The development of sports in a country is determined by both internal and external factors. During the past two decades or so, these two factors have been favorable for a rapid development of sports in China. Externally, the restoration of China's legitimate rights in international sports organizations in the late '70s paved the way for the country to play an active part in the global Olympic Movement. Internally, the whole country has entered a period of unprecedented prosperity as a result of the government policy of "reform and opening to the outside world."
Since the Nagoya meeting of the IOC in 1979, China has resumed her membership in, or been newly admitted to, international sports organizations one after another on "IOC model." He Zhenliang, former President of the Chinese Olympic Committee, was elected a member of the IOC Executive Board in 1985 and Vice-President in 1989. He is the first Chinese to hold such high distinction. As noted by former IOC President Samaranch, China has become an important member of the Olympic Family. Over the years the IOC has awarded Olympic orders to a number of Chinese state and sports leaders. Moreover, with China's status properly established in international sports organizations, China has been able to carry out many exchanges with the outside world - much more than those during any previous period. During the '80s, China conducted 37,288 exchanges involving 77,866 people, considerably more than the total in the previous three decades combined.
As result of the implementation of the Nagoya IOC resolution, sports exchanges have also started between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. For more than 30 years neither side participated in sporting activities held by international organizations with which the other was affiliated. Since the early '80s, the situation has changed. Teams from both sides participated in the Olympic and Asian Games. Many sports leaders and athletes in Taiwan have been to the mainland. It is hoped that the "one-way traffic" in exchanges to date will turn into "two-way traffic" in the near future.
Here particular mention should be made of the 11th Asian Games held in Beijing in 1990. It was not only a major contribution made by China towards the global Olympic Movement, but also a great social event that produced far-reaching effects beyond the field of sports. In preparation for the 11th Asian Games, a number of sports complexes and grand hotels sprang up altering Beijing's skyline in just a few years: Comprehensive computer services and satellite TV capabilities were established. A 408m-tall TV tower arose in Beijing, the highest man-made edifice in Asia. A doping test centre was built with the accreditation of IOC Medical Commission. Seventy percent sports apparatus used at the Games were manufactured in China. Beijing registered an all-time high foreign currency income from tourism in September 1990 when the Games were held. In the three months before and after the Games, the number of tourists to Shaanxi Province, one of China's tourist centers, tripled the 1989 figure. Tourist income in the area was up 160 percent. The Games also increased the country's retail sales which amounted to 22.4 billion yuan (4.17 billion US dollars) in Beijing over the first nine months of 1990, an increase of 13.9 percent over the corresponding period the preceding year.
The Games brought the whole nation together. The spectacular "Light of Asian Games" torch relay race was the biggest ever held in the world. Some 170 million people - 15 percent of China's population - joined in or witnessed the relay, lining the streets and roads where the torches were carried. The relay covered a total distance of 180,000km before reaching Beijing where the sacred flame was kindled at the opening ceremony of the Games. It was a huge demonstration not only of support for the Games, but also of national unity. To cover a shortfall of 0.6 billion yuan in the Games budget, a nationwide donation campaign was held. The quota was fulfilled ahead of schedule - another sign of patriotism and support for the Games.
The Games' Arts Festival was a showcase of China's rich culture, with 62 ensembles presenting some 180 shows of local drama, acrobatics, and folk songs and dances; 51 exhibitions of relics, national costumes, folk customs, and paintings and sculptures on the theme of sport; and a dragon-boat regatta, a lantern festival and market fairs held in the city's parks providing millions with cultural entertainment.
Email to Friends
Print
Save