In Olympics, Chinese native sees change for the good

Published 11:09 pm Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Basketball, cycling, gymnastics, we’re in the midst of the Olympic Games, but looking for more than athletic competition. More than runners in the Bird’s Nest stadium, lots of us are tuned in to see China.

Only twice before in my life has the world’s attention been so riveted on events in Beijing. I was a high school senior when President Nixon’s 1972 trip to China opened the door to an official relationship between the two countries.

By 1989, I was a mom with small children when the Chinese government cracked down on student demonstrators in Beijing. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people seeking democratic reform were killed as the Chinese military crushed protests in Tiananmen Square. What I recall is the ominous day when TV coverage went dark.

Lucy Tung had finished university studies in organic chemistry at the time of the student uprising in Beijing. Her family lived in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province in northern China. She had no involvement in the protests.

Today, at 43, she lives in Lynnwood. She became a U.S. citizen five years ago and works as a pharmacy technician in Kenmore. With her brother, WuLin Tung, she owns the Harvest Garden restaurant in Marysville, where she also works.

Her 80-year-old parents, Hueiyuan Tung and PiLien Kao, came to the United States 16 years ago and stayed with an uncle in New York before moving to the Seattle area. Lucy Tung came here 10 years ago and has two brothers here and one still in China.

As we read about Beijing’s pollution levels and strict security measures surrounding the Games, Tung is certain of this: “It has changed a lot. China has a lot more freedom now, and I’m really glad to see that. China is open to the world,” she said.

Lucy Tung was in Beijing in April, when she traveled to China to help her parents move back to Shanxi Province. As much as they embraced the United States, she said her parents missed the family and social connections of their homeland.

“For them, language was a problem when they got here. They feel lonely,” she said. Back home in Taiyuan, her parents live in a condominium owned by her older brother. “They have lots of friends and relatives in China,” Tung said.

She remembers being shocked when she first moved to the United States, when she heard workers at a post office talking critically about the government. Now, Tung said, “I really feel the people in China get a lot more freedom of speaking,” she said.

Between a trip to China four years ago and her recent visit to Beijing in April, Tung saw major changes. “There’s concern about the environment. Everywhere, I saw all kinds of flowers and trees, much more than before. There are greenbelts everywhere.

“And the air was much better than when I went to Beijing four years ago. This time, I didn’t smell anything,” she said.

“Traffic is not good,” Tung said. “There’s a lot of population. There are cars and people — people everywhere. A lot of people now have their own cars.”

Tung knows that many Americans consider China a poor country. Watching the Olympics, she believes viewers are seeing something else. “It’s a modern city,” she said of Beijing.

The uncle who was once in New York now lives in Los Angeles. He had tickets to the Games’ opening ceremonies last week. He purchased them online. “The Internet has shortened the distance between people,” she said.

Someday, Tung might follow in her parents’ footsteps and move back to China in her retirement years. “Honestly, I really think about China in the future,” she said. “I left when I was 32 years old. Once a month, I call all my friends there.”

And yes, she is watching.

“We all feel really excited about the Olympics, and proud,” Tung said.

Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlstein@heraldnet.com.