A journey from athletic glory to less-wholesome activities can be short and fast. Fresh from victory podiums at the Beijing Olympics, an assortment of Chinese athletes will make a public-relations visit to Hong Kong from August 29-31.

The ballyhooed “national heroes” will greet local people, attend a flag-raising ceremony and demonstrate their sports. Many Hong Kong people gladly bask in a perceived “golden glow” since their own athletes collected no medals. Not a single one! Again!

So mingling with “China’s champions” may build a “feel-good factor” and score propaganda points days before the already-semi-rigged Hong Kong Legislative Council elections on September 7. The “patriotic” candidates, those the most keen to kowtow toward the north, will benefit. Hong Kong’s unrepresentative administration also embraces such “rah-rah” events to demonstrate docility and deference to the demented “motherland”.

Chinese athletes performed well at the Games, ranking second only to the Americans in medals. Congratulations to them as individuals, but not everything went smoothly. The world suspects premeditated cheating. Did underage Chinese girls win gold in gymnastics? If so, such behavior typifies the official corruption prevalent in China.

Already, egotistical national leaders claim success at the Olympics as proof of Chinese prowess – not only in sports, but also politically, culturally, economically, socially and morally. Decades ago, the Soviet Union dominated the Olympics too. Gold medals didn’t salvage Soviet communism, and China’s repressive government may collapse too.

Using the Olympics for political and propaganda purposes while parading around the athletes has sleazy overtones, akin to prostitution in Hong Kong’s seediest neighborhoods. Suddenly, China’s gold medals resemble tarnished tin.

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