Foreign Media's Response to the Opening

By Jian Shuo Wang on 2008-08-09 19:05 · Olympics 2008

I collected some report from foreign medias.

Reuters

World media hails Beijing’s perfect night

Beijing’s Olympic opening extravaganza drew rave reviews on Friday from media around the world awed by rich displays of Chinese culture that eclipsed controversy that has surrounded the city’s hosting of the Games.

For me, I wrote many article about the “negative” impact the Olympic brought to the people, including me. However, I found people are much more emotional than rational. Although the debate, and the concerns will get back, and it must for a really greater and better country, at least at the night of the opening ceremony, I feel very excited, and felt the same way as Reuters reporter.

BBC

BBC expressed the same opinion with this article: Spectators awed as Games begin

Beijing’s big moment has already been dogged with controversy about air pollution, China’s human rights record and media freedom.

But the arguments were briefly forgotten during a truly spectacular opening ceremony watched by millions around the globe.

Fair enough. Personally, as I said, the moment is just about happiness and everyone using the common language to communicate, more than anything else. The event cannot solve all the problem (it can hardly solve any) but it is the time for people to temporarily forget it for a while - maybe just 4 hours. It is already very precious gift for the world.

Edmonton Sun

I love the ceremony, but I didn’t get the point when people love it THAT much, and even claiming there will be no better thing than it. At the beginning of the columnist article, Olympic opening ceremonies the best ever, Terry Jones said:

BEIJING - If any future Olympic Games is ever credited with a more awesome, brilliant, inspired, powerful or original opening ceremonies it might have to be because everybody on the planet developed amnesia

I would say the ceremony is great, but I do expect someone to do it better in the future. Just like any memorable event or world record in the sports history, people once thought it is the highest, the strongest, or the fastest, but world record is always broken in the days to come. That is the spirit of Olympics, isn’t it?

**Media **

Media is just media. They have professional skills to report something in a way that is just too professional for people to get the real idea. I’d be more interested in what my readers view the event.

P.S. I didn’t read the Chinese media for it, since it is 100% sure that they say it is a great event.

13 Comments
Maybe for a few hours, the world finally understood what "Made in China" really means.
— Mary · 2008-08-09 21:27
It takes some gut to intentionally ignore CCTV no matter how well it 'improves' , having realized your good intension towards it doesn't make it more professional or even on the way to it, and to always doubt Xinhua (which is too big to ignore), knowing it does provide authentic and sometimes exclusive information besides 'official' news: because immediately you'll notice a lot other demestic media are no better, except for a select few.

And it takes more gut to analyse 'foreign'(western mostly, for that's what they'll always be: 'western', a small bunch of 'western' uneducated and uneducatable) media without being emotionally charged in the first place:

I can't imagine how an ordinary Chinese will experience realizing this complex information confrontation, or is it an ideology thing?

and Mr. Wang, you have this creative idea about media:""""Media is just media. They have professional skills to report something in a way that is just too professional for people to get the real idea."""

Well, i don't get it. I'll be banned by you if i dare speak the word truely reflect my first reation to this sentence.

That sums up about my personal and amateur idea, if you are interested, that is.
— mac · 2008-08-09 23:39
The ceremony was good, but what I didn't like is that most of the time they spoke Chinese. What a pity. It's not international enough in my eyes to hold such big international activities.
— Shrek7 · 2008-08-09 23:39
P.S.

you don't read 'Chinese' media for it, because you are 100% sure it'll say it is a great event, that sums up your real ieda about domestic media as a whole: you DESPISE them, which is unequal to them and at your own peril to yourself. And this is sad, because by ignoring them at this very moment, you seem to perfectly inherit their prejudicial tradition at all times.
— mac · 2008-08-09 23:55
@Shrek7: maybe you should watch ICS then :)
— mac · 2008-08-10 00:11
Your readers' reaction? Well, this reader *loved* it! Despite the fact that our version was on a taped-delay basis, and all commentary of course was in English, I could not help feeling astonished at what it must have been like to actually be present at that extravaganza. I am always a sucker for the bright and optimistic faces of international young people. In this case, the athletes, the Chinese cheerleaders, the proud and lovely Chinese flag-bearers who escorted each national delegation into the arena, the amazing drummers, the triumphant technicians who emerged so unexpectedly from underneath the structure of the floor after the movable pillars had been perfectly manipulated for so long...every one of those faces moved me emotionally, and inspired me toward optimism for peaceful international relations in the future. Yes, of course the amount of money spent to produce such a spectacle could have made a huge difference in the lives of poor peasants in rural areas of your country (a criticism that can be made of any "excessive" expenditure in the area of arts, entertainment or sports) But I do agree with you, Jian Shuo, that even the temporary experience of world harmony is a priceless gift to the world. Once experienced, hopefully the idea that such a condition is actually possible to accomplish more permanently will be planted like a seed in the minds of international decision-makers. So, for four hours of optimism, China? I thank you -- well done!
— Carroll · 2008-08-10 02:46
Ditto, well said, Carroll!
— Ji Village News · 2008-08-10 04:05
OMFG, NBC RULES!

大家看看这个:http://www.douban.com/group/topic/3912355/

QUESTION:What does CCTV stands for?

ANSWER: Closed-circuit television.

Seems my first choice is RIGHT. Ignore CCTV, whatever it reports(except when CCTV5 is named CCTV OLYMPICS...)
— mac · 2008-08-10 04:47
@Carroll, so you are in US? you've got to know China has only ONE TIME ZONE officially, so don't confuse your tape-delay broadcast with the despicable and unpromisable 15 seconds delay CCTV has been practising, thanks. just in case you didn't notice...

Isn't it funny to watch CCTV's destiny in the next 50 years? it will improve, sure...We've got 1,300,000,000 people to wait for it. And when it does improve, i'm sure we'll forget all it has done. We have to, i mean, for better or worse, it's your own country's biggest TV channel. Your job is to hope for the best.

My job? Ignore. Unless it's mentioned in the media.
— mac · 2008-08-10 05:00
It was a fabulous ceremony. I think you have to take it in context with what China was like just 30 years ago. Its easy for us to point out flaws and cite the defects in the society. I notice no one is ready to point out the defects in their own society. Unfortuantely the event was marred by tradgedy as a chinese man murdered an American tourist and seriousily injured the tourist wife and tour guide before killing himself. Within sight of the main event. Despite all the security and police. Another freedom we enjoy in the west China now has experienced a random act of brutal violence.
— Nick · 2008-08-10 06:14
I thought it was exceptionally well conceived and well executed. For foreign audiences, I wish there was more of an interpretive guide that would help us foreigners understand more of the meaning and symbolism behind the ceremony. I have been unable to find that guide on the internet thus far.

I echo some of the sentiment that there was a bit too much of the "mass games" element to the ceremony and it would have benefited from some more sections that were smaller, delicate, and smaller ensembles of people. There seemed to be either massive number of people closely coordinated, or individuals who were highlighted as solo performers.

But all in all, it was a moment for the Chinese people to be proud! Congrats!
— Elliott Ng · 2008-08-10 13:45
One more thing...I wonder what Chinese people feel about how the ceremony did not pull anything from more recent history, e.g. the last 100-200 years. Maybe there is nothing that is not too sensitive from this period.
— elliottng · 2008-08-10 13:47
Opening was good. and your PS make me smile, so true ;-)
— Smith · 2008-08-10 22:11