Faster, higher, stronger -- but not yet perfect

I am pro-China.

It’s hard for me to say that above a whisper and without looking over my shoulder because it is very popular to hate China right now in the U.S.

I support human rights. I do not support genocide. Despite spending many summers in Berkeley, I am not a communist. Our environment’s health is important to me.

The Race Club is a swimming organization I founded that assembles elite swimmers from around the world to live and train together. When you have every race and religious belief living together as a team you gain outside perspective on many issues.

As a citizen of the United States I don’t like to be judged by our country’s foreign policy, administration, product consumption, social welfare, healthcare, or any other one issue, whether I support it or not. How short-sighted, I thought, for anyone to judge you or me on any one issue that you or I have very little at most to do with.

The surge of anti-China sentiment usually revolves around one or two issues. My plea is that we stay focused with our disputes.

If you have an issue with the Chinese government and its handling of Tibet, don’t take it out on the Olympic Games or the athletes representing all the other countries in the world.

China is a great country full of great, proud, hard-working, hospitable people.

In Olympic sports, it is the pursuit of perfection that drives the athlete. Sports is about striving to be better, about getting closer to perfection. Just be better than everyone else and you win. You don’t need to be perfect.

In anything involving the human race, there isn’t going to be perfection. China is not perfect. Nor are the United States, any other nation or any given person.

When it comes to government, I am pro-democracy. Do I think our system is perfect? No. We are a long way off, and that is OK, as long as we are striving to be better.

Everyone has been talking for a long time about how these Olympic Games are supposed to be China’s coming out party. So many people have expected China to use these games as a platform to demonstrate its power. We expected propaganda, and some even expected the political fervor that surrounded the 1936 Berlin Games.

But if anyone is using the Olympic Games as a political platform, it has been the groups that oppose China’s policies. Because China is hosting the Games we all are much more aware of the flaws in Chinese policy on the environment, Tibet and Darfur.

It seems to be OK for those opposed to a given Chinese policy to politicize the Olympics. But woe to China if it uses the Games to promote some of the more positive things it is accomplishing.

Let’s back off China a little bit. So far China and the Chinese people have worked really hard to put on the best Olympic Games ever. They won’t be perfect, but these Olympic Games are shaping up to be better than any other.

And that is something worth cheering for.

-- Gary Hall Jr.

Photo: Ribbon dancers give an enthusiastic performance at the Tiananmen Gate on Wednesday as they await the arrival of Yao Ming and the Olympic torch relay. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

Inspired by Diabetes is a global campaign that encourages people touched by diabetes to share their stories with others around the world. The program is a collaboration between Eli Lilly and Co. and the International Diabetes Federation’s Unite for Diabetes initiative. In the U.S., the American Diabetes Assn. is the program’s national advocate. For more information, visit inspiredbydiabetes.com

Comments

[Richard Chen]

Hey, you're supposed to be a jock! That was very well thought out and expressed.

[Thomas]

Gary,
If your father and mother and brother were put in JAIL or killed by a 'swim meet organizer' because they spoke out against something he was doing to hurt innocent people,
would YOU then go to the swim meet and participate and say NOTHING
about the injustice the 'swim meet organizer' did to your family ????

Or is this article spouting a bunch of HYPOCRITICAL BS !!
And then to say "let's back off China a little bit ???!!! "

I wish liberal socialists like you would be forced to live under a few DICTATORS for a few months so you learn WHY the term 'Freedom is worth fighting for' EXISTS.. and begin to understand WHY some people give their LIVES fighting for the freedoms you don't deserve.

Gary,
please don't ever wear the red-white-and blue in public anymore,, you don't deserve it.

[Bo Jia]

Thank God for the free press that allows for a different opinion, one that is even-handed about China! Xiexie, Gary Hall.

[freedom]

Gary Hall Jr.:
I cannot fathom how you can claim to be a supporter of human rights and go on to support china at the same time. You believe that the olympics should not be used as a political platform yet you fail to recognize that teh chinese government is doing exactly what it accuses Tibet, Darfur...supporters of doing. You are so unbelievably naive if you think that China is not using the Olympics to further their political agenda. I think you have truly misunderstood why people are outraged with the way China has and still is treating Tibetans, Uighurs, human rights advocates etc... It's absurd for you to claim that you do not support genocide but still you go on to accuse the groups who oppose china's policies of using the olympics as a political platform. What the chinese government is doing to tibetans and Uighurs in their homeland is genocide! As the Chinese government continues to silence Tibetans and make them a minority in their own homeland through systematic and carefully planned policies should be an outrage to all freedom loving peoples.

[Ray]

Kudos to Gary Hall, Jr, for distancing himself from the many party crashers who have descended upon Beijing. Olympics spirits are alive and well, thanks to people like Mr. Hall.

