Xu, a senior Xinhua reporter, said that it's difficult to compare opening ceremonies, but he was obviously proud of China's achievement. "Our system can mobilize social resources and power almost immediately, " he told me. "The Chinese have become ever more confident in themselves and think they can pull off whatever foreigners can do."
北京——2012伦敦奥运开幕式于北京时间凌晨4点开幕。尽管开幕时间很早，还是有超过一亿的中国观众熬夜观看了这一盛事。徐济成也是这些人中的一份子。他曾是北京奥组委中负责媒体运行的副导演，现在则是新华社的一位资深记者。徐济成表示，想要比较两届奥运会的开幕式是很难的，但他也确实为中国在举办开幕式上所取得的成就而感到骄傲。“我们的制度使我们几乎能立即调动社会资源和力量”，他这么告诉我。“中国人对自己更有自信了，并相信自己能做到外国人能做到的一切。”
Yes, China can mobilize better than any country in the world. In the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Chinese leaders spent close to $2 billion just on building and refurbishing stadiums, expanded its subway system from 25 to 124 miles, and built a state-of-the-art airport terminal. But they also rounded up dissidents, manipulated the weather by shooting silver iodide into the sky, and drove out migrants, homeless people, and sex workers to minimize social discontent and maintain a presentable harmony.
是的，中国确实比世界上任何国家都有能力调动社会资源。在2008北京奥运的准备阶段，中国领导人仅仅在建设与翻修体育馆、将轨交从25英里延长至124英里、建造最先进的航站楼上这几件事上就花了将近2亿美元。同时，他们还要逮捕异议人士，向天空中发射碘化银以控制天气，驱逐移民、无家可归者和性工作者以把社会不满降到最低，并维持表面的和谐。
Beijing's opening ceremony was a masterpiece of cohesion: Almost 200, 000 people, mostly students and People's Liberation Army soldiers, trained together for months so that their actions would be perfectly synchronous. To showcase the Chinese invention of movable-type printing, more than 1, 600 soldiers practiced more than 10 hours a day inside 897 tiny movable-type blocks -- for nine months. Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, who directed the opening ceremony, told a Chinese newspaperthat he joked with his performers that only North Koreans could have put on a more uniform show.
北京奥运的开幕式是一项凝聚力的杰作。为确保表演动作同步率近乎完美，大约二十万中国人在一起排练了好几个月，而其中绝大多数是学生和中国人民解放军军人。为了展现中国活字印刷术这一发明，超过1600名士兵每天在897个可移动的小木块中排练十小时以上，而这样的排练持续了9个月。中国的电影导演张艺谋是北京奥运开幕式的导演。他告诉一家中文媒体，他曾经开过这群表演者的玩笑，说只有朝鲜可能上演一场更为同步的表演。而这一评论已经很接近真相了。一个人打趣道：张艺谋是从极权的朝鲜借鉴来这一创意的。但这一玩笑背后令人不安的现实正在中国引起前所未有的共鸣，尤其是在看到伦敦奥运开幕式向世界所展示的一切后，这一复杂的感觉更为强烈了。江小鱼是前任北京奥组委执行副总裁，现任北京奥运城市发展促进会副会长。在7月29日的采访中，他称2008北京奥运以及开幕式“组织得完美无瑕”。
After seeing the London opening ceremony, however, many now feel Beijing's performance, while technically impressive, lacked soul. "Zhang's performance emphasized a collective spirit, and he wanted it to be vigorous and stunning, " said Dong Wenwen, a Chengdu-based writer, adding that she preferred the London opening ceremony because "it was more sincere." The performance, which featured scenes from the Industrial Revolution, Peter Pan's Neverland, and cameos from James Bond and Queen Elizabeth, drew praise for its modest but confident portrait of Britain. "It was an extremely creative performance, " said Liu Dongfeng, a professor of economics at Shanghai Sports University.
