When it became clear that China would carry out the Olympics in 2008, for certain there have been people who thought this as a great chance for the Chinese government to show how advanced, progressive and despite of all critics "democratic-modern" they are. But now the situation turns the other way: China is carefully observed not only by civil-rights-activists but also the whole world community in the forerun of the Olympic Games in summer. And this turns out to be problematically for the Communist Party. Activists and dissidents in China take advantage of the high interest in Chinese politics these days. They know about the assessments of the world community concerning Chinese domestic politics and they try to use this enhanced interest to speak up aganist the government. Rumours in rural regions and now the conflict in Tibet are signs for the dissatisfaction of the Chinese civilists.
Maybe China has fallen in its own trap: by agreeing to host the Olympic Games in Beijing this year, China succeeded in drawing the attention of the international community to itself and to its wrongs.
- 3
March 27, 2008
Donald Stadler, Self-employed, Diamond Contributor (1052)
Not only because the protests in Tibet and elsewhere show China in a despotic light, but also because of the heavily polluted atmosphere of the Olympic venues. Holding the games in Beijing may not be healthy for the world's athletes. One can only hope that any such consequences of these games may not prove fatal or lasting to any competitor.
Perhaps the IOC should change policy and simply schedule the Olympics in a nice, safe, clean European city every four years with perhaps an occasional digression to Japan or Australia. I think the US can be ruled out for the forseeable future because Atlanta was such a overwhelming debacle (at least in certain pairs of eyes) and becuse the yank's simply aren't civilized enough and despots as well.