Will the world regret the Beijing Olympics?

Last month, I wondered whether the Chinese government would regret hosting the Summer Olympics. All manner of interest groups are now using the global spectacle of the Olympics to air their grievances, with the Chinese government itself the most frequent target.

Now the inevitable nationalist backlash among Chinese everywhere is beginning. Western activists, especially those unfamiliar with modern Chinese culture, will soon be stunned to learn that xenophobic nationalism, a concept long since expunged from polite Western circles, lives on stronger than ever in much of the developing world. Such nationalistic impulses can be especially dangerous when they rage through the body of an adolescent society such as today’s China.

Anecdotes from the recent news illustrate the Chinese nationalist backlash:

1) A producer for NBC News in Beijing described the harassment Western journalists began receiving in response to the global media’s coverage of events in Tibet.

2) Chinese students have attempted to organize a boycott of Western retailers in China.

3) Chinese students at U.S. universities have risen up to defend their country, organizing counter-protests against pro-Tibet groups and others.

4) Anticipating a wave of visitors to China for the Olympics, the government instructed Chinese citizens to demonstrate hospitality. But with the backlash simmering, hostility to foreign visitors may become the norm.

This sudden display of grassroots xenophobic nationalism will likely be jarring for Westerns, especially the “progressive” types, to observe. In most places in the Western world, especially in major media markets, overt and non-ironic displays of patriotism have been out of fashion for years. “Progressive” Americans relish the opportunity to find some fault with their society, and have no problem when visiting foreigners add to the chorus. When traveling abroad, an American businessman who receives some hectoring about his country might vocally agree, perhaps stare at his shoes and nod, or just quietly frown and shrug his shoulders.

None of this for today’s Chinese, who many might mistake as living in an earlier century. They haven’t received the memo that nationalism and patriotism are out of fashion. This is not to say that the Chinese don’t have many severe complaints about their country. In this fascinating article from AEI, Mr. Perry Link describes how the Chinese express their bitterness about corruption within an authoritarian society (through poetry and limericks). But that’s their job, the Chinese seem to feel, not the job of foreigners. For today’s Chinese, foreign criticism of China amounts to foreign disrespect for China’s rightful status in the world. For Chinese everywhere, this is unacceptable.

Government leaders are trying to contain this situation. The Chinese government is allowing the Chinese students to vent a little before shooing them back to their dormitories. The French foreign ministry seems to be walking back from its earlier criticism of the Chinese government. And you won’t hear President Bush or Secretary Rice utter a word about Tibet, the Olympics, or any boycotts.

But in today’s world, most of what happens is outside the control of government ministries. All by themselves, Western activists can enrage the Chinese population and harden it against the rest of the world. The Chinese nation has a long tradition of rising up against leaders they believe are too soft with foreigners. The world may yet regret granting China the Summer Olympics.