Everybody's watching
As the world eyes China, the Olympic host will be scrutinizing, too
You know the world is changing, right? Check it out: The world's tallest building is in Taipei, the largest passenger airplane is built in Europe, the largest investment fund is in Abu Dhabi, the biggest movie industry is in ''Bollywood'' (India), not Hollywood.
This comes courtesy of Fareed Zakaria's recent Newsweek excerpt from his important new book The Post-American World: ''The largest Ferris wheel is in Singapore. The largest casino is in Macao, which overtook Las Vegas in gambling revenues last year. America no longer dominates even its favorite sport, shopping. The Mall of America in Minnesota once boasted that it was the largest shopping mall in the world. Today it wouldn't make the top 10. In the most recent rankings, only two of the world's 10 richest people are American.''
(AP)
(Chris Sweda/Sun-Times)
As Zakaria sum ups, while we perennial and insulated fat cats argue over why other cultures and nations ''hate us, 'they' have moved on, and are now far more interested in other, more dynamic parts of the world.''
Hello, China.
The sleeping dragon is awake, and with its 1.3 billion people (93 million of whom, by the way, are named Wang) -- more than four times the population of the United States -- it has embraced the wonders of our native religion, capitalism, and worships the economic profit system like a new god.
But with this newfound wealth and power, China has discovered the need to protect its interests, to keep its repressive government in authority and -- like every ruling class since time immemorial -- to stop dissidents from interrupting the party.
The rest of the world -- OK, the United States -- is about to find out what China is really like once the Summer Olympics begin 52 days from now on Aug. 8.
To start with, we will learn that 8-8-08 has deep significance for the Chinese, with many sacred events set to occur on that date with its culturally ''lucky'' numbers.
Then we will find out what government control means when it does not have the buffering filter of a democratic nation like ours, since the United States has a sacred constitution and a feisty populace that theoretically can force leaders to do what is right and free.
China has a history of seclusion and monarchy, and can pretty much do with its people what it wants.
But for that to happen, it must control information -- news descriptions, language, images, communication between rebellious or disillusioned citizens, temptations from outside instigators and, perhaps most important, access to the realities of everyday hardships for the oppressed.
And there are plenty of oppressed in China.
Current estimates are that 130 million migrants, low-paid and virtually without rights, are roaming the country and trying to find work.
According to a lengthy, sobering article in the May 29 issue of Rolling Stone, written by international political and security expert Naomi Klein and titled ''China's All-Seeing Eye,'' ''By 2025, it is projected that this 'floating' population will swell to more than 350 million.'' More than the populace of the United States.
You would not want this ragged group coming after your power structure, organized and angry.
So the Chinese are building the most extensive ''Big Brother'' system of spying on its own citizenry that has been created in these new technological times.
To protect this capitalist/ communistic hybrid thing, sometimes called ''market Stalinism,'' China is creating what Klein calls ''a vast social experiment'' that consists of government snooping and control of all forms, much of it springing from propaganda, surveillance, personal ID cards and an ocean of spy cameras.
Snooping lenses everywhere.
Which Western journalists soon will be staring at, if they even can detect the zooming eyes.
But that is not all.
''The security cameras are just one part of a much broader high-tech surveillance and censorship program known in China as 'Golden Shield,''' Klein writes. ''The end goal is to use the latest people-tracking technology -- thoughtfully provided by American giants like IBM, Honeywell and General Electric -- to create an airtight consumer cocoon: a place where Visa cards, Adidas sneakers, China Mobile cell phones, McDonald's Happy Meals, Tsingtao beer and UPS delivery (to name just a few of the official sponsors of the Beijing Olympics) can be enjoyed under the unblinking eye of the state, without the threat of democracy breaking out.''
But don't get all high and mighty over this affront to human independence.
The United States is not far away from -- or behind -- China in these matters.
Microsoft, Google, Honeywell, Yahoo, Cisco and other U.S. techno giants all have contributed to the Internet repression going on in that country, either through sales of products or, in Google's case, by building a special Chinese search engine that blocks politically unfavorable information.
Chicago itself, under Mayor Daley's guidance, is now one of the most camera-laden cities in the Western hemisphere.
Of course, it's all done for our own good, to stop crime and nail the bad guys who would disturb the delicate social fabric of our happy country.
That's what they say in China, too.