Wang Zhitong is only 12 years old but thanks to the Beijing 2008 Olympic
education programme, she already has an impressive knowledge of the history and
spirit of the Games.
Beijing has chosen to
mark 800 days to the start of the 2008 Olympics at 8 p.m.May 30,2006.
Eight is a lucky number, normally presenting prosperity,money,and status
in Chinese culture. [newsphoto] |
This week, to mark 800 days until the opening of the Beijing Games, Wang and
her fellow pupils at Jinsong No.4 primary school gathered in their playground to
show off the fruits of the programme to an audience of parents and officials.
Some 1,000 children, dressed in the colours of the five Beijing Games
mascots, sang, ran and chanted with huge enthusiasm under a red banner
declaring: "For the Olympic spirit, to be the best of me".
"Which is the only country in Oceania which has hosted the Olympics?"
bellowed one of the pupils.
"Australia!" came the chorused reply from the massed ranks of children sat
cross-legged in the spring sunshine.
Organisers of the 2008 Games, concerned at ignorance of the Olympics in a
country which returned to the movement only 22 years ago, have rolled out the
programme to 530,000 schools across the country over the last year or so.
As well as teaching the history of the Olympics, the campaign reflects all
the major themes of the Beijing Games, including that of the "Green Olympics".
"There are two points for our students to learn in this programme," said Li
Xuemei, who teaches Class 1 Grade 3 at the school. "First is the sportsmanship
of the athletes, such as going-ahead, fighting and striving until the last
second.
"The other one is how they can contribute to the 2008 Olympics. They can help
protect the environment, save water and electricity, try to help in garbage
recycling and be open and friendly to foreign guests."
Former badminton world champion Dong Jiong, a silver medallist at the 1996
Atlanta Olympics, thought anything which encouraged children to get involved in
exercise had to be good.
"By any means, it's good for kids to know the Olympics and join in sports,"
he told Reuters while watching the display in the Chaoyang district where he
grew up.
"Besides the potential professionals, ordinary children and their parents may
also enjoy good health and the fun that goes with sports."
Also reflected in the campaign is one of the Beijing authorities' major
concerns, that the manners of their citizens will offend the some three million
visitors expected in the City in 2008.
After a colourful but slightly incongruous parade of flag-waving majorettes,
a skate-past of students on roller-blades and a song from a harmonica band, a
young boy took centre-stage with a "Manners Rap".
"Don't spit, don't litter, say please," were among the admonitions in his
unlikely take on hip hop.
OTHER CULTURES
China views the 2008 Games as its coming-out party to the world and the
programme also aims to foster an "international vision" in the students by
educating them about foreign countries and through lessons in English.
Wang, who came top in her class's Olympic quiz, told Reuters after the
pageant that she had particularly enjoyed learning about other cultures.
"We learned lots about the international manners," she said. "I think the
foreigners have good sense of humour. So I tried to read books in English to
improve mine."
China's pride in its own athletes success -- and in gold medals to the
exclusion of baser metals -- was evident, however, when pupils recounted the
country's tally at successive Games from their first in 1984 to the 32 in Athens
a decade later.
"My favourite Chinese athlete is Xu Haifeng, because he made the great
breakthrough of ending the China's zero count of gold medals in Los Angeles
Olympics 1984. He's a hero," said Wang, who was born 10 years after Xu became an
Olympic champion in the 50m pistol shooting.
Much of the display reflected the rote learning that characterises Chinese
education but once Wang had dispensed with her prepared script, she showed a
good understanding of the spirit of the modern Games as espoused by its founder
Pierre de Coubertin.
"Gold medals are not important," she said. "Compared with participation and
friendship, I don't care about the results. I hope all the other countries can
win many golds too."
