Big Brother Versus Youtube: Let the Beijing Games Commence

Summary

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For the Chinese people the Olympics are the final proof that China has reclaimed its rightful place in the global premier league; putting behind it two centuries of humiliation at the hands of foreign invaders. For the world outside, the Games are meant to embody an official narrative of China as a 'harmonious society'.

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Big Brother Versus Youtube: Let the Beijing Games Commence

'For years we couldn't wait for the Olympics to start. Now we can't wait for them to be over.' That is how a Chinese friend described the horrible limbo in Beijing as a control-freak state tries to anticipate and eliminate any possible challenges to its glorious coming-out party on the 8th of the 8th, 2008. It is clear to any visitor to the Chinese capital that while China hopes to clean up the medals tables, the sporting contest is at best a sideshow to the real Olympic competition -- the battle to define how China is seen by its citizens and the world outside.

For the Chinese people the Olympics are the final proof that China has reclaimed i...

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