ago and last I checked, it was still a multi-racial country. Athletes from other contingents were allowed to wear their own traditional costume. Take for example the Libyan contingent. If not, blazers are appropriate, not to mention smart. Look at the Singaporean contingent. Or even the hot Lithuanian team with their polo-tees and khaki shorts. Funny that. Come on, even a batik shirt with slacks would do better.
The last thing I want to do is to judge my own country with the standards of other countries. But when people assume that I've forsaken my homeland and ask me why I've adopted the British accent and lifestyle, this is why. Before you judge me, you might want to stop yourself to think - because maybe I care about my country more than you do.
Hot Lithuanians!
Ok, so maybe I'm glossing over the nitty gritty details of China's human rights record - e.g. the pageant of 55 children dressed in traditional costumes of the officially recognized ethnic minorities of China over a backdrop of the government's efforts to decimate these minorities. But come on, a total of over 15000 performers - Wow!
As an aside, it was very interesting to watch the Parade of Nations. To me, it reflected the current political makeup of the world - specifically Korea fielding two separate teams, Taiwan walking under the banner of 'China Taipei' and Hong Kong having its own contingent.
In the distance, I spot the Malaysian flag and I sit up in anticipation. (Apparently, the countries are ordered according to the number of strokes in the first character of their names in simplified Chinese.) But my excitement is shortlived when I realize that the Malaysian contingent is dressed in baju Melayu and baju kurung of the royal golden-yellow hue.
I was in Malaysia just a few weeks ago and last I checked, it was still a multi-racial country. Athletes from other contingents were allowed to wear their own traditional costume. Take for example the Libyan contingent. If not, blazers are appropriate, not to mention smart. Look at the Singaporean contingent. Or even the hot Lithuanian team with their polo-tees and khaki shorts. Funny that. Come on, even a batik shirt with slacks would do better.
The last thing I want to do is to judge my own country with the standards of other countries. But when people assume that I've forsaken my homeland and ask me why I've adopted the British accent and lifestyle, this is why. Before you judge me, you might want to stop yourself to think - because maybe I care about my country more than you do.
Hot Lithuanians!
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1 comment:
We study in school that we are free to take up any religion, and we are a multi racial country.
Yet, politicians now claim that Malaysia is a Islam country, and Chinese can go back to China because its MALAYsia.
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