To prove itself worthy of hosting the Olympics, China would lay off the human rights abuses and otherwise behave itself, or so the thinking went. But as the August games approach, the Chinese government seems intent on proving itself unworthy — violently cracking down on protests in Tibet and elsewhere, denouncing the Dalai Lama as “the devil,†censoring media and threatening to ban live television broadcasts from Tiananmen Square during the Olympics. Other difficult issues have cropped up, too, including foul air, toxic toys, tensions over Taiwan and China’s support for the government of Sudan. A boycott seems an overreaction, but neither does it suffice for President Bush to argue, as his spokeswoman did last week, that the Olympics “should be about the athletes and not necessarily about politics.â€
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16 Comments
China is a dirty, filthy, uncivilized pesthole. Why would anyone who cares about their health go there to compete in the Olympics?
Funny, I found a tract in my door the other day that said just about the same thing re: the Dalhi Lama, and that Buddism, et al was created by Satan to mislead the faithful. Yall s’pose the Chinese have infitrated and coopted the Evangelicals?
Let’s not kid ourselves. The Olympics has ALWAYS been about politics, whether we wish that were so or not.
From Hitler using the ‘36 Olympics to show off his superrace (and Jesse Owens put the lie to that!), to the Israelis killed in Munich (I suppose Ed will defend that), to the reciprocal boycotts in 1980 and ‘84. It’s always, for one party or another, about politics.
It was about politics for China when they sought this Olympics, though it’s not going to turn out to be the kind of face they had planned to show to the world.
What else is new?
Should we boycott? No.
Should American atheletes use their moment in the spotlight to protest and highlight the plight of Tibet? Absolutely. The Chinese officials will do their level best to quash such expressions. Screw ‘em. This is what an open society looks like. China may well discover, as did Russia, that personal economic freedom and political oppression are, in the long term, incompatable. So be it.
Sounds like a government the Republican party would find ideal. Lack of regulation and safety inspections, violent crackdown on protesters, oppressive government with fixed elections, use of torture, and no need for a warrant to spy on citizens.
The interesting point is that Bush has stated that he would not meet with Raul Castro because doing so would legitimize the communist regime, HOWEVER, he will attend the Olympics in China despite their horrid record on human rights and their continuing occupation of Tibet.
Now, isn’t the fact that he is attending the Olympics legitimizing the Chinese government?
Sumpt’n ain’t right here and I think it is George.
From the 13th century on, temporal Tibetan power lay with the Chinese Emporer whereas things spiritual with the Dalia Lama. Tibet was a total theocracy where the entire nation was at the disposal of the monks. No roads, no commerce, no trade or truck with the outside world. With Europe it was the reverse, temporal power was local while spititual power lay with the Pope. In 1915 the Brits promoted “independence” creating and “free” Tibet to further their strategic uberplan in that part of the world and since China was by now in decline, they got away with it. Tibet went into a deeper cocoon of theocracy with more power accumulated by the monastries and even less hope to the people. China returned in 1950, built roads, brought commerce, health care, food and enterprise at the expense of the religious tyranny. Those rioters of to-day are monks and a few of their followers who attacked Chinese nationals, killing them burning and looting their shops. The average Tibetan who now has a bit of a very very poor, pie did not take part. Read the item in the NY Times yesterday which pretty well confirms what many observers of the Tibetian scene have said. The stories coming out now, from eyewitness Western observers arriving in Nepal do not blame the Chinese at all. The monks have lost control and they won’t stand for it. Did you notice the monks rioting in India and Nepal, carrying signs in ENGLISH? The Dalai Lama claims he does not seek independence for Tibet just a larger impact of traditional(religious)life in his country. He condemns what is happening and has told Buddists he will resign if they continue the strife. Chinas is far from perfect in the eyes of the West, but it is getting a bum rap in this case. They have actually helped and improved the lot of the Tibetan serf for nearly 800 years. Olympics yes, boycott no.
Only a couple of days ago, I was saying to my good friend Muthanna Al-Hanooti, dat dem Olympics shouldn’t be held in China.
Typical Asian people, we can’t trust em.
But under the Bush regime we bought Chinese bullets and sent them nuclear weapon materials. Bush might need to go to China to learn how to better fix elections. It’ll be like two friends who haven’t talked to each other since Bush begged to have captured Air Force pilots returned.
Cheney is too busy coming off his hang over celebrating the Iraq invasion anniversary with his bosses in Saudi Arabia.
Is that the Doug from Retards R US?
No, but you are a Troll from Trolls R Us.
JR – if you want to know what a “shill” really looks like, check out sursam, above. Bought and paid for. I’d bet anything, in fact, he’s writing FROM China.
Of course, you will continue to interpret “shill” as “disagrees with JR.”
GMC70: My post above is a brief history of what the backround of the Tibetan problem is, not a comparison to Jeffersonian Democracy.
surnam:
Uh-huh. And I’m the Dhali Lama.
And you’re full of shit. How you attempt to defend the ongoing extermination of independent Tibetan culture and religion by the Chinese government is despicable. Chinese dictatorship is destined to fail, sooner or later.
I vote sooner.
GMC70 Godd heavens man, read something other than than what passes for the press, you might learn rather than just repeat by rote. Is anything I said of Buddist/Chinese contretemp incorrect from a historial point of view?
sursum: I think both you and GMC70 are correct, you in history and current events and he as to the future of the Chinese methods of government. It will evolve over the generations and I think the first steps have been taken. When asked by Kissinger what effect the French revolution had on history, Chou En Lai replied it was too soon to tell. That is how China looks at things, over the long, very long haul. PS: I love history!
NN
Bullshit. Sursam’s citation of “China returned in 1950, built roads, brought commerce, health care, food and enterprise at the expense of the religious tyranny” is just the usual Maoist justification; they always CLAIM to act for the masses, but in fact, they act for themselves.
The destruction of Tibet is frankly far worse than the plight of the Palestinians; they just haven’t figured out how to use the press as well. But, thankfully, they’re learning.
The Chinese dictatorship, and his shill here, can be damned.