He Zhenliang has dedicated his life to the promotion of Olympic values. (Image: Radio86)He Zhenliang has dedicated his life to the promotion of Olympic values. (Image: Radio86)
He Zhenliang has dedicated his life to the promotion of Olympic values. (Image: Radio86)79-year-old He Zhenliang is one of the most highly regarded dignitaries in China, and quite certainly the most influential Chinese Olympic personality of his time, a status also reflected in his nickname “China's Mr. Olympics.” This seasoned veteran of the Olympic movement has something to be especially happy about this year, as China plays host to the world's single biggest sporting event.
Jiangsu province native He Zhenliang has been one of the key figures of the Chinese sports scene since the founding of the People's Republic of China and the establishment of the modern Chinese sports administration system.
2008 is China's year. The long-time dream of the Chinese people to host the most important sports event in the world is about to come true and He Zhenliang is among those to be credited for this privilege.
"It's a long-time dream of our people to have the Games on our soil. When we talked about our dream, in the early 20th century, this dream was so far away, something like a fantasy. We could only get all the conditions together to be able to bid for the Games only after the opening up of our country. The problem of our representation within the Olympic movement was solved only in 1979. Afterwards, we were thinking that when the conditions are right, we will bid for the Olympic Games. When we got the privilege of holding the 11th Asian Games in Beijing in 1990 [...] we were already thinking that maybe in the near future we will have the Olympic Games. So everybody started step by step thinking about that," Mr. He recalls.
"At the beginning of 1991, we applied officially for having the Games in Beijing. The Chinese Olympic Committee agreed totally and supported Beijing's bid. In1993, unfortunately we were not successful, only by a small margin of two votes. We waited for several years and bid for the Games of the 29th Olympiad. The success was so big, that it was a record in the history of the Olympic movement. The difference of votes between the winner and the runner-up was more than the votes of all the other cities combined. It means that the great majority of the IOC's members thought that it was time for China to have the Olympic Games," Mr. He says.
Young He Zhenliang studied electrical engineering at the French Aurora University in Shanghai, from where he transferred to the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the New Democratic Youth League in Beijing. His first involvement in the Olympic movement came at the Helsinki Games in 1952, where served as an interpreter for a Chinese sports delegation.
"After the Helsinki Games I was transferred to the Ministry of Industry no 2. But after less than three years, I was asked once again to change my post, and at that time the State Sports Commission was just set up and they needed more and more public servants. Because sport is by character very international, so they needed people who understood foreign languages," Mr. He says.
He Zhenliang is the honorary president of the Chinese Olympic Committee. (Image: Radio86)Initially, twenty-something He Zhenliang was unimpressed by sports and had great hesitations about taking on the new job. But in those times, an order was an order, and as destiny would have it, he soon became a fixture of the sports scene and a central figure in the development of Chinese sports diplomacy.
"Just like the President of the IOC Jacques Rogge said, 'it is not He Zhenliang who chose sport, it's sport that chose He Zhenliang. That is my case, I think," he says.
He Zhenliang says that the concept of Olympism is first and foremost about values, which advocate friendship, respect, solidarity and excellence.
"If everybody followed, respected and implemented these values it would be very beneficial for the whole world, because they advocate friendship, respect, solidarity and excellence. It means that you try your best to do everything to the best of your capability. And sport is a language common to all. Without the need to be translated, everybody can understand each other through the language of sport. It is a good bridge of understanding for friendly exchange between youths, between different nations. So I think that the deeper I'm involved in the Olympic movement, the better I understand that the Olympic Games is a world patrimony that everybody should cherish. The Olympic Games can unite people together, wherever you come from, what ever kinds of beliefs you have. We will have a common goal to try our best -- a quest for excellence, for friendship, for mutual respect, the respect of yourself the respect of your opponents. You respect the discipline and compete correctly and with fair play. If everybody accepted these Olympic values, it would be very good for the education of the youth," Mr. He explains.
"Doping is like a cancer in sport," Mr. He says. "We should fight it. But how? We should have very, very strict regulations about that. The IOC is now adopting a zero tolerance policy about doping. So that's one way. Another way is to educate people, not only about the doping problem, but to educate people and youngsters to understand what is real sport and fair play, and what are the ethics in sport. So, sport is a very efficient means to educate young people, but also in sport we should stress the importance of education," Mr. He says.
Last year, He Zhenliang's wife, journalist Liang Lijuan, wrote a book entitled He Zhenliang and China's Olympic Dream on the life and experiences of her husband in a changing China. Mr. He says that traditionally people in China are reluctant to compile their memoirs while living, but after numerous appeals from his friends and colleagues to chronicle the major events of his life, he consented.
“You see, there is a tradition in China: no living person should write down his memoirs or biography when he is living. We say in China that 'only when the coffin is covered, then the conclusion is made.' Now I broke this tradition. Why? Not because I'm brave, but because I was asked this by so many friends, to 'please write down what you have experienced, because you have witnessed almost every major event in the relation between the new China and the Olympic movement and the IOC.' I know I was breaking some unwritten tradition, but I don't care about that, because it is not for myself, it is for the sport of China and the newcomers who will be involved in the Olympic movement,” Mr. He explains.
The Olympic Games are the perfect chance for China to display its rich cultural heritage and multifaceted history to thousands of foreigners first-hand. The Games will undoubtedly be one for the history books, but will they help the world develop a better understanding of this "land of mystery?"
This year, Olympic insignia is everywhere, like on the city wall in Xi'an. (Image: Radio86)"That's for sure," says He Zhenliang. "China used to be called a country of mystery. More than 150 years ago, China used to be a very closed country. [...]Great Britain, Japan, France, etc. [...] forced China to open. It was under those circumstances that China was opened. So, outside people, the Western people, really did not understand what China is, what Chinese people are thinking. Because it's difficult to understand the language, it adds still more to the degree of mystery about China. Actually, China is a huge country, (but) not at all mysterious. But because of this lack of communication, people say 'ah, it's mysterious.' So sports can do a lot -- it can be used as a bridge of communication between Chinese people and other countries."
"Several years ago, when the IOC at its session in Moscow decided [...] which city will have the right of holding the Games of the 29th Olympiad, I made the last presentation. I said, 'no matter what decision will be taken, this decision will be a record in history. Only one decision, however, will serve to make history.' Many people remember these two sentences. Many of them, very often, omit to mention the following sentence - why I said so. So the second sentence explained what I was thinking. That with your decision we move China and the world (into an) embrace together through sport, in the benefit of mankind. Just think about that, one-fifth or one-quarter of the whole world population to have this chance to have a direct contact with the rest of the world, without the media, without other information (channels). Sometimes, this media, this information is biased. If you may have this direct communication, in sport, they can see, ah, the Chinese people are really devils like some media described, or willing to be friendly with everybody. Is China really a country which takes good care of its people or something like a despotic country, depriving people of their rights or not? They will see with their eyes and feel with their brain really what is China and the Chinese people -- what are China's aspirations for the peace, for their prosperity and well-being and also the well-being of the whole mankind. Then, I think, the mutual understanding will be improved, the mutual respect will be forged, and what positive impact it will have! You can imagine, it's really good for the peace of the world. Yes!? I think that everybody with common sense can understand that."
The book, He Zhenliang and China's Olympic Dream, is available in the Radio86 Store.
Author: Stina Björkell
Interviewed by: Stina Björkell