Shi Min and Liu Chengquan— Chinese International Relations Through Jeers and Cheers

NAME: Liu Chengquan
AGE: 51
OCCUPATION: Shopkeeper
FAVORITE DRINK: Baijiu (Chinese rice wine)

Last summer, when I was living in Beijing, my friend Shi Min took me to a bar to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic games. Filled to capacity with excited and inebriated Chinese, it was the perfect place to take in the energy and anticipation surrounding the games. As the ceremony began and Zhang Yimou’s meticulously choreographed production flashed across the screens of the bar, the patrons were sent into an ecstatic frenzy.

But the most interesting part of the night was what happened after Zhang Yimou’s show. In usual Olympic fashion, the final part of the broadcast featured the one-by-one emergence of the national teams on to the field. As this part of the ceremony began, the energy in the bar further intensified and the event turned into a sort of judgment day.

The Chinese patrons in their euphoric and drunken fervor seized the opportunity to scream cheers of support or hostile jeers at the various national teams. The intensity of the outbursts—and particularly some of the condemnations—had my ears ringing well after I left the bar. After I returned home, I recorded in my notebook what I had remembered as the 3 loudest cheers and jeers.

Recently, I discussed the list with Shi Min, an employee for Oracle China in Beijing, and Liu Chengquan, the shopkeeper of a small convenience store in my neighborhood in Chengdu. My two friends, both hailing from very different parts of Chinese society, provided their explanations for the various countries placing where they did. The following is the list, coupled with Shi Min and Liu’s opinions of the results. I do not include China on the cheer list.

The 3 Biggest Cheers (not including China)

1. North Korea: Shi Min and Liu both brought up the historical alliance between North Korea and China to explain the overwhelming support for the North Korean team. Shi Min added that although actual relations between the two countries have slightly soured in recent times—the North Koreans regard Chinese leaders as ‘revisionists’ and nuclear weapons in North Korea have become a thorn in Beijing’s side— the traditional image of North Korea as a close ally has not faded among the Chinese people. “The North Korean race is very strong and capable!“ Liu explained to me. “Their athletes are incredible, and their soccer team is better than ours,” he continued. “They are brothers of the Chinese people!” Shi Min provided another explanation for why the bar’s patrons supported the North Koreans. “People have compassion for the North Koreans,” Shi Min said. “Maybe people cheer for them because they are very poor and managed to travel all the way to China.”

2. Pakistan: Similar to North Korea, Pakistan has been a historical ally of China. Shi Min explained that because Pakistan has hostile relations with India (who is on bad terms with China) and because China provides military aid to Pakistan, the Chinese people support the Pakistanis. In addition, the Pakistani government contributed a large amount of aid following last year’s earthquake in Sichuan province. “The two countries get along well, so the people get along well,” he said.

3. Russia: The crowd in the bar went wild every time the screen displayed an image of Vladimir Putin sitting in the stadium. A few people there explained to me that they admired such a strong leader willing to stand up to the West. One patron told me that he thought highly of Putin because “he wasn’t willing to step down when the West wanted him to; instead of doing so he rigged an election to stay in power—he is very strong!“ Shi Min and Liu echoed this attitude. Putin is very strong, and very charismatic!” Liu enthusiastically explained to me. Shi Min explained that the strong, decisive, and charismatic image Putin has been able to cultivate for himself in Russia has spilled over to China. “The Chinese people like Putin, so they support Russia,” he said.

The 3 Biggest Jeers

1. South Korea: “Remember what I said earlier to you about the Koreans being a strong race?” Liu asked. “That doesn’t apply to the South Koreans.” Liu explained that the South Koreans are “less Korean” than the North Koreans, that they claim to be a strong race but in actuality they are totally reliant on foreign aid and culture. Shi Min brought up recent cultural conflicts between the South Koreans and Chinese. “The South Koreans are just annoying,” he said. “They are always saying that something Chinese—be it Chinese medicine, Chinese characters, Chinese territory, or Confucius—actually is South Korean.” Shi Min and Liu both said that the South Koreans believe they are very strong, but in actuality are very weak.

2. Japan: “There is no need for me to explain anything,” Shi Min said. When I asked Liu, it elicited a similar response. Looking at me as if I asked the dumbest question he had ever heard in his life, he shouted a one-word response: “History!”

3. India: Xiao Shi explained that the Chinese have had problems with India dating back to the 19th century— a significant one being the current territorial dispute over Arunachal Pradesh. He also explained that nowadays the Indian media is hostile to China. “Indians have always seen China as their imaginary enemy,” he said, “as an excuse to build up their military.” Liu didn’t have much to say about India, and simply said: “They are the competition!”

The ‘It’s Complicated’ Honors: United States of America

For most of the procession, the patron’s expressions of support and dislike for certain countries were unanimous. The only exception to this was the USA. Some of the loudest jeers of the night were unleashed when the broadcast cut to images of then President Bush sitting in the stadium. At the same time, some of the loudest cheers were bestowed to American superstars like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Phelps. When the USA team entered the field, the bar was filled with a mixed chorus of cheers and jeers. “A complicated response for a complicated relationship,” one Chinese friend told me.