The year, 2008, is not a usual year for China. Internationally, surrounding countries have been chaotic. To the East of China, people in South Korea have protested imported American beef for months; the new regime in South Korea is in crisis. To its South, people of the opposition party demand that the Thai government resign; the Thai regime has not resolved the issue with the opposition party even though it survived a non-confidence vote. In the north, Mongolia had riots after the opposition Democratic Party lost the election. The Mongolian government imposed martial law to address political unrest.

       Domestically, the Olympics that started at 8 o’clock of August 8, 2008, was a huge event in Chinese history. The Chinese believe that the number “8″ is a lucky number; and therefore, the Olympics opened at 8:08 evening of August 8, 2008 in Beijing. But, the Tibet riot that started on March 14, and Sichuan earthquake on May 12, both add up to “8″ also (3+1+4=8 and 5+1+2=8). Yet, the Chinese successfully finished the Olympic performance in August, and safely returned three Chinese astronauts on the Shenzhou VII spacecraft to earth, as well as completing the nation’s first space-walk on September 29. The number “8″ might bring the luck for China too. Even though the Chinese economy has slowed in October during this chaotic financial crisis, China has been one of emergent global leaders who have been respected and looked upon around world.