Taipei Times: In your view, how will Japan, as China's major regional rival, respond to the success of Beijing's bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games?
Yoichi Funabashi: Japan will view it very positively, hoping it will be instrumental in helping China modernize and reform not only its economy but also its society, if not its politics. After all, it should be part of the long process by which China becomes integrated into the international community. China should then act more in accordance with international norms and rules, which I think will be beneficial not only to Japan but the world as a whole. I believe that to be the consensus among Japanese opinion leaders.
Japan itself hosted the Olympics in 1964, and most Japanese still remember, perhaps with some nostalgia, that the people really united to make those games successful. People's view of the world was certainly widened. I think that really helped Japan's place in the world. What we call kokusaikan -- internationalization -- certainly followed the Tokyo Olympics in the late 1960s and early 1970s. That reflected the passionate aspiration that Japan should be a more responsible international player, and that was a big plus to Japan.
I strongly believe this will also be the case with China. It's encouraging to see that South Korea also, when it hosted the 1988 Olympics, took steps similar to Japan's to further strengthen its democratic institutions and widen the scope of its role in the world. Likewise, China will be in a stronger position to pursue this more positive approach as it seeks to become a world leader. Certainly this could be seen in the future as a turning point in China's transition to a world player. Even the [Chinese] military, which is suspected of opposing China's entry into the WTO, has supported the Olympic bid. So it is almost unanimous in China.
Some people may worry about Chinese nationalism, [saying] that its flames might be fanned by China hosting the Olympics .... I don't think that will be the case. China will have to behave responsibly to make the games successful. It must be fair to all participants. It must be mindful of the human rights of its citizens. It will behoove China to behave well. That will be the positive effect on China.
A second concern is that we always tell China to behave well, to be more forthcoming in engaging in the international system and conforming to international norms. But we should not threaten China by explicitly saying that unless China does A, B and C we should boycott the Olympics.
Nevertheless, China certainly is not so foolish as not to recognize the subtle pressure from the international community. We should not hesitate to give friendly advice to China about what we expect it to do and not to do in the preparation stages over the next seven years.
TT: But some opponents of Beijing's bid argue that it's difficult to expect China to adopt a consistent easing-up policy over the next seven years especially in view of China's growing concerns about social instability. What's your comment on this counter-argument?
Funabashi: Certainly we'll see a lot of social instability in China, perhaps most prominently in the coming years after China's entry into the WTO, which may cause more social turmoil, unemployment and restructuring of the economy. We are already witnessing some serious symptoms of this as exemplified by the Falun Gong and other matters. We are also witnessing some more negative types of nationalism in China.
But the Olympic Games could be a good sponge to absorb those emotions, which might otherwise be expressed in a very destructive manner. In the post-Cold War era, perhaps sport is the best way to absorb this kind of nationalism. If this force can perform the function of an absorber of that otherwise very destructive nationalism, I think that should be the function of the sport .... If China's naked, even xenophobic nationalism, fuelled by social instability, could be tamed by the Olympic Games, then I think that could be very constructive.
TT: In 1993, Beijing's loss to Sydney in its bid to host the 2000 Olympics resulted in bitterness in China. Do you think Osaka's loss this time will trigger similar feelings in Osaka or in Japan as a whole?
Funabashi: I don't think so. From day one Osaka didn't have a chance ... and I don't think people are really in the mood to host it this time. The Japanese are generous enough to have China at least host it for the first time and to make it a symbol of the initial success of China's modernization over the last 20 or so years. I think we will certainly share the joy of many Chinese at having China host it as the first Chinese people's Olympics, not as the Chinese Communist Party's Olympics.
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