Chinese Paper: Olympics Are Over, China Has Won

With 43 gold medals under its belt, China's Olympic team seems to have a lock on the top position of the medal table, and the country's newspapers are declaring victory even before the Games have closed.

Today's Life News ran with "43:26, it is settled" as the top headline, implying that China has already defeated the US in the medal race. Dongguan Times printed a big number 43 on today's front page along with the caption "China is not confused."

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More at the Huffington Post Olympics big news page

Comments

[gmlaster]

...and now the stripping begins. Now remember China, NO WHINING!

[ezbreezer]

The Chinese Olympic team uses the old E.German team model to achieve victory. It ain't cheatin' less ya get caught.
Sadly, this could be the mantra for most teams.

[Pompeii]

A mantra that the USA of course would never adopt. Except for Marion Jones. And Justin Gatlin. And an entire 2000 relay team. And Maurice Green. And... hey, folks, move along, nothing to see here.

[IAmYourDad]

Also, if you get second, whine till you get 1st.

[firelord5000]

Lol @ China. Some of those gold medals will be getting stripped with all them underage gymnasts. Chinese are buncha cheaters, while they may win the gold medals, majority of them in sports requiring judges, every 1 knows that total count will belong to US, as will the biggest story of Olympics, ie Michael Phelps. Sorry China, this was the Michael Phelps show.

[chinationreport]

After Michael Phelps show, here comes his mother's show. She will endorse JNJ baby powder on the closing ceremony and plus this endorsement:
http://www.chinationreport.com/phelpsfirstendorsement.html

[Pompeii]

Nobody cares about total medals, firelord5000, the official IOC rankings are based on gold medals-- always have been, and that's the way the entire world reports it, as the international standard. The rest of the world is laughing at us, right now, for trying to do it differently. Obviously, for any athlete, the gold medal is held in vastly higher esteem than the silver or bronze, which is why athletes are often so disappointed if they miss the gold-- including the USA. Would Michael Phelps be getting so much attention if he'd won 9 bronzes as opposed to 8 golds? In any sport, the rankings are based on # of wins, not 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th-place finishes. In fact, USA media also used to report the rankings by gold medals prior to 2004.

And no, it wasn't "the Michael Phelps show." If anything, as far as individual Olympians go, it's mainly been the Usain Bolt show. And the entire world is pointing out how China has won these Olympics. Hate to burst your fragile bubble.

[MMeier25]

The media is painting an inaccurate picture of these games. Always telling the viewer how modern and sophisticated China is becoming, while China is failing to provide the most basic function of the games, a place to allow athletes to compete. Many Track and Field events were cancelled this week due to rain. Any new stadium in a rainy US city would have a retractable roof. If China really wanted to prove to the world their place as a a emerging power, they could have at least given the Olympic athletes a dry stadium to compete in.

[SLCPunk]

Pfft, whatever.

Win with dignity, lose with dignity...even if the other guy's cheating. That's what made us better. But Georgie's instituted a win at all costs mentality that's being picked up in all segments of our society (media, sports, business). Be secretive, lie, cheat. Nothing else matters but winning. Alas, the Chinese just have more practice. We'll get there, though.

Interesting that they come out with this now as the treasure trove that is subjectively scored sports has ended. All that's left are team sports and sports the Chinese traditionally suck at (i.e. track and field). They declared victory and that's that. Game(s) over. Sounds like election 2000.

[eugenegerard]

It's just a bunch of games.

[gmlaster]

Not to the kids who spent years of their lives preparing for them, only to be cheated out of their rightful medals.

[xtiangodloki]

As an American I feel odd that so many people here are upset at China and are desperately digging every piece of negative news about China so they can feel better about themselves. How pathetic can you get?

Bashing-China doesn't help America win more gold, nor does it change China's standings. Acting like a sore loser make you look like an idiot and no one else. If you want American sports to be stronger, how about actually pretending to care about sports outside of football, basketball, and baseball? America's obesity rates have tripled in the last 20 years. For many sports we had to import foreign born and trained athletes (an issue which no one likes to talk about) because no one here is good enough to compete. Instead of whining about China, how about making a stronger America?