[Gary Hall Jr.]

I'm sorry that some people aren't able to differentiate government and people. It is fundamentally wrong to attack China and all of it's people because of the actions of it's government. It is wrong to attack the Olympic Games, all the athletes and all the Games stand for because of the actions of the Chinese government. I have been to China and the trip made me appreciate the freedoms that the United States affords all of it's citizens BUT, the Chinese people were kind, respectful and courteous. When you attack China you attack these people too.

Stay focused with your disputes, please.

[Gary Hall Jr.]

I'm sorry that some people aren't able to differentiate government and people. It is fundamentally wrong to attack China and all of it's people because of the actions of it's government. It is wrong to attack the Olympic Games, all the athletes and all the Games stand for because of the actions of the Chinese government. I have been to China and the trip made me appreciate the freedoms that the United States affords all of it's citizens BUT, the Chinese people were kind, respectful and courteous. When you attack China you attack these people too.

Stay focused with your disputes, please.

[Fairness]

China should fight for their freedoms in Iraq, because Iraq did not allow the Chinese to have all their freedom in China. Oops, because of Iraq, Americans lost their freedom, so they have to go all the way to Iraq to fight so Americans can have freedom across the Atlantic ocean. But what freedom did American lose because of Iraq anyway??? "FREEDOM", a word blown out of proportion and used as an excuse to invade another country that Americans don't like.
What freedom does Americans lose if we don't invade Iraq?

[Ben Pearl, DPM]

Gary Hall Jr. got to where he is because he believed in an ideal. When he developed diabetes he did not hang up his swimming goggles and give up. He formed his race club in part as a concept to break down barriers between individuals, some of whom don't have the full freedoms we have to express ourselves. I did not take out of this article that Gary is condoning the despicable
human rights violations that continue to occur to in Tibet and Darfur nor would I characterize someone who has fought as hard as he has for a level playing field in sports as a naive. This is not in keeping with the type of person who at times has talked to someone at 2:00 in the morning to help someone cope with a new diagnosis of diabetes. He has chosen to try to make a small dent in the barriers he recognizes by bringing people together. Last time I checked this is what being an American is all about.

[JPS]

Thanks to Gary Hall for saying something which I think needed to be said and which is not seen much in the media right now.

I agree. As someone whose wife is originally from Beijing and who has been to China many times, the attitude I've seen from a lot of people critical of China of late is extremely ignorant, hypocritical and self-serving, not to mention amazingly insulting to the many Chinese people who indeed do not deserve it.

Are there major issues in China ? Certainly there are and pressure should continue to be put towards real improvement. But there is a time and place for demonstrations and protests etc. and IMO that time is rapidly dwindling, albeit for a short time while the games are in progress.

To those who see the games as an opportunity to disrupt the event and ruin the work of multitudes of people in the name of their pet cause. I say grow up and look at the bigger picture. Despite what many may assume, China HAS made great strides already in terms of personal freedoms and is slowly on a path toward more in the future. Trying to disrupt the games, embarrass the hosts and insulting the people of China will not hasten this process, if anything it could poison what is currently a large amount of good-will that most Chinese people have for Americans.

This is a big opportunity for China to show the world how far they've come. But it's also an opportunity IMO for the West to extend a hand toward China and to form a more lasting friendship which will help pave the way for greater cooperation etc. The way I see it, China is largely holding up to their end of the bargain. The West is the one on the verge of blowing their golden opportunity.

Jon

PS to the person who talked about if their relatives were imprisoned etc. how would you feel. While I can empathize with your point of view and agree that the Chinese government is in the wrong in many instances and needs to improve, the same could be said for a lot of places.

How would Americans feel if they hosted the biggest and most important Olympics in their nation's history and someplace like Russia or China threatened to boycott and disrupt the games and embarrass its people because the US Judicial system is biased against blacks and that there are cases of innocent people in US prisons ? How would US citizens feel if an athlete from a different country walked off the airplane in New York City wearing a flak jacket because they heard of all the violence in American cities ?

While I think most American's would recognize that the US is not perfect and there are issues to be dealt with, I think they'd take offense to an outsider making ignorant assumptions and conclusions based on particular aspects of American culture without seeing the broader context. Beyond that I think they'd be offended that someone who lived outside the country would try to dictate to them how their society should be etc.

This is the exact type of response that I believe most Chinese would have toward Westerners intent on disrupting the games because of political differences they have with the Chinese government or to people like the US cyclists who showed up at the Beijing airport wearing face masks. It's rude, insulting and counterproductive to boot.

I would hope that we as ambassadors of America could do better and could show a little class.

Again, thanks to Gary Hall for saying what I think needed to be said.

