This article does not aim at giving arguments favour or against the statement. It aims at giving a brief background on recent hot human rights related issues in China and how individuals or organisations have linked them with the Olympics Games.
Darfur Controversy
In recent weeks human rights groups and a number of Hollywood personalities, including Steven Spielberg, have stepped up criticism of China's record. “I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue with business as usual,” Mr. Spielberg said in a statement released in February. He accused the Chinese government for not taking any action against the Sudan government on the Darfur crisis, while the Chinese government could indeed exert influence on the Sudan governmnet since the Chinese government has been an ally of the Sudan government and bought two-thirds of Sudan’s oil.
Working Conditions of Workers
Apart from the Darfur crisis, the Chinese government is also being accused of the exploitation of migrant workers in Beijing. According to a report from the Human Rights Watch, migrant construction workers building the “new Beijing” are routinely exploited by being denied proper wages, under dangerous conditions with neither accident insurance nor access to medical and other social services. The HRW argued that the Chinese government has failed to take any REAL action to protect its migrant workers.
In response, the Chinese officials strongly criticised "anti-China forces" which politicise this year's Beijing Olympics. BeijingChina's foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, said individuals and groups were trying to tarnish China's image.
Dilemma Posted by the Protests in Tibet
In addition, Tibetans clearly view the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a high-profile opportunity to draw attention to the problems in Tibet. This has created a dilemma for the Chinese government. With the Beijing Olympics just months away, China's top leaders surely do not want the monks' protests to become the country's defining image. The Chinese government is under the world’s eyes on how to handle the Tibet crisis. It is expected that the Chinese government would try to avoid the reoccurrence of the Burma crisis in 2007. However, it is likely that suppression is a must and independence would not be allowed.
Boycotting the Opening Ceremony
The Tibet crisis has intensified the debate on whether the Beijing 2008 Olympics Games shall be boycotted. When being interviewed, France's outspoken foreign minister, former humanitarian campaigner Bernard Kouchner, said the idea of boycotting the opening ceremony of the Games "is interesting" suggested such a possibility and the likeliness for other heads of states to follow suit. Such an opening ceremony boycott presumably would not include the athletes, who under Olympic rules are forbidden from making any kind of protest at events or venues.
So, what do you think? Do you think the Oylmpics Games shall be boycotted due to the human rights issues in China?
Darfur Controversy
In recent weeks human rights groups and a number of Hollywood personalities, including Steven Spielberg, have stepped up criticism of China's record. “I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue with business as usual,” Mr. Spielberg said in a statement released in February. He accused the Chinese government for not taking any action against the Sudan government on the Darfur crisis, while the Chinese government could indeed exert influence on the Sudan governmnet since the Chinese government has been an ally of the Sudan government and bought two-thirds of Sudan’s oil.
Working Conditions of Workers
Apart from the Darfur crisis, the Chinese government is also being accused of the exploitation of migrant workers in Beijing. According to a report from the Human Rights Watch, migrant construction workers building the “new Beijing” are routinely exploited by being denied proper wages, under dangerous conditions with neither accident insurance nor access to medical and other social services. The HRW argued that the Chinese government has failed to take any REAL action to protect its migrant workers.
In response, the Chinese officials strongly criticised "anti-China forces" which politicise this year's Beijing Olympics. BeijingChina's foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, said individuals and groups were trying to tarnish China's image.
Dilemma Posted by the Protests in Tibet
In addition, Tibetans clearly view the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a high-profile opportunity to draw attention to the problems in Tibet. This has created a dilemma for the Chinese government. With the Beijing Olympics just months away, China's top leaders surely do not want the monks' protests to become the country's defining image. The Chinese government is under the world’s eyes on how to handle the Tibet crisis. It is expected that the Chinese government would try to avoid the reoccurrence of the Burma crisis in 2007. However, it is likely that suppression is a must and independence would not be allowed.
Boycotting the Opening Ceremony
The Tibet crisis has intensified the debate on whether the Beijing 2008 Olympics Games shall be boycotted. When being interviewed, France's outspoken foreign minister, former humanitarian campaigner Bernard Kouchner, said the idea of boycotting the opening ceremony of the Games "is interesting" suggested such a possibility and the likeliness for other heads of states to follow suit. Such an opening ceremony boycott presumably would not include the athletes, who under Olympic rules are forbidden from making any kind of protest at events or venues.
So, what do you think? Do you think the Oylmpics Games shall be boycotted due to the human rights issues in China?
1 comment:
It's quite sad to be reading about the protests in Tibet these days. On one hand, we see that the Chinese government still rules with a fear in her heart: force is often used over dialogue to handle social upheavals, and the media is often seen as the trouble-maker rather than a civil monitor…As a result, the journalists are kicked out and Tibet cut off from the rest of the world…It certainly does great damages to the credibility of China as a country who respects human rights.
However, on the other hand, I sometimes wonder whether the international community (especially the media) is adding on to the fire by giving a rather one-sided portrait on the issue. It seems that the Tibetans are always illustrated as the ‘innocent monks of the Shan-grila’ while it was almost forgotten that the crisis began because a group of protesters were burning shops and houses in Lhasa. Of course, the issue is complicated, and one reason why this caught so much attention all over the world is because many westerners do have a much idealized image about Tibet as the ‘Shan-grila’ depicted in the novel, and deep in their hearts they would always see China as the bully and the independence of Tibet as a morally justified liberation.
I guess our concern here is not on the politics, as national sovereignty and boarders are always a complicated issue, especially regarding ethnic minorities in China. Yet I think while we should uphold our beliefs for human rights and concern about what’s happening in different parts of the world, we ought to be fair to China as well regarding what is happening in Tibet. Social upheavals like this could only be settled through true dialogues and policy changes, and using forces would only add on the hatred and anger…boycotting the Olympics is not a wise choice either. It’s like depriving the young boy from his favorite soccer game because he failed his examination at school, one doesn’t compensate or help the other. As BIG as she appears in the global arena, China is still a developing country who has lots to learn about human rights and the local governance...shouldn’t the international community help her to learn, instead of directing all the blame to her and enhancing her fears by posting up all the “free Tibet’ signs over the globe??
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