[ezbreezer]

The foreign-born US athletes weren't imported, but chose to come here for training or the money.
How many are lining up for Chinese citizenship ?How many would rather live there?
It's hard to be obese in a country where you spend all day working by hand in the fields or plowing behind a water buffalo. Americans weren't fat in the 1800's when they lived thusly.

[chinationreport]

'China fakes Olympics, US fakes most everything'
http://blog.chinationreport.com/2008/08/20/china-fakes-olympics-us-fakes-most-everything/
Read it by yourself.

[whatsthatsound]

In ten years time, the Chinese middle class will be larger than the entire population of the United States. Yes, there is desperate poverty there, and woeful working conditions for many. But to compare China today to the U.S. in the 1800s, merely to cheerlead for the U.S., is to mislead and to mischaracterize. China is a country with numerous faults, but it is also one whose star is rising.

[DAE]

This is typical of the know-nothing American. First, China is confronted with an epidemic of childhood obesity just like in the US. Second China has a very insular culture that you have to be born into to fully participate in while the US has the most open culture in the world. This is a result of historic circumstances and nothing else. I would love to live in China as a fully integrated member of that society, just to be able to fully imbibe its majestic cultural achievements, but find it beyond my grasp.

[chinationreport]

James Shen wrote a piece where he calls the main stream media's favorite sport right now: China Bashing Marathon... Let's vote the top winners.

In the race to bash China - all my liberal and conservative friends - open minded friends - stop... and read from James Shen:
http://blog.chinationreport.com/2008/08/21/in-the-race-to-bash-chinastop-to-read-from-james-shen/

Please send on to let more people read and debate about it, intelligently.

[gmlaster]

How pathetic can we get? Well, let's see...we could be like China and host the most FUBAR games in Olympic history, we could renege on every promise we made to the IOC, we could cheat our guests athletes out of their medals and decide all ties in our favor, we could buy off judges to look the other way when our athletes make mistakes but count the mistakes of our guests, and just to make sure the games are totally ruined, we could make the medals out of lead. I don't know, but I don't think we've got it in us to stoop to the impressively pathetic lows that China achieved in these games. As lying, cheating a$$holes go, China is in a class all by itself.

You've got your head jammed up your CULO if you think those medals aren't getting stripped. PLEASE explain why it is that the Chinese women on the volleyball team looked like adults, the Chinese women on the diving team looked like adults...in fact, the Chinese women in EVERY other sport looked like adults, and yet Chinese gymnasts don't look a day over 12. Could it be because China sucks?

Someone in the IOC needs to get fired for awarding the games to China. Never before in history have the games been so completely corrupt. Can't wait for the stripping to begin.

[DAE]

Sour grapes. Could write 1000 pages of negativity about US if wanted to.

[CountryBeforeParty]

You don't really "win" the Olympics, officially anyway. But we used to do that with the Soviets all the time.

Unfortunately the US likes to make sure that their athletes are of legal age to compete, and I'm sorry if we don't have such a strong badminton team. =)

The sports that have disappointed me, from a US team standpoint... Boxing, we used to rule that, no more. Weightlifting, we used to have a presence at least, now that's all teams from Central Asia. And I can't believe the softball team lost today.

For our own ego's sake, I'd love to know how the US did against China, head to head.

[normalkid0615]

FROM BBC NEWS
China 83 46 15 22
USA 93 28 34 31
Great Britain 40 17 12 11

FROM CNN NEWS
United States 93 28 34 31
China 82 46 14 22
Great Britain 40 17 12 11

USA is always a winner in USA's eyes

[SLCPunk]

Or, USA's always a loser in Europe's eyes.

It's called perspective. And you're not immune.

[InjunTrouble]

Here is the actual score:

US: 29*3 + 35*2 + 34 = 191
China: 46*3 + 15*2 + 22 = 190

[wondering]

Oh Lord, we do beseech thee, give unto us many gold, silver, and bronze medals (but mostly gold).

