Will the Games Fail?

Shanghai Diaries, June 5 by Aric Queen

In his video, Aric says he and many expats hope that the games fail.

I doubt if government will allow the games to "fail", even it it means making it something that Kim Jong-il would be proud of.

I'm sure out of 1.3 billion people, a few could be found to fill the stands.

I read "Foreigners find Beijing becomes a forbidden city before Olympics" in the Globe and Mail today.

I am so so disappointed in how things are falling out. The damage that is being done to China's reputation is subtle (or not so subtle).

They've disrupted the lives of people who are investing more than cash into China - the creative expat sector (Aric gives a good list of who these people are in his video). For China, these people represent better PR than any number of Confucius Institute ever could.

And they're disrupting people who are investing cash into China. Business is going to think long and hard about investing in China when labor is cheaper in India and access to inspecting factories is easier. You'd think in the light of the toy scandals, Beijing would recognize that it needs to be at least seen to be proactive.

And they're disrupting their own people. We've seen the stories about the government moving people to build for the games. National pride and the promise of economic boon were the consolation prizes. Well... now they can't even fill their hotels. Without a flood of tourism, local businesses are going to be more than a little disappointed. It will cost the Chinese business community a lot of money.

People have prepared for the games. They have expectations. Even if the government fills the stands with smiling extras and they get the video footage they covet, everybody will know that they are as naked as the fabled emperor.

UPDATED August 2 Now that the games are around the corner, it is the time to put worries aside and share in this moment with the Chinese. It is my sincere hope that the games will be counted as a success for China. 加油中国! Go Canada! :)