Apr 08 2008
Moving Words On China
I’m not usually moved by words, but this really got me…
“Ever since China was awarded the Olympic Games and pursued them as a national prestige project, the flame no longer stands for fairness and peace. It now also symbolizes a repressive regime which battles ambitions for autonomy like in Tibet, which hurts human rights and suppresses dissenting opinions.
“That is why demonstrators in London and Paris hurled themselves at the runners bearing the torch around the globe. They want to extinguish it. Beijing is seething with anger and talking of ’sabotage.’ It wanted to use the Olympic Games as a stage to present itself in the best light. Now it must look on dumbfounded as it loses control over the organization of the spectacle outside its own borders. The party officials are helplessly watching the protests in Paris and London that are likely to be repeated in San Francisco and Delhi. The torch relay is turning into a political symbol, the damage to the image is increasing with every kilometer.”
“The pressure on China is mounting. But so far it appears incapable of finding a way to deal with this challenge.”
Der Spiegel has a few more choice quotes here.
April 8th, 2008 at 10:52 am
I’m glad the world is finally getting on China’s back about Tibet and about human rights abuses. I just hope the protests continue when the torch arrives in the U.S.
I’d really like the democracies of the world stand together on this. No one should trade with China. If China blocks their websites, no matter what it is, those countries should treat it as a Trade Embargo and deal with China accordingly. Unfortunately, the U.S. is about 50 or 60 years behind Europe politically (which is why we’re in our fascist stage now), and for the U.S., it’s all about money. China has two things that make it immensely attractive to American countries. 1) Extremely cheap labor and 2) an increasing larger market of people with a disposable income.
I really believe, though, that the olympics might be the vehicle that gets the world rallied around forcing China into the 21st century. I hope so.