An Olympic Skeptic Jumps On Beijing's Bandwagon

Last summer, I was walking down a narrow, usually quiet downtown street with my Chinese teacher Yechen. The sidewalks were being torn up, walls were being rebricked, you had to cross over two-by-fours to enter stores. We asked a resting worker what was going on. 'For the Olympics,' he said after chugging some water.

去年夏日某天，我和我的中文老师叶琛（音）在北京城中一条素来安静的小街上漫步，当时那里的人行道正在翻修，墙砖也在重砌，我们不得不挤过一条狭窄的通道方可走进路边的商店。我们问一位正在休息的工人师傅怎么回事，他“咕咚咕咚”喝了些水后说“为了奥运会”。

'What comes after the Olympics?' Yechen wondered aloud. 'The end of the world?'

叶琛大声问到：“奥运会开完了会怎样？难道就是世界末日？”

It has seemed that way around Beijing. Countdown clocks marking the days until the opening ceremony sprinkle the city and the entire, sprawling metropolis has been turned upside down, with scaffolding covering most of the historical sites, roads being repaved, new highways being built, and construction under way at the actual Olympics venues. More and more Games decorations are popping up all over town, often bearing the logo 'One World, One Dream.'

现在的北京似乎就是笼罩在这样一种气氛当中。倒计时钟一刻不停地数着距离奥运会开幕还有多少天，诺大的一个北京城都被搅动了起来：多数古迹都“裹着”脚手架进行维护，旧路在修、新路在建，奥林匹克运动场馆的建设更是热火朝天。越来越多的奥运装饰物出现在全城各处，上面大多都附着北京奥运会的口号“同一个世界，同一个梦想”。

All of this has made me into something of an Olympics skeptic, not the most intelligent tack for a Beijing expat these days -- particularly one who largely makes his living as a sportswriter. It's my nature to push back when I feel something being shoved down my throat. But I'm not too rigid, and I have recently found myself moving away from Olympic skepticism and toward the sort of excitement shared by so many Chinese and expats alike. This shift began after I entered the 'Expats for Olympic Torchbearers' contest, designed to select eight foreigners living in China to participate in the Olympic torch relay. My entry was a lark, but it spurred me to spend a lot of time reading through other postings and contemplating the looming Games.

所有这一切都让我对奥运会多少产生了怀疑，对于我这么个一段时间来都在北京生活、而且主业是体育专栏写作的老外来说，这样的想法也许不太明智。或许是天性使然吧，对于灌输的东西我总是有点抵触。不过，我也不是顽固不化，最近我就发现自己的怀疑已经朝向兴奋转变了，这也让我和亿万中国人、以及很多老外们一样，热切期待奥运的到来。改变要从我参加“在华外国人奥运火炬手”(Expats for Olympic Torchbearers)选拔说起。这项活动的目的是从在华居住的外国人中选出八位火炬手来参加奥运火炬接力。我是抱着好玩的心态参加的，不过我还花了很多时间来阅读其他人的参选宣言，并对这场即将到来的盛会有了深入的思考。

Last week, I traveled to Shanghai to attend a couple of high profile sporting events held during the Chinese Golden Week holiday. I've attended countless professional and college sporting events, but I got my first real taste of flag-waving international competition at the women's World Cup soccer finals. It was much more fun from the stands than it would have been from the press box, where it is against etiquette to show a rooting preference.

在十一黄金周假期里我到上海看了几场高级别的体育比赛。我曾经观摩过不计其数的职业联赛以及大学生比赛，但这次的女足世界杯决赛阶段比赛才让我第一次会到在国际赛事上摇旗呐喊是何等痛快。站着看球要比规规矩矩地坐在记者包厢里有意思的多，因为作为记者表达出个人偏好实在有违职业操守。

We were seated in the American section, seemingly the only island in the packed stadium not cheering for Norway during the consolation game. The anti-American sentiment disturbed me a bit, but it also made it all the more fun to wave flags, chant 'U-S-A,' stomp our feet and scream ourselves hoarse cheering on a crushing 4-1 victory. Even without a clear rooting interest, the final match between Brazil and Germany was also exhilarating. It was easy to imagine a similar event a year from now in Beijing and how exciting it would be to watch two teams battling for gold medals.

