The first few months after China's nomination to host the 2008 Summer Olympics proved quite challenging for the Asian country. Still handling the delicate matters surrounding the territory of Tibet, China became prey to protests and criticism worldwide, pressured to change its policies in order to avoid an Olympic boycott.

In March, a little less than six months away from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, European nations were considering boycotting the games, as protests and political figures rose to make a point in favor of human rights and the end of violence towards Tibet.

French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, had supported the idea of having Foreign Ministers from the EU skip the August 8 Opening Ceremony, saying that a mini-boycott was “interesting” and, to some extent, “less negative than a general boycott.”

Heads of state such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, were then still expected to be there, although Prince Charles had stated he would not attend the games at all this year.

Although the athletes themselves are forbidden by Olympic rules to protest at the sporting events, a few of them, including swimmer Peter Van Den Hoogenband of the Netherlands already called on the International Olympic Committee's Representatives to speak out in favor of an improvement of the Human Rights conditions in China.

In April, when the torch traveled through London and Paris, pro-Tibet rallies followed its trail, confirming the European consensual desire to boycott the Olympics. In an attempt to calm the relations between the EU and China and hoping that the Chinese would not carry out their threat to boycott European goods, President of the EU Commission Jose Manuel Barroso paid a visit to China, reassuring Chinese officials that he did not have any intention to boycott the events and that he believed the Olympics “should be a celebration of the youth of the world.”

Following in Barroso's footsteps, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier chose care and tension-soothing strategies over threats.

Sarkozy sent French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Foreign Affairs Advisor Jean David Levitte to meet with local Chinese officials, in hopes of appeasing the growing anti-French sentiments among Chinese officials and people.

In the meantime, Steinmeier made a good point: Chinese society has greatly grown and prospered in the past few years, as it has succeeded in partly healing poverty.

What happened this month is a completely different story. Because China was struck by one of its deadliest earthquakes, criticism over the current political situation in China and Olympic boycotting campaigns ceased altogether, leaving room for sympathetic media coverage and shifted perceptions of China's relations with the world.

Aid and condolences replaced frustration and tension, as Chinese officials witnessed the first steps of a reconciliation between Chinese officials and their counterparts of the western democratic world.

The Chinese government, not to mention Chinese society as a whole, proved its efficiency and reliability in the way it handled the aftermath of the tragic quake; bringing in rescue teams and effective disaster relief, the government was able to help thousands of destitute victims.

Ordinary Chinese civilians also mobilized in the name of patriotism, as they bought blankets, food and medicine for the victims and drove to the areas affected by the disaster.

By providing for its people without discriminating, and in a swift, proficient way, China proved that the communist government can work for the good of its people and handle domestic affairs as well as a democratic government could.

As a result, nations across the world halted the protests and donated up to 860 million dollars to the disaster relief, which included many rescue teams sent to help from Russia, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan.

At this point, no one knows the extent of the boycott, assuming there will even be one. However, what is sure is that a country that can bounce back so quickly after a 7.8 magnitude disaster and relieve the victims the way China did, is a country that knows solidarity, efficiency and is conscious of its priorities.

The aftermath of the quake came at an appropriate time in that it proved to the world that Chinese communism, in spite of its many flaws, can work and do good and that democracy is not the only way and, certainly, not the only political system qualified to host a sporting event.

In a way, China already showed that it knows what the Olympics are about; the earthquake's aftermath required the same qualities that hosting the Olympics does: the ability to bring the world together, to cease all confrontations for a small period of time and to question your own ways in order to learn from another.