China should seize the opportunity of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to improve the
country's soft power by showing a polished national image to the
world, a world gold medalist of table tennis said?in
Beijing?on Monday.
Soft power -- a nation's influence in culture, arts, ideology as
opposed to economy, technology and military -- is an integral part
of a country's comprehensive strength, said Deng Yaping, a veteran
woman table tennis player who now is a member of the National
Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference
(CPPCC), the country's top advisory body.
"While improving infrastructure in the preparation for the
Games, we should also give enough efforts to strengthen our 'soft
power' and polish the national image," said Deng at the fourth
plenary meeting of the annual session of the CPPCC National
Committee.
It is predicted that more than 20,000 registered journalists
from all over the world will come to cover the sports event in
Beijing, let alone those who may not register with organizers, said
Deng, who won four Olympic gold medals.
Considering that the nation will be under such an extensive
exposure to world media, the government should take measures to
improve the public's ethics, trim their behavior and cultivate
their sense of honor and responsibility in order to show the best
side of China to the world, said Deng.
Deng also called for the country's media to cool down their
enthusiasm for gold medals, urging them to pay more attention to
athletes' psychological health while reporting the Games to help
create a relaxing atmosphere for players to do their best in
2008.
(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2007)