Tony Kwok says event in Hangzhou provided a platform to showcase the openness, optimism and self-confidence of Chinese society

The 19th Asian Games is the second-largest sports event after the Olympics, featuring 11,830 athletes from 45 Asian countries and regions, who gathered in Hangzhou to compete for 481 gold medals across 40 sports at 56 competition venues. These 45 countries and regions account for 55 percent of the world's population. Notably, the total number of participants exceeds the 10,500 athletes registered for the Paris Olympics, and the 481 gold medals offered at the Asian Games surpass the 306 gold medals awarded at the Olympics. The Asian Games is undoubtedly a spectacular sports event of the year. However, it is surprising to note the conspicuous absence of coverage of this spectacular event by the Western media. Why?

During the Games, 15 world records were broken. It's difficult to understand why the Western media, typically enamored with major sports events, showed no interest in reporting these groundbreaking achievements. It's disheartening to note that the exceptional efforts of these record-breaking athletes did not receive the recognition of Western media.

As the first carbon-neutral significant sports event, the Asian Games have incorporated environmentally sound guidelines into all aspects of planning and operations. The Games have implemented green practices throughout, from construction to transportation, energy sourcing, and waste management. Green energy, particularly solar energy, powers all venues. Methanol fuels the central flame of the Games; electric vehicles transport athletes and media between venues; recyclable-water cleaning systems are used in swimming pools; and rain retention systems operate at all venues. Furthermore, the Games launched a public participation program in China called the "One Kilogram Per Person" initiative, which attracted over 100 million participants and earned a Guinness World Records certificate. Participants contribute to the Games' green goals through this initiative through low-carbon living. Similar initiatives have been implemented in the Asian Games Village, where athletes and officials can earn low-carbon points by adopting nearly 20 green behaviors, such as minimizing food waste, practicing green travel, and sorting garbage. These points can be exchanged for low-carbon souvenirs. The Asian Games have set a trend and standard for future environmentally friendly sports events, significantly contributing to global climate change movements. Yet no voices of support and praise were heard from Western-financed NGOs or Western media regarding these constructive standard-setting climate change initiatives.

I believe there could be two reasons for the Western media's lack of coverage and recognition of the Asian Games. First, it may be due to inherent racial discrimination, with the West looking down upon Asians as inferior. Second, the Western media might deliberately avoid showcasing China's success in the Games.

Indeed, it is challenging for the Western media to reconcile their "China collapse" narrative with China's dominance in medals at the Games. China won a record-breaking 383 medals in total, including 201 gold medals, in the 481 events, surpassing Japan's 52 gold medals in second place and South Korea's 42 gold medals in third place by a large margin. This highlights China's spectacular dominance at the Games and its overall sporting prowess.

Furthermore, the Western media might be reluctant to showcase China's advanced innovative technology displayed at the Games. Twenty innovations at the Games were the first of their kind. It was the first "Smart Asian Games", incorporating numerous intelligent technologies such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and 5G. Termed the first "cloud Asian Games", the core system relied entirely on a cloud network, and technology played a vital role in managing the Games. This meant that, compared to previous Asian Games, everything was executed faster, with a mere five-second delay from real-time competition results to the score being reflected in the system. The digital torchbearer in the opening ceremony and the world's first "computer numerical control lawn", with 40,000 luminous points in the closing ceremony, were also particularly impressive.

Sports events have increasingly become arenas for hackers and malicious cyberattacks, and the Asian Games was undoubtedly a target for hackers. Official websites, ticketing systems, broadcasting, scoring systems, and the personal data of athletes and officials were at high risk of theft and hacking. Hackers often attempt to exploit sports events for political purposes or financial gain. Fortunately, China was well-prepared, having successfully eliminated over 64,000 malicious IP addresses and domain names from the internet and removed more than 6,500 malicious programs before the Games. Throughout the Games, there were no signal interruptions in the broadcasting or livestreaming of events, showcasing China's success in cybersecurity against threats.

At a time when the US-led West has been attempting to instigate internal conflicts and confrontations in Asia to sustain US hegemony, China has used the Asian Games to foster unity and harmony in the region.

Hangzhou provided a remarkable gathering for all Asians. The Asian Games Village and the catering and cultural services received widespread praise from athletes, who frequently admired the accommodations and restaurants during press interactions. Moreover, competitors spoke highly of the atmosphere and sportsmanship displayed among the athletes. Many scenes captured Chinese athletes embracing their opponents after games, offering encouragement, and displaying true sportsmanship. The Asian Games showcased China's organizational capabilities and highlighted its spirit of fair play and unity among Asian nations.

In his welcome banquet for the guests who attended the opening ceremony in Hangzhou, President Xi Jinping called for collective efforts to make Asia "an anchor of world peace" and emphasized that sports should serve to pursue good neighborliness, mutual benefit, and reject a Cold War mentality and bloc confrontations. He emphasized that the Asian Games should embody "the Asian people's shared desire for peace, unity and inclusiveness".

Xi's remarks are significant and resonate with the spirit of the Asian Games. Despite the relentless smearing of China by the Western media, the Asian Games provided a platform to showcase the openness, optimism and self-confidence of Chinese society. China must capitalize on the success of the Asian Games and share the stories of China's achievements by producing and sharing video clips publicizing the Games' highlights on international social media platforms.

As for Hong Kong, our athletes have made us proud with their record-breaking performance, securing 53 medals in total, including eight gold medals, occupying 12th place in the medal ranking of 45 participating countries and regions. This remarkable success is a testament to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government's commitment to the sports sector, as evidenced by the injection of HK$7.4 billion ($946 million) of funding into Hong Kong's sports sector. Many Hong Kong athletes also attribute their success to rigorous training on the Chinese mainland and practical coaching strategies.

To further support sports development in Hong Kong, the government should consider providing additional subsidies to the Hong Kong Sports Institute and expanding its elite sports program to include more sports, especially soccer, the world's most popular sport. The remarkable performance of the Hong Kong soccer team, reaching the semifinals for the first time by defeating Iran, demonstrates the potential of this sport to evoke national pride. Such extraordinary achievements deserve strong support from the government and the Hong Kong Sports Institute.

Among the impressive results of the Hong Kong team, the gold medal for the rugby sevens men's team, the bronze medal for the women's team, and the bronze medal for the triathlon team stand out. These teams represent a combination of local and expatriate players. It's heartwarming to see expatriate players standing solemnly and singing along to the Chinese national anthem. By playing for the HKSAR in international sports events, those expatriate players demonstrate that they take pride in this beautiful place.

One regrettable aspect of the Asian Games broadcast was its monopoly by one local TV station. Viewers had to adhere to the station's choice of events and commentators. Some commentators displayed a distinct lack of professionalism and showed bias against the national team, referring to it as "the Chinese team" instead of the national team; expressed the hope that the Japanese team would catch up with the national team; and sighed whenever the Japanese team lost a point to the Chinese team.

International sporting events should belong to all Hong Kong residents, not just one TV station. The HKSAR government should have followed the best practices observed during the Beijing Winter Olympics and should have obtained the broadcasting rights for RTHK (Radio Television Hong Kong) while allowing it to be shared by all local TV stations. As I previously suggested, the government should further demonstrate its commitment to sports by converting one of RTHK's channels into a dedicated sports channel, promoting Hong Kong and mainland sports events.