On my last day in Shanghai the Olympic Torch Relay was passing through. While I am no fan of China's One Nation policy or the xenophobia it produces in its citizens (in Wuhan I saw a t-shirt for sale in a normal high street shop that said "China's Voice: Tibet is, was and always will be part of China"). I was interested to see how the locals would react to the torch. In the Chinese media the Olympic Torch Relay is big news and was the top story until the earthquake. I was in Vietnam when the protests in the West took place so I can't comment on the Chinese reaction. The Chinese media present the Chinese people as being madly in love with the torch. I've spoken to a few Chinese people and they all seem very enthusiastic about the torch and the Olympic games.
My experience of the torch relay in Shanghai underlined the country's authoritarianism. There were hundreds of police and army guards on the streets. The streets were closed off and people, whether they were going to work or to school were not allowed to pass. What made the situation particularly daft was that the pavements were quite clear of people and it would have been possible to walk along them but for some reason these were closed by policemen and badge waving officials. It appeared that the pavements had been reserved for school children and young people clad in uniform outfits to cheer the torch. Normal people who had turned out with flags and stickers stuck to themselves apparently did not represent the harmonious society that the authorities wanted to project. The groups of school children were marched off in pairs once the torch had passed. The massive security presence was not to stop protests because there was no one protesting. The police took no interest in me and seemed more intent on making the locals' lives as awkward as possible.
In itself the relay was uneventful and unexciting. A couple of commercial sponsors came through on trucks (Samsung and Coca-Cola) with scantily clad girls dancing. Next was a coach with the relay runners on board who were dropped off at no more than 25 metre intervals. This coach was closely followed by a coach full of army guards. After a while the actual torch appeared. The relay runner ran his alloted 25 metres and set alight to the torch of the next relay runner. The torch was followed by another coach of army guards.
My experience of the torch relay in Shanghai underlined the country's authoritarianism. There were hundreds of police and army guards on the streets. The streets were closed off and people, whether they were going to work or to school were not allowed to pass. What made the situation particularly daft was that the pavements were quite clear of people and it would have been possible to walk along them but for some reason these were closed by policemen and badge waving officials. It appeared that the pavements had been reserved for school children and young people clad in uniform outfits to cheer the torch. Normal people who had turned out with flags and stickers stuck to themselves apparently did not represent the harmonious society that the authorities wanted to project. The groups of school children were marched off in pairs once the torch had passed. The massive security presence was not to stop protests because there was no one protesting. The police took no interest in me and seemed more intent on making the locals' lives as awkward as possible.
In itself the relay was uneventful and unexciting. A couple of commercial sponsors came through on trucks (Samsung and Coca-Cola) with scantily clad girls dancing. Next was a coach with the relay runners on board who were dropped off at no more than 25 metre intervals. This coach was closely followed by a coach full of army guards. After a while the actual torch appeared. The relay runner ran his alloted 25 metres and set alight to the torch of the next relay runner. The torch was followed by another coach of army guards.
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