賈慶文

As the Olympic flame flickered out on Sunday night, Chinese could congratulate themselves that the event on which they had staked so much had unfolded almost precisely according to their game plan.

The striking success of the Olympics-burnishing Chinas prestige as the world admired its sporting prowess, organizational skills, and dramatically modern urban landscapes—could encourage profound changes in the country, say a range of Chinese and foreign analysts.

“The implications of the Olympics go beyond a recognition that China is a sports power,” says Wenran Jiang, a politics professor at the University of Alberta in Canada. “There are many ways in which the Games will move China forward.”

Beijing invested this summers Olympics with enormous bankroll: They were to crown the countrys rise to the status of a global power.

Almost from the moment the Games began with a “shock and awe” opening ceremony, the sports became the main story line.

From TV audiences presented with a “picture-perfect” Games, in the words of Professor Jiang, to visitors here impressed by what they have found, the spectacle has served its purpose.

Before she came to Beijing, Nadine Lewman says, her impression of China was of “sweatshops and smog.” Now, adds the resident from Portland, “I think its a beautiful country. Seeing it has changed my image and I would love to come back. Theyve sold me.”

“I think the Games have been a stunning success for the Chinese government in terms of its international image,” says David Shambaugh, Director of the China Policy Program at George Washington University. “This is going to earn China considerable international respect.”

For more than a hundred years, Chinas leaders have set themselves the goal of recovering international respect after humiliation at the hands of Europe and the United States in the 19th century. For more than half a century the ruling Communist Party has made “standing up to the world” a key plank in its platform.

Successful Olympics, suggests Dali Yang, who heads the department of politics at the University of Chicago, could help move China from “a sense of inadequacy ... to a feeling that China can do this, and do it well.”

There have been signs over the past two weeks of a more relaxed and self-confident Chinese public. Fans have showed exuberant support for the home team rather than the chauvinism that officials had feared. They even cheered Chinese coaches of foreign teams, rather than treating them as traitors.

隨著奧運(yùn)圣火在周日晚上熄滅，中國人民可以對他們投入大量資金的奧運(yùn)會慶賀了，因為一切幾乎都是按照他們的奧運(yùn)計劃準(zhǔn)確進(jìn)行的。

本次奧運(yùn)會取得了極大成功——中國以它受世人尊敬的體育成績、組織能力和顯著的現(xiàn)代城市風(fēng)景而聲名鵲起——這極大刺激著中國的深刻變化，一些中外分析家如是說。

“奧運(yùn)會的啟示不只是讓世界認(rèn)可了中國體育強(qiáng)國的地位，”加拿大阿爾伯塔大學(xué)的政治學(xué)教授姜文然說?！氨緦脢W運(yùn)會將在多個方面推動中國前進(jìn)。”

本屆夏季奧運(yùn)會北京投入了巨大資金：奧運(yùn)會使中國作為全球大國的地位得到提升。

幾乎從奧運(yùn)會令人感到“驚嘆和敬畏”的開幕式那一刻開始，這場體育盛會就成為一個主流話題。

用姜教授的話來說，從呈現(xiàn)給電視觀眾一場“畫面完美”的奧運(yùn)會到現(xiàn)場觀眾被他們的親眼所見所打動，這次體育盛會已經(jīng)達(dá)到了它的目的。

在來北京前納丁·魯曼說她對中國的印象是“到處充滿血汗工廠和煙霧彌漫?！比缃襁@位俄勒岡州波特蘭市的居民說，“我認(rèn)為中國是一個美麗的國家。看到它后我改變了自己的看法，我愿意重返中國。它征服了我?！?/p>

“關(guān)于中國的國際形象問題，我認(rèn)為本屆奧運(yùn)會對于中國政府來說取得了極大的成功，”喬治·華盛頓大學(xué)中國政策研究中心主任沈大偉說。“這將為中國贏得相當(dāng)可觀的國際威信。”

一百多年來，中國領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人就為自己制定了目標(biāo)，要從19世紀(jì)歐洲和美國的奴役下重新獲得國際威信。半個多世紀(jì)來執(zhí)政的中國共產(chǎn)黨就把“屹立在世界上”作為它平臺上的基石。

芝加哥大學(xué)政治系主任楊大力說成功的奧運(yùn)會能夠幫助中國從“感覺不足跨越到中國能夠舉辦并且能夠舉辦好奧運(yùn)會。”

已有跡象表明在過去的兩周里中國公民更加悠閑和自信。運(yùn)動愛好者表現(xiàn)出對國家隊極大的支持而非官方所擔(dān)心的沙文主義。他們甚至為擔(dān)任外國隊的中國教練歡呼，而不是把他們當(dāng)作叛國者來對待。