August 10, 2008	Sunday	Sha’aban 7, 1429

BEIJING, Aug 9: China’s media on Saturday waxed patriotic over the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, saying the extravaganza showcased an increasingly confident nation and could be a turning point in world history.

Colour photos of Friday night’s ceremony were plastered on the front page of every major daily, while state television repeatedly replayed highlights of the extravaganza held at the “Bird Nest” National Stadium.

“As the resplendent Olympic flame lit up the night over the Bird’s Nest... the world not only saw a modern China that embraces a 5,000-year-old ancient history, but a fully confident, strong and wise China,” the leading People’s Daily gushed. “This rare night in Beijing will become an important page in the history of world civilisation.”

For years, China’s state media has driven home the message that the Beijing Games would bring the world closer to China and help it finally realise its dream to stand amid the global powers.

Saturday’s editorials remained focused on such themes.

“The Beijing Olympic Games is a new starting point for human civilisation to move toward the future, now the expectation is for a more open China to make greater contributions to humanity,” the Beijing Times said.

“The pride of Beijing is that we have fulfilled the commitments made to the international community for a successful Beijing Games, we are also proud of Beijing because Beijing has not let down the expectations of 1.3 billion Chinese.”—AFP