Losing Face

The Olympics in China, a great achievement? The PRC held an impressive event, with thousands of athletes, and pulled it off without a hitch. That takes quite a bit of effort, like detaining or imprisoning any who seek to protest. It seems to me that there is a greater loss of face regarding accusations of cheating and crackdowns on any who don't toe the party line.

Because the continued affirmation that the passports say the gymnasts were eligible to participate in the Olympics is not holding up to scrutiny, the IOC may strip some gold medals from the Chinese team. Then what will people remember from this? The 51 gold medals won by China, or that they cheated to get them? If they are willing to cheat in such a apparently blatant way, did they cheat elsewhere?

This is all minor to the continued persecution of Christians by the government. With lists of stories directly related to the Olympics. Most major media outlets don't seem to focus on this persecution very often.

It would be much easier to save face if the actions of the government weren't always so apparently oppressive and underhanded.