OLYMPIC SPIRIT AND WORLD HARMONY GO HAND IN HAND

By Francis C W Fung, PH.D.

The count down to the 2008 Olympic Games is continuing. Soon 13,000 athletes and
coaches from around the world will descend on Beijing together with a large
contingent of journalists and estimated 300,000 foreign visitors. There are
predictions that 2008 will be the best and biggest Olympics, ever hosted by the most
populous developing nation in the world. With these large numbers of foreign
convoys shuttling between competition venues and wandering through the streets of
Beijing among a population of over 15 million, imagine what great cultural
exchange opportunity it presents.

The sheer number of goodwill contacts possible within the confines of one city and
in the short span of weeks is staggering and unprecedented in history. Cultural
exchanges and good will visits infused with Olympic Spirit can be the greatest way
to promote world understanding. Understanding can lead to mutual acceptance and
trust that is the prerequisite for world harmony.

Yet there are some shortsighted among us who fail to see the Beijing Olympic as a
unique and unsurpassed way to cultivate a spirit that can enhance friendship and
brotherhood in our global village. Traditionally this is also called the Olympic Spirit.
For those who spend time fanning bigotry and laboring for prejudiced excuses to
boycott the Olympic Games, we must ask where is our Olympic Spirit and our belief
in harmony? For those among us who still live in the last century and cannot see the
way out of the old Cold War mentality we may ask, “Can’t we all just get along?”

In reality the root cause of this bigotry is our ignorance of modern China. There is a
Chinese saying that we can all learn. “It is far better to see for yourself once than
hear about it one hundred times.” So instead of holding on to our prejudices, let us
content with our own pride, open our hearts and enjoy ourselves at the 2008
Olympic Games. For our future world is a world of unity in diversity. Beijing has
gone out of her way to train large number of English speaking youth guides to
welcome us!

The world of the dominating empires is gone forever for all nations. China desires
integration as a responsible nation in a harmonious world. We call for a unified
world to stop politicizing Olympics for ideological gains. The 21st Century will
herald the beginning of a multilateral world bent on win-win mutual development.
Our earthly resources and fossil energy are finite. To maintain a level field for
global sustainable development we must learn to share our common resources in a
harmonious way. To avoid the self destructive calamity of human wonton pollution

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of our ecosystem and climate change, we must cooperate to harmonize with nature
as well. This is human’s last chance to move with the tide of harmony renaissance
thus releasing our innovative energy from distrust and suspicion to achieve our next
level of collective accomplishment beyond European Renaissance. Our collective
creative energy if released through tolerance, acceptance, mutual respect, patience,
humility and forgiveness, all universal common values of harmony philosophy, is
boundless. The world has never seen such vast and unlimited collective energy
dedicated to work for world harmony. “Harmony Renaissance will be here in 21st
Century.”

The 2008 Olympic Games will go down in history as a bright land mark of cultural
exchange and communication between nations of our Global Village. The Beijing
Olympic Torch Relay itinerary took its inspiration from the ancient land and sea
Silk Routes. The Silk Routes are a singularly one of the most important cultural
exchange routes of human history. It connected the commerce and exchange of the
greater Eurasia landmass that propagated to the West. It also connects the ancient
sea trade routes of the world. Through it the cultures and scientific discoveries of
the East made its way to the West in ancient times. Without the important import of
East, South East and Middle East ancient culture and scientific discoveries, it may
be said that European Renaissance as we know today may not have taken place.

The revival of this ancient sea, land Silk Routes and other ancient cultural and
commerce exchange routes are very important in reestablishing the harmonious
commerce and exchange of this greater Eurasia and the world once again. America
is looking for a change in world outlook. This can be the critical and opportunity
moment for us to advocate harmony renaissance. The world is waiting for us to
show that we care. The common value of tolerance, acceptance, mutual respect,
equity, humility and forgiveness can be brought to the forefront through the
Olympic Spirit. Olympic Spirit and World Harmony can thus go hand in hand!

Francis C. W. Fung, PH. D.

Director General
World Harmony Organization