Jon

[theSander]

Hey Gary.
In this matter I agree with you completely. The olympics is for the people by the people, and most importantly for the athletes by the athletes. It is not about political questions or the countries governmental issues.

Sure, China is not a perfect society in any way, but which country is? As the war in Iraq is still raging on, a war many felt was not justified, Americans are clearly not the right people to start throwing rocks at other countries. When we talk about peoples right, what about Guantanamo? I guess many people should appose olympics in the US as well, because of the death penalty and other political (ethical) questions?

Very few countries have a spotless reputation politically, and this should not be a criteria in the selection of Olympic City, as long as the country is recognised by the world as a state.

I think this will be a great olympics, and a different olympics. Lets have fun watching.

[M. Bear]

Bravo, Gary Hall! One voice out of a million that is not condemning everything Chinese.

[LZ]

Thanks Gary for being a voice of moderation in a sea of extreme jingoism, aggressive self-moralizing, and super anti-China sensationalism. It seems that a lot of people have perfected the art of pointing fingers and have forgotten to look themselves in the mirror. It is a shame that rational voice like yours is very rare and hard to come by.

[mad]

If anyone has ever been to an Olympic Games, either as a spectator or as an athlete, then he/she would understand the importance of this article. For me, the Olympics is about the world uniting on a level playing field, competing against one another with respect. All politics aside, it is the time for athletes to shine and often times it is their ONLY chance for the recognition that they very much deserve. It's a time to forget about wars around the world because it's not about that, it's about the athletes representing us as a people, and I think Gary understands that more than anyone.

Gary, thanks for your perspective.

[Stan]

I admire Gary Hall for his courage to speak out in the midst of herd mentality and media frenzy against China. Just about every report has been negative, overt or implicit.

No one should defend the abuse of human right. However, China has made much progress in recent years (think of the old China under Mao--zero liberty and zero personal freedom ). Attempts to disrupt the Olympics for which the entire Chinese nation has worked so hard to prepare and is so proud to host is simply counter productive (and to the Chinese, condescending and insulting).

One must remember that china is still a poor and overpopulated country. Its per capita income, according to CIA-The world Fact Book (on-line), is $5000. In the United States, it is $46,000. China has numerous problems as a developing country, including severe pollution in the cities (despite their tremendous effort to improve the air around Beijing for the Olympics). But even in this regard, China only consumes about 7% of the global energy with 1.3 billion people while the United States consumes 25% with a population of only 300 million). I wonder how we would behave if we in America had the same kind of problems. In addition, they are fearfl of possible national chaos and civil war which were endemic until 1949.

China has been humiliated and victimized by foreign powers (including the United States), after the 1838 Opium War in which the British forced China to open ports and accept opium trade. There is extreme resentment among ordinary Chinese and deep national yearning for not being dominated and oppressed by foreign countries ever again. "Never forget our national humiliation" was a phrase embedded in Chinese mentality ever since the early 1900's.

The Chinese anthem, composed in the early 1930's after Japan invaded China, begin with the words of "Stand-up...people who are not willing to be slaves ... we Chinese people...rise up, rise up...". I think we Americans would feel the same if we had similar history of foreign invasion and humiliation.

Let us further reverse the roles. Suppose we are poor, overpopulated, but trying to make progress, while the Chinese are rich and powerful. For the past eight years we have been making gigantic efforts to be the host of a summer Olympics. In the meantime, the Chinese choose to incessantly criticize and chide us, raise issues in an arrogant and condescending manner. How would we feel? Shouldn't the Chinese treat us better, without being constantly negative?

While we are at it, perhaps I should mention the subject of democracy. We all love democracy. Despite many flaws, it is still the best system we have. We want the Chinese to be more democratic. But do we want to impose it on them at this time? Perhaps they are simply not ready yet? Perhaps they should develop their economy first and then evolve and improve their political system, without causing chaos? Perhaps we should try not to be overbearing, imposing, and self-righteous (especially from their point of view)?

The writng,"China:Humilation and the Olympics" by Orville Schell, published in the current New York Review of Books, is very educational and enlightening. Perhaps we should all read it.

[Gary Hall Jr.]

Capitalism is the seed of Democracy.

[prestonv]

Hey Gary:

A few points and questions:

1) The Chinese government is evil. Any government that forces a person to have an abortion cannot be called anything but evil.
2) The Olympics are a show put on by the (evil) Chinese government.
3) What does it say about a people that allows their government to behave in such an evil way?
4) What is wrong about allowing the Olympic games to continue BUT also using it as an opportunity to embarrass and shame the evil Chinese government ... I think this is what Jesus would do.

I think the responsible thing to do is to use the games as an opportunity to shame the Chinese government for their behaviour ... but let the games continue. The Olympic games and politics are forever entwined. To think otherwise is just plain naive.

What do you think?

prestonv