Analysis: China’s bubble Olympics kept reality at a distance

By TED ANTHONY
AP National Writer

BEIJING (AP) — They did it — that much seems obvious. But what, exactly, was the “it” that they did? China pulled off a technically superior Olympics with very few mechanical glitches — no small affair in the pandemic era. It made that happen primarily by creating a “closed-loop system” — the now-renowned Olympic “bubble” designed to corral anyone affiliated with the Olympics and keep them from infecting the rest of China. It also had the effect of making sure that no one asking too many questions was roaming around Beijing with notebooks and cameras, poking into things.