那是美国女足和挪威女足争夺第三名的比赛。在满是观众的体育场里，我们落座的“美国区”就像一叶孤岛，为支持挪威队的海洋所包围。周遭的“反美情绪”让我多少有点沮丧，不过这也回报给了我更多的快乐：我们摇旗、跺脚、高喊“美国、美国”直到喊破喉咙，美国队4-1完胜挪威队的结果给我们带来了莫大的欢乐。后来巴西队和德国队之间的决赛也一样激动人心，尽管我们没有明显的个人喜好。不难设想，一年后的北京也会上演相似的一幕，能观看两队的金牌之争该是多么兴奋。

Two days later, we took in the Special Olympics Opening Ceremony, an extremely ambitious show whose grandiosity surprised and pleased me. It seemed obvious that China was rehearsing for next year. While the World Cup illustrated the nationalistic fervor of international sports events, the Special Olympics highlighted international brotherhood and what it feels like to be wowed by spectacle in a packed stadium. The entire city of Shanghai seemed to embrace the event, with signs urging citizens to welcome visitors all over town, and every cab driver wearing Special Olympics T shirts.

两天后，我们参加了特奥会的开幕式。我喜欢开幕式的表演，其规模之宏大出乎我的意料。很明显，中国似乎是在为明年的奥运会进行彩排。如果说世界杯凸现出了人们在国际比赛时的民族情结，那么特奥会强调的却是各国人民间的友谊，这一点从体育馆坐无虚席的场景中就能感受得到。整个上海市都在融入了这场盛会，敦促市民欢迎访客的标语随处可见，出租司机也都换上了为特奥会特制的T恤衫。

I returned to Beijing, more excited about the Olympics -- and about the torchbearers' contest, which provides an interesting window into the expat world in China as well as a revealing glimpse into both human nature and the Chinese version of democracy; the mere act of having open elections here should be significant. Except that it's not really an election at all.

Alan的女儿安娜和她在北京的朋友埃玛我回到北京，带着对奥运会以及火炬手选拔活动的更多热忱。这项活动打开了一扇窗，通过它人们可以了解在华生活的外国人、可以 会共存于天性当中的东西，而且我们也藉此洞悉到了中式民主。在中国，如此一次小小的公开选举应当具有重要意义，只可惜它还算不上一场真正的选举。

Even most entrants seem to believe that the eight torchbearers will be those who receive the most votes, judging by the emails, Web sites and Facebook groups soliciting votes. But the fine print tells a different story: 'A selection committee will pick 100 candidates who will be chosen according to the number of votes they receive, as well as their experiences and qualifications. The selection committee will determine the final eight Olympic torchbearers.' [The italics are mine.]

绝大多数参选老外都相信当选火炬手应是得票最多的前八人。为此，他们使出浑身解数使用邮件、网站和Facebook四处拉票。但精美的印刷品却讲述了另一故事：“选拔委员会将根据得票数、以及他们的经历和资质选出100名候选人；并由这个选举委员会确定最终当选的八位火炬手”。（斜体为笔者所加。）

Perhaps it's good that the contest is not a straight-forward election since allegations of cheating are widespread. The day after registering, I sent out a mass email scrounging for votes. One Chinese and one expat friend each quickly asked if I wanted them to rig a computer to continuously cast votes for me.

鉴于有关选拔作弊的传言已流传甚广，采取间接选举的方式未必不是好事一桩。注册当天我群发了一封邮件拉票，马上就有一位中国朋友和一位在华居住的老外朋友问我要不要设置一台电脑不停地给我投票。

I declined, but others may not have been so honest. One diplomat in Beijing signed up right before me. One day he had about 75 votes and I had about 200. The next day I had about 300 -- and he had over 5,000. I wasn't the only one to notice; this was discussed in at least one of the Facebook groups promoting candidacies.

我拒绝了，但其他人是不是也能这么诚实就不得而知了。一位在北京的外交官注册时间略早于我，一开始他有大约75张选票，投给我的大概有200张，但第二天，当我累积了大约300张选票的时候，他的票数竟然一举突破了5000张。这种情况并不是只有我一个人注意到了，Facebook拉票团围绕着这件事至少进行了一次讨论。

Some people crafted lengthy, thoughtful essays for their entries, while others went for pure pandering -- some version of 'I love everything about China and Chinese people.' The single-named Russian beauty Kook merely wrote 'Hi. Hello,' apparently counting on her fetching looks to win votes. Thus far she has almost as many comments begging for a personal email as she does votes.

