• 
• 

While Chinese athletes are racking up gold medals at the Olympics, the rest of Chinese society is under severe pressure to compete in the so-called "international space". For the past 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation, the country has never been exposed in such a way - the focus is microscopic. Both Taiwan and Tibet are also vying for their rightful place internationally in different ways now. Beyond the gold-medal podiums, China's confidence in itself and in its system is being put to the test by the global media network. It is something that China's leaders are not used to at all. The flow of information has always been from the top. Subordinates must follow orders. When China bid for the games in 2001, one of the requirements was that it had to allow a free press and free access to information. China had to follow every rule set by the International Olympic Committee; otherwise, it would be criticised. Indeed that has been the case over the past week.

Obviously, judging from several incidents related to the arrests of foreign correspondents, China still has to improve the way that it handles the media and discontented elements in its society, which seems to be one of the weakest links in the big games. For instance, there is the story of the little girl who lip-synched a song voiced by another girl. The latter did not make it because she was deemed not as cute as the former. This story touched people's hearts, but in a negative way. It demonstrated that Chinese authorities will do anything to "save face" for China.

Since everything in China is top-down, sometimes it is hard to get a proper response when certain unexpected developments surface. It was major news when an American was killed by a loner, who later committed suicide. Of course, nobody expected that. When pro-Tibet groups displayed their T-shirts, journalists immediately rushed to the scene and were badly handled by authorities even though they are all credited. This kind of overreaction gives a very bad impression of China. China's international space is vast. Others are not so lucky.

Taiwan is a case in point. The island's leaders are using every minute of the Olympic Games to widen its international space and increase its interactions with the world. Newly elected Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou is visiting Uruguay and the Dominican Republic. Ma is very careful in planning this trip because his objective is to promote Taiwan's presence in the international community, not to irk China or challenge Beijing's policy-makers, as his predecessor liked to do. In fact, Taiwan wants to show that it does not want to upset Beijing as it looks for more international space. Taipei will not push for a UN seat as it has in previous years. To Ma, preserving the island's international space is the top priority. At the moment, only 23 countries recognise Taiwan diplomatically. During Chen's tenure, he tried hard to win new friends. Three countries established ties with Taiwan, while eight others changed sides to Beijing.

For Tibet, international space means the publicity that surrounded China's policy and the recent violence in Lhasa. For the first time, the Tibetan issue has received global attention through 24-hour TV news. Their decades-long struggle has now become a template to discuss the rise of China. Street protestors in Lhasa and elsewhere around the world among Tibetan communities have already tarnished China's international image.

Gaining international space is a double-edged sword. To enjoy it, the country has to be transparent and honest; otherwise, the exposure will backfire because of the interconnectedness of all things.