Chinatown takes pride in Beijing Olympics

The signs recognizing the Beijing Olympics are subtle in Chinatown: A small poster in the window of a bakery at 10th Street shows a runner jumping over a hurdle and a basketball player taking a shot. On a shop close to the Friendship Gate, about a dozen little white Olympic flags wave in the wind.

But this might be only a temporary lull, because residents do plan to celebrate, and they hope the Olympics will have a positive effect on the way Americans perceive China.

Many in the community are adamant that sports and politics should be kept separate.

"I'm proud the games are in Beijing. But because of the human-rights issue, that's a different topic," said Magdalena, who works at a law office in Chinatown and declined to give her last name because she has relatives in China. "Sports are sports, and politics are politics."

"People are more interested in watching the Games than celebrating them," said Han Pan, deputy executive director of the Governor's Advisory Commission on Asian American Affairs.

When the Olympics officially open tomorrow, Pan expects 5,000 to 8,000 more people in Chinatown for an "Evening of Champions" event.

"The Chinese are reserved and excited at the same time," Pan said. "Most of them will get excited in an organized way . . . when the time comes."

The champions event, which starts at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow on 10th Street between Race and Arch Streets, will give the public a chance to meet 30 former Olympians. Various sports will be showcased, along with origami demonstrations and performances by the Philadelphia Suns Lion and Dragon Dance group and the University of Pennsylvania Chinese Dance Club.

Strolling amid vases and porcelain dragons at Chinese Jingdezhen Ceramics, customer Adam Lam complained about American attitudes toward China.

"It's not fair to compare China and America. There are 1.3 billion people in China, and many of them are still farmers who are not that educated," he said.

Daniel Law, 57, who owns the Imperial Inn restaurant, said most Chinese are "very proud because the Games have never been there before. People often have a negative impression because of the lack of freedom there. But China is not as bad as they think."

Law remembers when Chinese feared imprisonment for criticizing their government, even in a private conversation. During the Olympics, however, he expects China to show its hospitality and to promote its 4,000 years of history and tourism sites.

"This is an opportunity for the government to show the cultural value and our hospitality. The human-rights issue has improved a lot, but it takes time to catch up on the U.S.," he said.

Serving steaming juicy buns to customers at Zhi-Wei-Guan Authentic Cuisine, manager Helen Xu, 35, offered this perspective: "Now a new generation will grow up with a more open mind."