[Olympics] Mao Olimpico

Dal forum "Strong Nation", un punto di vista cinese sulla cerimonia di apertura…
Before
the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, I made a series of
posts about the views of Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou, and Deng
Xiaoping on sports, and the Olympic Dream of Marshal He Long. The
point of those posts was to note that our country’s top leadership
greatly valued sports, and that China’s magnificent athletic
achievements today are inseparable from the efforts of that earlier
generation of leaders.
…
The opening ceremonies were
dazzling, and I watched them from beginning to end. But there was
regret amid my satisfaction: I felt they valued the past over the
present and lingered on ancient culture and tradition, giving just a
brief nod to modern times. Perhaps, I thought, they were so afraid of
involving sensitive "politics" that even our leaders’
strong support of sports was something they didn’t dare bring up? In
old China, we were bullied by politics and sports faced
discrimination as well. It was only when Chairman Mao and his
generation of revolutionaries led workers and peasants to revolt and
fight against the world that a New China was born and the Chinese
people could stand up, gradually growing strong enough to hold their
heads high on the world stage, taking part in the Olympics, winning
gold medals, and ultimately to fulfilling a century-old dream. This
is a fact that no one, not in any country in the world, is able to
deny. Why can’t we declare this loudly, and with confidence? Could
Confucius have done this? No, Confucius never even dreamt of it; his
greatest function was to do his utmost to protect feudal rule. And
why didn’t they trumpet China’s economic reforms and its opening up
to the world? What were they afraid of? Were they worried that some
of the countries in attendance would resist? Why should we look to
them for cues on how to act? These
are the Beijing Olympics, so they ought to show off the full measure
of Chinese culture and the human spirit, especially in its modern
form: "The East is Red" broadcast from the moon, the
well-clothed and well-fed Chinese people, Chairman Mao’s flourishing
national fitness campaign to "promote sports and improve the
people’s health," how the Sick Man of Asia is gone, never to
return….Without
Chairman Mao, would we be able to relax in the Bird’s Nest or in
front of our TVs to watch the Olympic Games?