To be sure, the Beijing Olympics are a roaring success in many respects. To begin with, they are the biggest ever with 204 countries participating.

They also unapologetically demonstrate China's strength. The opening ceremony displayed four great Chinese inventions, the country’s 5,000-year history and its potential. Its record 628-member contingent have surpassed their record 32 gold medals in an Olympiad and are adding gold medals day after day.

China has gained a lot domestically, too. Independence protests in Tibet and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region have subsided. Public sentiment split after the May 12 Sichuan earthquake and serious floods in June and July is united in the shout of “Zhongguo, Jiayou!” (China, way to go!) The standing of the leadership and the pride of the people will increase.

China is a gigantic country, with a total population of 1.330 billion. Henan Province has a population of 96 million, Shandong Province 91 million, Sichuan Province 87 million and Guangdong Province 79 million, each exceeding the population of North and South Korea combined. Its area is 9.59 million sq. km, 43 times as big as the combined 220,000 sq. km of the two Koreas. China's GDP stood at US$3.25 trillion, ranking fourth in the world after the U.S., Japan and Germany. And it is projected to overtake Germany in two or three years.

Blessed with a large population and a wide area, China has many media outlets. As of 2007, China had over 1,000 dailies with a combined circulation of 1 billion copies. It has 3,240 TV broadcasters, 369 AM radio stations and 259 FM radio stations. A considerable number of newspaper and broadcasting companies simultaneously operate 2,000-plus portal sites, transmitting news, domestic and foreign, in real time.

The problem is that some of them are below standard. One of the reason why people are wary of or hostile to China in proportion to its rising status through the Olympics is the unsophisticated behavior of the audiences, biased judging, and the attitude of the press fanning them.

Many were dismayed by spectators who whistled at archers from opposing countries ready to shoot an arrow and unfair judgments made in gymnastics, boxing, volleyball and badminton, but the Chinese mass media ignored them. What's more, some media outlets fanned anti-Korean sentiment by publishing false and distorted news. Some reports ridiculed Koreans by alleging that Koreans believe Confucius, Loa Tsu, Sun Yatsen and the Buddha have Korean lineage, and that American swimming star Michael Phelps is of Korean descent.

If the Chinese press repeats such preposterous reports even after the Beijing Olympics and the Chinese authorities fail to ferret out and punish those who are responsible, it will hurt China’s recently acquired status.

The column was contributed by Lee Hang-su, the Chosun Ilbo's correspondent in Hong Kong.