然而，在观看伦敦奥运会的开幕式后，很多人现在觉得北京奥运的开幕式虽然在技术上令人印象深刻，但缺乏灵魂。“张艺谋的开幕式强调了集体精神，他也想要他的开幕式朝气蓬勃，震聋发聩。”成都作家董雯雯说道。她还表示自己更喜欢伦敦奥运的开幕式，因为“它更真诚”。伦敦奥运的开幕式特写了英国工业革命的场景，彼得潘的梦幻岛，以及友情客串的007和伊利莎白女王，因为成功地展现了英国谦逊而自信的形象而获得好评。“开幕式非常有创意”，上海体育大学的经济学教授刘东丰如是说。
Surprisingly, the most popular segment of the London opening ceremony for Chinese people seemed to be when 300 hospital beds appeared on stage to celebrate Britain's National Health Service (NHS). "The Beijing ceremony is completely beaten when you see that every citizen there has public health service, " wrote a Weibo user named Fangfangdou. "The creative ceremony showed Danny Boyle's humanitarian care for society. Especially the NHS part, the doctors, nurses, and children are all from the Great Ormond Street Hospital. Even the patients are real, " tweeted Zhang Lifen, editor in chief of FTChinese.com, a message that was reposted more than 1, 000 times.
令人吃惊的是，伦敦奥运开幕式上最受中国观众欢迎的场景，竟然是300张病床出现在舞台上以歌颂英国的国民医疗保健制度。“当你看到每一位市民都能享受公费医疗时，你就会感到北京的开幕式完全被打败了。”一位名叫方芳豆的微博用户这么说道。而FT中文网的责任编辑张丽芬则在推特上说：“这一极具创意的开幕式展现了丹尼博伊尔对于社会人道主义的关爱。特别是在国民健康保险这一环节中，那些医生、护士和孩子们都来自大奥蒙德街医院。哪怕是病人也是货真价实的。”这一推特被转发了一千多次。
"I'm afraid only a great nation dares to show their public health system onto the Olympic stage. It should all of a sudden make some so-called 'great nation' ashamed of themselves, " commented another user named GoodDadZheng.
“恐怕只有一个强大的国家才敢于在奥林匹克开幕式的舞台上展示他们的医疗保险体系。它应该让某些所谓的“超级大国”警醒，并为自己感到羞耻。”另一位名叫“好爸爸郑先生”的推特用户说道。
In what seems unlikely to have been a coincidence, the day after London's opening ceremony, Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu announced to journalists that 96 percent of the population now enjoys "basic health care." Commentators ridiculed Chen, pointing to rising medical costs, corrupt doctors, and the threadbare nature of Chinese medical coverage. "The majority of the government's health budget … goes to the welfare of civil servants, out of tune with the reality in which people find it hard to see and afford a doctor. [The government] is just playing with the numbers, " commented an opinion piece on the second-tier city of Wuxi's news portal.
在伦敦奥运开幕式后一天，中国的卫生部长陈竺就向记者宣布，百分之九十六的中国人已经享受到了“基本医疗保健”。这看起来并不像是一个巧合。评论员嘲笑陈竺，针锋现对地提出了不断提高的医疗费用、腐败的医生以及小的可怜的医疗保险支付范围。“政府大部分的医疗卫生预算……都进了公务员的腰包，而这与普通百姓看病难的现实格格不入。（政府）只是在操纵数据。”中国二线城市无锡的门户网站上一篇观点文章这么评论道。
Jiang, who formerly ran Beijing's propaganda department, carefully avoided comparing the London and Beijing games. "China's political system has its own merits. It allows the government to concentrate power to stage the event, maximizing people's support to the Olympics" he said. But it also means that it showcased China, and not its citizens. "Looking back at the Beijing Games, you no longer feel proud when you get to know more [about what really happened in China over the last four years], " said a Weibo user named Tuoni. "It's just the great party staged a globally lavish PR event and has nothing to do with its people."
前任中宣部部长江小心翼翼地措辞，避免将北京奥运与伦敦奥运作出比较。他说：“中国的政治体制有其自身的优点。它允许政府集中力量举办奥运，并将人民对奥运的支持最大化”。但这也意味着北京的开幕式展示的是中国这个国家，而非中国的国民。“回顾北京奥运，（当你知道中国在最近四年发生了什么后，）你再也无法为它感到骄傲了。”一位名叫托尼的微博用户说道。“它只是一场豪华的盛会，展示了中国世界级的慷慨的公共关系，而与它的国民没有一点关系。”
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