HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF SHOWCASE

The postponement of the Asian Games in Hangzhou quickly rocketed to the top of the trending charts on China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform yesterday afternoon. Reaction on Weibo was mixed, with the topic attracting millions of searches and reactions within half an hour of state media reporting the decision.

Many users tried to stay positive, however, despite Covid-19 restrictions continuing to be tightened amid the Omicron outbreak on the mainland. Popular social current affairs blogging account Xu Ji Observation, which has 3.28 million fans on the platform, said: “The beauty of Hangzhou is there, unchanged for thousands of years. The Asian Games will still come. At that time, we will be able to keep the spring flowers blooming. The sky is blue and the moon is bright.”

Other users pointed to the improvement to infrastructure and environmental quality that have already been made in Hangzhou, as it prepared to host the Games. “The growth of a city will not only be due to a grand event, nor will it stop at a grand event,” one user said. “As the old saying goes, a good meal is not afraid of being late. Waiting for the epidemic to disperse, looking forward to the wonderful [Asian Games].”

“When the epidemic dissipates, we will meet again,” another user wrote. “At that time, we will fully enjoy the beauty of sports brought by the Hangzhou Asian Games.” But some users on the platform sounded more dejected. “I really hate this forced epidemic,” one said. “The World [Team] Table Tennis Championships in Chengdu has also been postponed. When will I be able to watch a match?”

There was hope that a postponement might allow spectators to attend the event. The Beijing Winter Olympics went ahead in February without spectators.