The perfect way to enjoy a Beijing duck is to place the wonderfully succulent shredded duck meat on paper thin pancake wrap, cover it with ample hoisin sauce, add some thinly chopped cucumber and spring onions and gulp the entire thing. "The secret to make the best Peking duck is to keep the wrap as thin as possible. The thinner the wrap is, the more you can eat," a Chinese friend once told me over lunch.
This 'famous' Chinese restaurant was located in a rather rundown part of Beijing amid tumbledown hutongs (Beijing's old neighbourhoods), the only way we could find it was by following the ducks - a series of ducks drawn with charcoal on the walls pointing us to this dilapidated restaurant that claimed to serve the best Beijing duck to 'world famous people'. Pictures of celebrities and dignitaries like former US vice president Al-Gore and ambassadors of half the European countries enjoying their Beijing duck adorned the walls. So while you admire the rather elite clientele of this place, you easily forget to take a peek in their kitchen.
In much in the same way works China's front foot PR where only the positives are obsessively publicized while the negatives are swept under the carpet. The Chinese government is using the Olympics to put on table everything positive they want the world to know through a heavy dose of information fed to the media in a manner that doesn't look like state control but pride of the Chinese people. But just like my friend says, 'the trick is to keep the wrap as thin as possible'. A trick the Chinese government has forgotten while serving propaganda.
Foreign journalists are often invited to China by the propaganda department who give out heavy doses of the 'Green' Olympics and China's efforts to curtail pollution and traffic congestion- the hybrid buses, the saplings planted, the eco-friendly Olympic models that use alternate energy resources and the list goes on - too much information, too many promises, too thick a wrap - all difficult to digest.
The worst recorded traffic jam in the capital is two and a half hours to travel 50 meters. Also, Beijing has been the world capital for air pollution for several years. A World Bank report, entitled Cost of Pollution in China, (prepared with the cooperation of the State Environmental Protection Agency) published last year, found up to 760,000 people die prematurely each year in China because of air and water pollution. Also according to the World Bank, 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in China. What about the other cities? All we hear is the efforts and the money China has spent on controlling pollution in Beijing. Perhaps it's a start, but is it enough?
Apparently not! British sports teams will be practising in Macau, Quingdao and Hong Kong instead of Beijing before the Para Olympics and British media believes the reason is to stay away from the polluted city as long as possible. Many Beijing residents are expected to leave the city during the Olympic weeks fearing worse living conditions with the influx of half a million of visitors.
I met Sun Weidi, Deputy Director of the Olympics Games Committee at his office not too far from the venues in Beijing. A smart man with impeccable English, Weidi was quick to skirt any controversial questions on Tibet protests and yet respond to environmental concerns in no time.
"We have holidays for students in Beijing around that time. So some people will be going out on vacation. But its not because of the Olympics," he said followed by a list of government's measures to improve Beijing's environment - converting all public transports to CNG from petrol, planting trees and flower beds along the road, moving industries out of the city, demolishing old hutongs for new constructions and teaching the city not just to speak English but etiquettes important to host a global audience.
"We have taught English to over five million people in Beijing, most of them taxi drivers, hotel staff and shop keepers," Weidi proudly said. Although every cabbie I encountered spoke only Mandarin, they were really helpful and made every attempt to bridge the language divide.
Like when I had to go to the CCTV feed point to do a live report on the earthquake, the address I had was far from complete, even its Chinese translation was confusing. And while I sat in the back seat worried if I'd make it on time, my cabbie had to leave the taxi four times to ask for directions. He did it all with a smile and dropped me off at the correct address and I reached 40 minutes before schedule.
On another occasion, after taking me to my destination, the cabbie asked me to call up my friend whom he spoke to in Chinese to reconfirm the location. Then in sign language he explained which building I should enter next. So most Chinese may not know English, but I was impressed with their mannerisms and concern for a foreigner.
