2008 Beijing Games Human Rights News

Foreigners are welcome in China but only as long as they help to infuse hearts with patriotic pride.

Zimbabwe’s embarrassing President Robert Mugabe, for example, was forced to fly back to Harare yesterday despite being a loyal ally. It seems the authorities decided that allowing such a notoriously brutal despot into the “Bird’s Nest” for the opening ceremony would cause as much “loss of face” as the presence of ordinary human rights activist. The Sydney Morning Herald said it had been told it took an enormous amount of persuasion to get Mugabe to return to his “starving billionaires.” Mugabe’s straight-faced spokesman nonetheless insisted that “Comrade Bob” attached “too much importance” to the talks under way with the opposition to stay in Hong Kong. Impatience is second nature for him, it seems.

The presence of Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho, on the other hand, has set hearts fluttering in China, and not just in the ordinary public. The Shenyang Evening News organised a ceremony for Ronaldinho and his legendary trainer “Dunga” that was steeped in enthusiasm and patriotic fervour. In its account of the event, the website Danwei.org shows how the Middle Kingdom is delighted to be at the centre of the world and can even find reasons to be proud in a visit from a well-known footballer.

Meanwhile, ordinary foreigners, those who are not celebrities or dictators, are being welcomed in Beijing with permanent surveillance. Radio Free Asia reports that microphones are to be placed in the capital’s taxis, enabling indiscreet but politically educated ears to learn everything that is said in these rolling confessionals. For those who cannot afford to take taxis, there are the little old men on the neighbourhood public benches with red armbands. According to writer Jen Lin-Liu in the New York Times on 4 August, they have been given the job of watching out for “suspicious activity” in places frequented by western visitors.