Project 119

I feel like a kid who had his present taken away on Christmas Day. I think I'm the last person in the world to learn that the giant's footsteps down Beijing towards the Bird's Nest weren't real. In my defense, our work has pretty much taken up our entire time, so my time on CNN.com has been severely depleted.

I really thought that was one of the cooler parts of the opening ceremonies, and just knowing they weren't real has upset me a bit. I understand the Chinese's explanation for the need for graphics, that it wasn't feasible nor safe for a helicopter to follow the path of fireworks, but it still isn't nice to hear that they made up the whole thing. It just falls into the whole idea that keeps coming into our lives in Beijing, that the Chinese are so obsessed with appearances that they really don't even care if things really are going well. All that matters is that everyone thinks so.

Whether it's dealing with the bureaucracy at the velodrome where everything has to be done a certain way even after it's obvious that it won't work or seeing the TV switch off of a European or American athlete that is winning to show anyone else. It happens all the time. I can see the interviews with a last place Chinese athlete, I mean it's Chinese TV in China, but they will intentionally not show certain athletes if they can get away with it.

These feelings have been with me for a while, but they're coming out now mostly because of what I've learned recently about Project 119. Kelsey heard about it from her mother on recent phone home, and now it's been on all of our minds. Project 119, formed after the Sydney Olympics, is designed to place China atop the medal count for the foreseeable future. The Chinese government funds athletes to do nothing with their time but train to compete in Olympics. Unlike other athletes from traditional Olympic programs, where professional athletes are paid by private leagues or sponsorships, Project 119 brings the government into the course of Olympic athletics.

Project 119 was also specifically designed to win China medals in their non-traditional sports. For the most part, these include track & field, swimming and rowing events that China doesn't win with any kind of regularity. Except, these Olympics are looking to be the time for China to see Project 119 really take effect. China's already taken medals in swimming and rowing, and even with the loss of Liu Xiang to injury, China may still steal some medals in track & field.

PS, I thought the media would blow Liu Xiang's injury out of proportion in relation to its effect on the Chinese populace, but the reaction I saw from the Chinese we work with was very depressing. He's essentially our Michael Phelps, and imagine if Phelps was injured right before his seventh race. That's the feeling these people are feeling. Probably even stronger.

So now that I've had my time on the soapbox, I don't want this to overtake the great things we've experienced in China. Some of our group are extremely critical of the Chinese, and I've been part of some comments about how parts of this society simply do not work, but I do hope that some things will change here. An openness to new ideas would be nice, and perhaps a stop to the need to appear so perfect to everyone, whether in the medal count or just some fake fireworks. I just don't think it will happen.



For more information on Project 119, look at The First Post's article on it at http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/45023,features,chinas-119-olympic-dreams