Remembering the 2008 China Summer Olympic Games Bid Win in 2001

by Ginny Rossin of Open World: Goods for Travel Lovers ( 10-Oct-2008 )

Thinking about the 2008 Summer Olympics brings back fond memories of a very special night I spent in Daqing, in HeiLongJiang Province, China, on July 13, 2001, with my close Chinese friends. Earlier in the day it was announced around the world that China had won its bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.  Looking back on that night seven years ago, in some ways seems so long ago, and in other ways it seems like it was just yesterday.  I can still see the smiles and excitement on the faces of my friends as we celebrated this important win.  We were in our favorite local nightclub on the outskirts of town.  The owner was fond of Americans and two enlarged photos of me and another American hung on the wall.  And as always, American flags draped over each tabletop.  This bold display of affection for the stars and stripes brought looks of amazement to every new American expatriate my foreign friends and I brought there.  Our Canadian and British friends, some not as tickled by this patriotic gesture, duly endured our grins and jabs in jest.  All in all, they were pretty good sports and of course, our treasured friends.  Our Canadian friends, who preceded our arrival in China, had taken us under their wings and introduced us to life in Daqing. On this momentous night our favorite singer, a popular local guy in his 20s with long black hair parted in the middle, belted out an almost perfect impression of Hotel California, by The Eagles.  Everyone was listening and smiling and toasting to the Olympic win.  “Gambei!” could be heard shouted every few seconds, and “Banbei!” by those more cautious party-goers.  As we toasted to the win we watched the celebration and fireworks display in Beijing on the TV that was on the counter behind the bar.  Thrill and excitement danced all around us that night. While we celebrated, my friends described their immense pride at winning the 2008 Summer Olympic bid.  They held high hopes that this win would provide an important step for China's entry into the world marketplace.  Before long, on December 11, 2001, China would also gain accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).  Everyone at the nightclub was full of speculation about what this meant to China's future.  "China will be a great power," my friends told me. This was only the beginning.  Hosting the Olympics held great triumph and promise in the minds of the Chinese people; the entire world would finally accept China as an equal partner.  I pondered my friends' comments and thought about their naivety surrounding international business practices; namely, intellectual copyright laws, for I was certain this would prove to be their greatest challenge.  In a society that values the whole rather than the individual, the notion of protecting the properties and ideas of one individual, or one individual entity, did not make much sense.  For everyday and everywhere I went, unlicensed 2008 Summer Olympic souvenirs occupied vendor stands and shops.  In 2002, the Olympic Committee visited China to explain the requirement of licensing Olympic souvenirs.  In spite of China enacting strict laws against selling unlicensed Olympic souvenirs and engaging in a campaign to protect its world image, China continues to face an uphill battle over copyright infringements of Olympic souvenirs even today.  As it turned out, joining the WTO was the boost China needed to become a solid player in the world.  Hosting the 2008 Summer Olympic Games may turn out to be the catalyst China needs to make the kind of changes the world would like to see it make.  What changes, if any, China chooses to make is yet to be seen. I will always remember with fondness my Chinese friends and that fateful night at the little out-of-the-way nightclub with American flag tablecloths and listening to Hotel California.  Sometimes I wonder if my picture still hangs on the wall.  I remember my friends’ kindness and generosity and all of the happy times we spent together.  I remember their dreams to become captains of their future.  I will always wish them well in their pursuits and hope their dreams come true.