有的人精雕细琢出了长长的、富有思想的参选美文；有的根本就是刻意迎合，几乎好比是“我热爱与中国和中国人有关的一切一切。”有一位名为Kook的俄罗斯美女仅仅写下了“嗨，你们好”，显然她认为如花美貌就是拉票的制胜法宝。迄今为止，她得到的所有投票后面几乎都带着评论，要求私下和她通信。

I took something of a middle ground. Unaware of how long the contest runs -- until Oct. 14 -- and wanting to get my entry up after pondering it for a couple of weeks, I quickly wrote a few paragraphs and threw it up. Friends promptly told me that my entry was lame. 'You need to talk more about how much you love China,' one wrote. 'Excerpt some columns.'

我则处在中间地带。由于不清楚活动持续时间有多长（现在知道是到10月14日），而且因为考虑参加与否已经花费了几周时间，我匆匆地写了几段话放了上去。朋友们很快就指出我的参选感言不够有说服力，其中一人写道“你应该更多地说你多么热爱中国；弄些你的专栏文章节选吧”。

'You should have posted a picture with your kids,' someone else suggested. They were probably right -- it certainly worked for this guy -- but even if I had thought of it, it seems like a cheap tactic. 'Why don't you have at least 1,000 votes?' wrote another. 'Everyone you know has at least three email addresses and should vote with each of them.'

还有一人建议我应该贴上和孩子们的照片。这可能是对的，显然我这位朋友就很吃这套──可就算我事先想过，我也会认为这种方法太过肤浅。还有人问“你怎么连1000张选票都没捞到？你认识的人至少都有三个邮箱啊，每个都拿来投一票啊”。

Actually, you can only vote once per entry per IP address, though some say they have been able to double-back (I'll admit to trying and failing to do so). The leading vote getter by 50% over anyone else is American Jenny Bowen, who started the Half the Sky Foundation, dedicated to enriching the lives of Chinese orphans, and who has pledged to run with kids from her program. It's easy to understand her appeal.

事实上，每一个IP地址只能投一票，尽管有人说可以做手脚（我承认我试过，但是未遂）。美国人珍妮•鲍恩(Jenny Bowen)赢得了最多的选票，比第二名超出了50%，她创立的半边天基金会(Half the Sky Foundation)致力于改善中国孤儿的生活状况，而且她还在参选宣言中表示要和接受救助的孩子们一起跑完接力。鲍恩受人喜爱的原因一目了然。

Another top vote-getter is my friend and neighbor, Venezualen Deirdre Smyth, a breast cancer survivor with a platform of urging all women to get mammograms at 34 -- the age at which she was diagnosed -- and showing the 'women of the world that the world is a beautiful place to be explored and my conviction that nothing is impossible.' If you can't beat 'em , join'em; I'm pulling for Deirdre.

我的朋友、邻居委内瑞拉人迪尔德•史密斯(Deirdre Smyth)的票数也位居前列。她是个乳腺癌患者，她在参选宣言中呼吁所有妇女都在34岁左右（史密斯发现患病的年龄）进行乳腺X光检查。她说她想告诉所有女士“世界是如此美好，有待你们的发掘；而且我坚信一切皆有可能。”如果你打倒不了她，那就加入她的阵营－－我正在为迪尔德拉票。

As for me, I'm about 12,000 votes behind the leader and over 4,000 behind 8th place, and that's fine. I don't really expect them to pick a journalist. I'm just relieved that my vote total isn't humiliating and happy the process helped bump me firmly onto the Olympics bandwagon. It's a pretty comfortable place to be in Beijing these days.

至于我嘛，我比第一名差12,000票，比第八名少4,000票。没关系。我也不指望组织者真的会找个记者当火炬手的。让我安心的是，我每一张选票都来得清清白白；让我高兴的是，这场活动使我坚定地投身到了奥运筹备的洪流之中。这些日子我在北京过得实在惬意。