The games themselves received widespread praise for efficient organization — as well as grumbling about the oppressive security.
Chinese athletes topped the gold medal tally for the first time, sending the nation into paroxysms of pride.
Those sentiments were boosted further when China staged its first ever spacewalk in September.
A more somber reality reasserted itself the same month when a waste dump collapsed at an illegal mine, killing at least 260 people and forcing the resignation of a provincial governor.
Then came revelations of the contamination of milk powder with the industrial chemical melamine.
The scandal underscored China’s endemic problems with food safety, corporate malfeasance and lax government supervision.
Recalls of Chinese dairy exports damaged the already tarnished China brand overseas, adding to the spreading economic gloom.
“At the end of the year, the Chinese are feeling anxious and unsafe,” Yang said.
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