After watching the amazing job China did of hosting the 2008 Olympics, do you feel a bit intimidated by them?

Question

Especially the Opening ceremonies - it was an awesome display of what Chinese manpower can do.

And, considering China's population (1,320,000,000) is over 4X that of the USA coupled with their growing economic power, do you feel at all intimidated by the nation of China?

Answer 1

China has a rich culture.  That said, China struggled a great deal to pull this off and it was far from their everyday life.  Olympics in LA, Atlanta, Salt Lake City were pretty standard fair for the US.  No, I am not worried by China, that could change, but not right now.

Answer 2

Let's see, lip synching and digitally created fireworks in the opening ceremony.  Yup, that scares me.  Safety of the visitors?  Tell that to the American volleyball coach's inlaws who were stabbed, one fatally.  Funny how a year ago three of their gymnasts were only 14, but I understand how the exact same error can be made three different times.  I also understand how doing a vault in gymnastics where you land on your knees should score as well as a vault where you land on your feet.  I also understand why you should set up designated protest sites over a half hour's drive from the venues, and make people file a mountain of paperwork to protest.  Then you can just arrest them, and not let anybody protest!

I don't think highly of politicizing the Olympics, but there were enough issues with this one and the host nation to raise more than a few eyebrows.  China promised to make some effort on human rights issues in order to secure the games, then they used them as an excuse to drill down even harder on both their citizens AND visitors.  Intimidated?  I just feel a little contemptuous.  Both of their government for doing what they did and for their citizenry to allow it.

Answer 3

Not at all. China is a great country with great people, but they have nothing over Americans! BTW, We still beat them in total medals won!

Answer 4

no, there's was fake and staged. so glad the games are over in China. I didn't watch them for the mere fact that everything was faked and hidden just to make China look good

Answer 5

No, I was impressed it showed the world, how modern China has become after the Mao regime. Seeing Jimmy Page performing live on the closing was a great.

Answer 6

No because we cant always think that we will be the best and most powerful.  Also china was opening their doors to the world in this olympics and when we host the olympics we don't have to show off as much as they do to prove themselves

Answer 7

You mean by forging their own country's passports and expoiting children infront of the world.  OH you must mean how they smack us all in the face and show their human rights are a joke by having these kids compete....

No amount of fireworks and fountains can change that.  Drive 15 miles out and you will find they shut off the water supply to their own country's farms.

The only thing they succeeded in was the safety of their visitors.

Answer 8

Actually i find it embarrassing for their country that they have lip sync thing, because the actual singer was deemed too ugly.  

Answer 9

I was in China for the Olympics (and to visit relatives in Shanghai.)  It was an awesome experience to say the least.  I don't think anyone should feel intimidated, rather they should appreciate the great advances China has made during the past 25 years.  When my mother left China thru Hong Kong 25 years ago most of the country was quite backward.  Although there still are many parts that would be called backward, the progress is astounding.  That progress is what makes the Chinese people the most proud.  A nation that was once destitute and colonized by the west and then Japan has risen to become one that is developing into a modern one that is prosperous.

Over time, I think that the government in China will have to change because the increased prosperity and educational levels of their people will make them demand it.  But for now, most Chinese I met were most interested in economic progress and excited about their country's future.

Answer 10

Yes especially because most of thier money would go to military efforts and not social programs benefiting the people of thier nation.

Answer 11

Why would I feel intimidated?  China has always had a large population and has been a superpower for a long time.  Why would I get scared now?

Answer 12

I feel like no other country will have the same level of perfection in their opening/closing ceremonies.  I don't feel intimidated by them as a nation, but I respect their willingness to show modern China to the whole world.  

Answer 13

i can't figure out why anyone would feel intimidated by something like that. perhaps a feeling of awesomeness

Answer 14

Intimidated?  No....

Answer 15

i dont know if intimidated is the right word to use. They dont really pose a threat to us,. sure they can throw great celebrations and fireworks and all that,. but so can anyone if they have the time and money and desperate need/desire to be #1 in hosting the olympics.

i guess its kinda a vanity / ego issue.

they did a great job it was beautiful and im proud for them.

they will soon take over the world, then it will be them vs india for supremacy.  

Answer 16

the national anthem was lip synched 'cuz the chinese gov't said the singer was too ugly for t.v! the fireworks were pre-recorded and digitally enhanced among other special effects that were added. the gymnast ranged in age from 12-14 not the minimum of 16. if you were impressed by that, and intimidated then i got some ocean front property in arizona, if you buy it i will also show you some genuine sasketchewan seal skin pelts i have for sale.

