The Beijing Olympics have been declared "truly exceptional".
But after seven years of preparations and a grand event Olympics mania is now
dissipating in the Chinese capital.
Presenter: Amanda Morgan
Speakers: Professor David Kelly, University Of Technology, Sydney; Lo Sze Ping
from Greenpeace; Jeff Ruffolo from the Beijing Olympic Committee
MORGAN: The curtain has fallen on the Beijing Olympics. After seven years of
preparations� and more than two weeks of sporting achievements� Chinese people
are now returning to their normal lives.
BEIJINGER: I think there will be a huge depression emotionally. There will be a
big drop.
BEIJINGER: I believe that Beijing will leave a good impression on the world.
KELLY: They've shown that they can hold a party and invite the neighbours. But
they also had to expose the fact that they are not a democracy and they don't
have open media.
Professor David Kelly from the University of Technology, Sydney lives in
Beijing and is an expert on issues in China.
He says despite the Olympics China is still an unknown quantity.
KELLY: Overall the world still doesn't have a terribly negative view of China.
But it is confronted by uncertainty. We need to know more about China. We need
china to know more about itself and tell us more.
MORGAN: But what is certain is that China made every effort to make these
Olympics unforgettable. To achieve this more money was spent on these Games
than on any other in Olympic history. But Professor David Kelly says this money
could've been used to secure the future of Chinese people.
KELLY: There are now estimates that the total cost of the olympics is in the
region of 30-billion english pounds. This could have paid for a social security
system. Who gets a bang from those bucks? The government. It's easier to put on
a games than it is to change something as fundamental as social security..
MORGAN: Instead Beijingers inherited world-class sports facilities inspiring
architecture an upgraded public transport system and a forest almost twice the
size of Central Park in New York. They also gained cleaner air as authorities
implemented strict pollution control measures, such as shutting down factories
and taking more than a million cars off the roads every day. Lo Sze Ping from
Greenpeace hopes these changes can be maintained.
PING: The challenge is whether these measures will have the political support
to not only keep going, but keep improving. And also to be proliferated beyond
beijing into other Chinese cities.
BEIJINGER: The air quality hasn't been good. But i think the quality of air,
water and the whole environment will improve after the Olympics.
But for many creating a successful Olympics and exposing China as an emerging
political and economic superpower was enough.
BEIJINGER: The future of beijing will be brighter. Beijing and China are known
by the whole world because of the olympics.
BEIJINGER: I think the most important thing is that in the future, China will
have a better position on the international stage. Millions of international
and domestic tourists and athletes visited Beijing for the Olympics.
This Beijinger is happy they're now going home.
BEIJINGER: How can chinese know or learn anything from them while they're all
spending their time in bars and shopping. There's no interaction at all.
Sometimes i just got really annoyed by how ignorant they are and how
stereotyped they are.
But others hope the overseas visitors will leave China with a lasting
impression.
BEIJINGER: The foreigners have enjoyed an interesting experience in china. Now,
after they go home, more and more foreigners will come to China. This is good
for China's future development.
Jeff Ruffolo from the Beijing Olympic Committee agrees.
RUFFOLO: The true legacy of the games for china is the spiritual reawakening of
the soul of a people who've realised their importance on a global stage. And
only the olympiad can do that.
BEIJING: Another legacy of the Beijing Olympics is the venues.
Many were built near universities to ensure their continued use and forever
reminding people about the historic sporting event.
And it seems many Beijing people will only have sport on their mind for some
time.
BEIJINGER: After the Olympics, the focus may be the World Cup.
BEIJINGER: I think more chinese people will start to love sports. I think lots
of people will flush to the venues either to play badminton or football. I'm
pretty optimistic.
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