China braces for return to normality
Updated
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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