Answer 17

No, for several reasons. 1)They cant consistently put up the money they spent on the Olympics. 2)It was staged, and finally # 3

Sorry if I get a little rude, here Im just tired of hearing this arguement. Population size has little to do with military capacity. Why arent you worried about India? Look, if both the US and  China pulled every enlisted citizen they have, China would  have ~7 mil, and we would have ~3.4 mil. But that is not factoring in what China considered enlisted, level of training, etc. You should take out ~1.5 million from China, as that is MPs, a size needed to control a population China's size. And who knows what the rest of their paramilitary is made up of, but I can tell you most probably wont be a threat in war. Their paramilitary is almost twice the size of their regular military. If you want to talk regular militaries, then they have us beat by about 700 thousand, But if you want to total that with reserves, we are almost even. And you have 1 guess as to which military has the better average troop and gear.

Answer 18

Not at all. I'm far more intimidated by America's REAL enemies; Barak and Michelle Obama!

Answer 19

Intimidated?  No.  I was more disgusted by the illusion they are trying to feed the world while suppressing human rights!

Answer 20

I personally don't feel that it was so amazing. It's very hard for me to feel that a country that treats it's people like they are nothing, could do anything amazing. What I have seen of China is an AWFUL display of violating human rights. No I am not intimidated at all.

Answer 21

Why feel intimidated?! The Olympics are all about bringing people together... if you are intimidated because of China's power, you missed the point of the Olympics. I mean fearing a countries' skill (for example, the US in basketball) is reasonable--but not because of the countries' background.

Answer 22

Not to deny them credit due but host countries incur huge expense/debt to host the Olympics and often don't recover that investment.  China's is a totalitarian regime and they can make their manpower do all sorts of things through sheer force.  This neither impresses nor intimidates me.  Nuclear weaponry, now that's intimidating.

Answer 23

I heard that Birmingham, Alabama was going to host the Olympics in like 2022 or whatever....

psh... GOOD LUCK WITH THAT.

yeah, the chinese got numbers on their side, definitely. I don't really feel intimidated by them though.... GREAT ceremonies though.

Answer 24

Intimaidation isnt the rite word at all

Its high time all Americans started thinking beyond themsleves and the Japanese

the world has changed irreversibly ..and China is a world leader in many things

among others Watch out for India..they r hosting the 2010 Commonwealth games and dont be surprised if u find urself in New Delhi for the 2016 summer games

Answer 25

Not at all. The Chinese actually care about what others think of them. And so far, they have been a soft power.

Answer 26

Intimidated no. I feel sad for them. They worked so hard to project a perfect image but the cracks showed.

Girls not pretty enough to sing, volunteers with forced smiles, young athletes taken from their homes at young ages, cheating on ages of athletes. Tickets not distributed because they were concerned about demonstrations.

Answer 27

Although China did do an astonishingly good job of hosting the Olympics, the nation has too many issues to deal with before they can overcome the U.S. Their problems (human rights, Taiwan, Tibet, the Sichuan province, population control, the communist govenment, etc.) are much more controversial and larger than the issues the U.S. has to deal with.

I'm not intimidated by China right now, but maybe in 50 years, if the nation gets all of its issues dealt with, then maybe.

Answer 28

I don't recall the exact sum, but they spent several billion dollars on this production - and that's enough money to buy all kinds of intimidation.

Answer 29

China did a great job hosting the Olympics. I think what scares me about China is the fact that they loan lots of money to the US, and practically own our government right now. If they decided to pull the plug on us they could do so in an instant. They also have lots of our currency. If they chose to dump the dollar, it would severely impact our economy. Another issue is that we make practically nothing in this country. If they chose not to make our clothes, we would be naked.

Answer 30

no, actually i mourn for the ones that did not recieve a Gold Medal,

they  probably no longer exist~!

Answer 31

IF you felt intimidated, well i have no words to describe your feelings, cause it will be really bad.

Anyway, all those comments on China being a evil country and boycotting the beijing olympics, well those who do are fools.

Well let me comment on those answers in this thread.

-The Olympic was not staged as Jesses had described it.

-China had improved its economy and the living conditions of many in the past few decades. Many poor places had now became flourished places.

Those who are intimidated or bad mouthing is just because they are jealous. For their country cannot do the same. FOR their country spent more money than China every year into its military.