They had waited 100 years. When the moment came, it brought pride, hope, joy, cynicism, frustration and, yes, self-questioning.
For Beijing's netizens, hosting the Olympic Games has been a bittersweet experience. The nationalism sparked by the Tibet protests has given way to a deeper reflectiveness.

To list just two of their concerns: Would the so-called 'Great Firewall of China', partially relaxed for the Olympics, be back up after the Games are over? Would the websites of international media and human rights groups be blocked again? Would Chinese state broadcaster CCTV revert to its usual 30-second delay of live telecasts - for censorship purposes?

The larger issue is whether measures aimed at opening up and sprucing up Beijing are just for show or will herald further reforms?

Winning the bid to stage the 2008 Games has been described in China as the realisation of a 'century-old dream'. The Games are viewed as a symbol of China's 'arrival' as a modern nation. After all, China's recent history has been turbulent.

With that history in his mind, one of the architects of the 'Bird's Nest' National Stadium, Ai Weiwei, wrote on his blog after the Games' opening last Friday: "People are cheering today because China has spent the past 30 years arduously knocking down walls and opening doors to face the dizzying sunlight and boundless elements."

Though "real change has been felt", the son of the late persecuted poet Ai Qing hopes "reform will proceed at a stronger and surer pace".

On the surface, everything looks perfect in China's capital, apart from the smoggy skies, noted an article in the online financial magazine Caijing. The traffic flows smooth; there are new buildings and new subway lines; and half of the capital's 3.3 million cars have been taken off the road.

But Caijing asked: "Will the Olympics legacy be just an insubstantial spectacle or a decisive turning point impacting on future generations?"

Alluding to the Chinese Communist Party's pervasive control, Caijing noted that more than two million Games 'volunteers' - from stadium ushers to English-speaking guides - were vetted and trained by the Beijing Games organising committee and the Communist Youth League. This is unlike in previous Games, when private entities organised volunteers, said the magazine, which is state-controlled, like all Chinese media, but produces incisive if carefully-worded commentaries.

Netizens were more direct in their criticisms. One blogger called the cancellation of university exams 'ridiculous'. Others complained about the security. Over 100,000 soldiers and police officers are patrolling the streets. Yet another blogger griped about the huge losses that dozens of Chinese firms forced to shut down polluting factories have suffered.

All this to ensure the comfort and safety of foreigners whose 'presence seems to give so much glory to the Chinese government, as if this gigantic party will wash away a century- old humiliation', he grumbled. But he clarified: "I am a Chinese and I did feel proud of winning the bid (to host the Games). It's just that seven or eight years on, I feel more and more distanced from the Olympics."

A liberal writer, Yu Jie, complained that so much national pride has been invested in the Games that "this is the first Olympics that people are forbidden to dislike".

While some netizens view the security clampdown as a momentary inconvenience, others see it as symptomatic of China's political system: The government can marshal such extensive resources at the drop of a hat, with little accountability and brooking no criticism.

Some netizens find it hard to swallow that China, with a yawning rich-poor gap, is spending US$40 billion on the Games. That is twice the combined costs of the two previous Games in Athens and Sydney. Some netizens pun on the Chinese word for Olympics, aoyun, reflecting their love-hate relationship with this expensive coming-out party. 'Aoyun' is a homonym for 'enduring the Olympics'.

As all this indicates, China's political system has not changed much formally, but the situation on the ground is in flux and there are now many contending voices and views. With growing exposure to the world, ordinary Chinese yearn for a loosening up of society - not merely in a political sense, but also psychological.

The musings of one blogger, Li Zhiqi, are a clue to the confidence that the Games are catalysing among Chinese. "We don't need to pretend to be modest and humble, nor do all of us need to pose as nationalistic.' he wrote. 'Actually it doesn't matter much whether the Olympics is a sign of China's rise or not." (By CLARISSA OON/ The Straits Times/ ANN)