Do not forsake your own country, America, in its time of need. Remember that you have made us the third largest country by population (thus ensuring a large pool of potential athletes to choose from), and that you have given us vast resources to waste on science-enhanced nutrition and exercise regimens. Are we not sports-mad, in thy name.

We are Americans, after all - we deserve those medals!!!!!!!

[RockySoldier]

Apparently the ugly American has changed his nationality.

What a bunch of conceited, arrogant, sore winners. It's what everyone always called us. Glad you have proved that condescension and sore-winners come in every nationality, China.

...Oh, and how is your catcher? Heard he got a bit of a bruise. Sorry bout that.

[gmlaster]

Not sore winners...sore cheaters. Cheaters are never winners.

[ezbreezer]

China, economic powerhouse, continues to demonstrate its inferiority complex to the rest of the world. They just try too hard to project their image of perfection. Such an obvious, orchestrated facade of happiness.
I wonder how the residents of Beijing will feel after the olympic shine wears off and the air returns to its usual polluted state.

[xtiangodloki]

If you look up the world happiness index you will find that the average Chinese is a lot happier (ranked 31 out of 178 countries) than the average American (HPI ranked 156 out of 178 countries). If there is any inferiority complex displayed it's the people who are putting down China for doing well in the Olympics.

Wealth and living standards don't make people happy. Superficial people think it makes people happy.

[ezbreezer]

Thanks for proving my point. I said nothing about living standards or wealth, yet you imply that they make for happiness. Too sensitive= inferiority complex.

[gmlaster]

Yes you do have a massive inferiority complex and we know why. You want to be the USA more than anything. That's why you were willing to stoop so low to beat us. You're obsessed with us and you're wildly jealous of how we live, and that's because you we all know that you can never BE us, no matter how hard you try, no matter how much money you make. You will always have to lie, cheat and steal to try to make yourselves look like us. But you will never, EVER be us.

Tell you what...I'll give you a yardstick by which to measure your mediocrity. When millions of people from around the world come to China to enjoy your fabulous middle-class lifestyle in total freedom, then you will be our equal. When the dearest dream of millions is to someday move to China to live the good life, then you will be our equal. When some country is so desperate to be like you that they'd spend millions to rig the Olympics just to be able to say they beat you, then you will be our equal. But until then, you are WANNABEES. There can only be one America. Even as we struggle to recover from Bush's debt, people still spend everything they have just for the chance to be an American...it'll always be that way.

[gmlaster]

No, we're putting down China for CHEATING in the Olympics. And wealth/living standards really do make people happy. Starving people living in squalor are never happy. Watching your children wear rags and beg for food never makes people happy. Wealth matters and so do living standards. Only people who aren't starving and wearing rags think wealth and living standards don't make people happy.

[morbie5]

We might lose to a country that lies about how old its athletes are and sends its children to gymnastics concentration camps.

What an honorable win for China.

[DAE]

Nadia was 14.

[gmlaster]

Nadia was before the rules change.

[Roadblock]

Terrible terrible translation!

The Chinese headline in Dongguan Times does not mean "China is not confused." It means that "China has got more than 40 (gold medals)". "Bu Huo", which literally translates in to "to have no doubt", is just a figure of speech that comes from the Analects of Confucius. Americans, even those who can do some translation from Chinese, just know so little about the culture. No wonder there are so many misunderstandings!

Here is an English translation of the part of the Analects where this metaphor is from:

The Master said, "At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning.
"At thirty, I stood firm. "At forty, I had no doubts. "At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven. "At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth. "At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right."

[MozKrew211]

Wow. Good job. Thanks for your post.

[DRaymond]

Ok, by rough estimate this cost about one and a half billion dollars per gold medal just for the cost of facilities and operations to host the games and NOT including the cost of a massive nationally funded athletic development program.

Still envious of the Chinese?

[steamboat]

Beijing 2008 = Berlin 1936.

[MagisterLudi]

Berlin 1936= Atlanta 1996

[xtiangodloki]

Using your logic, I am sure the British are envious. London is planning to spend about $20Billion on the 2012 Olympics and UK is likely to to get less than 20 gold medals.

[gmlaster]

Envious of what? The ability to waste a lot of money to show the world what poor sports you are?