Now that investigations of China's gamine gymnasts are showing up in the AP and on Huffpo, it feels like we're turning the corner on polite journalism about repressive China. NBC did a pretty good report Tuesday night on the faking of the song at the opening ceremonies, the lip-synching the organizers set up because the singer wasn't cute enough and they wanted a pretty girl on global TV. Hateful behavior. Makes me wonder about ideas of individuality in Chinese culture. The same night NBC's Ian Williams did a beautiful piece of journalism from Sichuan Province, on the anger and desolation of parents who lost children in schools that crumbled, and the government's failure to account for the bad construction. He showed government workers bricking up the death scenes, showed a hapless mother wandering the face of the earth. NPR did an OK report last night on the obviously under-age gymnasts. Only OK because the gymnastics expert was allowed to say that It's impossible to enforce the age minimum. Why? Melissa Bloch didn't pursue this issue. There must be a way to enforce the rules here. The selection and training of young Chinese athletes, which China wants to show off, is cruel and destructive. It seems like the journalism's finally getting at the underbelly of the Olympics, the repressive social structure, the pressure on individuals to fit in. Sound stereotypical? Yes: but some of the Chinese athletes have given the lie to that. They've been real, animated, joyous, like the amazing male gymnast who took gold last night. Don't ask me his name now.