Visiting the Olympic venues definitely gives a high - the Bird's nest, the Aqua Cube, the Torch tower and of course the other structures like the CCTV building and the Egg - largest auditorium that takes your breath away on a beautiful starry night with its reflection in the surrounding water. Not to mention Beijing airport, the largest in the world.
These monolithic gigantic structures that boast of some of the best architectural designs and work on renewable energy principals symbolize Beijing's Green Olympics and should be appreciated but one can't ignore the heavy smog that engulfs these structures because of high air pollution.
When such issues are written about in the foreign press, China calls it an attempt to sabotage the Olympics. Interestingly the authorities in China have always told me that they welcome the foreign media with open arms. "Foreign media is free to report here. You should have no problems," said Zhu Yinghua, Director, All China Journalist Association during our discussions over traditional Chinese dinner one evening. True enough, I had no problems reporting on the Sichuan earthquake from Beijing without Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) permits.
But some foreign journalists reporting from Sichuan said their tapes were taken away by the Peoples Liberation Army and their FAO permits seized. Nevertheless the earthquake saw the government give more access to the foreign media than ever before. Yet, we know the foreign press will be closely monitored during the Olympics and every word we say or write may have repercussions.
During my recent travels in the United States and China, it was highly evident that China is extremely nervous on the Tibet issue and the Dafur controversy and the world is nervous about China building its navy in the South China Sea- a relationship that is based on mutual distrust and suspicion. Experts expect more to happen off field than in the stadiums during the Olympics.
Why else is the ratio of security personnel to expected foreign visitors 1:1? Visas have been tightened and the latest restrictions come in the form of a rulebook for foreigners attending the Olympics. The 57-point Q&A format booklet, so far issued only in Chinese, shows how China plans to rein the foreigners.
The rulebook prohibits entry of 'those who are believed to potentially engage in other activities that may harm the national security and interests' and explicitly says that 'not all parts of China are presently open to foreigners'. This could keep most Indians and Nepalis out of Beijing. A journalist friend from Nepal had to undergo rigorous checks at the airport immigration while his laptop was scrutinized for any content on Tibet before he was let off. With Dalai Lama living in India, China expects trouble from his Indian supporters too. During the Olympics such checks would take longer and dig deeper.
Another rule says that 'to hold a rally, demonstration, or protest, one must apply to do so at the Public Security Office in accordance with law,' - A permit from the government to protest against the government? Good luck with that! And according to an article in Time magazine, broadcasters have been denied permits to film advance aerials of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. So much for press freedom!
Also among the rules is a ban on 'display and use of insulting slogans, religious, political or ethnic slogans and banners', obviously to prevent any political activism but its ambiguity could pose a real challenge to free speech.
Interestingly, the Beijing Etiquette Academy has designed a series of hand gestures and appreciative slogans for spectators - all duly approved by the ruling Communist party and Olympic Games organisers, and recently unveiled in the state media.
A four step procedure, it involves clapping twice, giving the thumbs-up, clapping twice more and then punching the air with both arms accompanied by chants of "Olympics", "Go", "China" and "Go".
The Beijing Olympic Organising Committee has hired 30 cheering squads and Ministry of Education is training 800,000 school students who will show spectators how to do it in a 'smooth civilized manner'.
No doubt, these rules have been written to curb free speech and free media in China but will it succeed? International media is now too intelligent with a wider global reach, and loves to dig up deep and perhaps too desperate for an objective and balanced content. China needs to understand that the international press is not out to get them. I saw China's efforts post Sichuan earthquake up close and was very impressed with the government's response. So were many other foreign journalists. China was applauded by the international press.
China just needs to accept the reality, admit to its shortcomings and be more open to discuss its policies in conflict areas for the international community to acknowledge its efforts today and appreciate them. It needs to remove restrictions, be transparent, respond to queries and have free flow of information like it did during the Sichuan quake.
Until China loses its holier-than-thou attitude for the Olympics, it will be a battle between China's propaganda machine and the International free press.
So grab the front row seats and enjoy Beijing Olympics 2008 the state defined way!
URL:
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/showcolumns.aspx?id=COLEN20080053272
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