Musings

Do Not Expect Protests at the Olympics

Tibet. Human rights. Both have become points of a firestorm of protests engulfing the Beijing 2008 Olympics. People around the world are anxiously watching on, waiting for this powder keg to explode and wreck havoc on the one symbol of peace and unity: the Olympics. However, the one nation that should be worried is not; China has been very good at quietly putting down any protests and any fears that there may be protests to taint their reputation as Olympic host. While many heads of states have abstained from attending the opening ceremonies, China has continued to quell dissenting opinions. Most recently, after President Bush’s speech in Bangkok where he spoke out against China’s detention of political protestors and religious activists, China rebuked Bush, and other nations that have spoken out against China’s hosting of the Olympics, by issuing a statement that read, "We firmly oppose any words or acts that interfere in other countries' internal affairs, using human rights and religion and other issues”.

This sort of stance has become the norm for China’s hosting of the Olympic games. And sadly, even America has acquiesced to the statements of the Chinese; regardless of the world community that is pushing the US to make a stand against acts that are obviously wrong, the US has chosen to sit idly by due to the immense and growing power of the Chinese over the US economy.

Besides purposely missing opening ceremonies to make a statement against China, there have been many protests within China that have been quietly put down. However these demonstrations bring to a light another argument concerning the Olympic ideals. After one reads the Olympic Charter, it is clear that China does actually have the law on its side (no wonder it is so calm). Rule 51 of the charter reads, “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas”. This rule may be China’s ticket to a “peaceful” Olympics. Along with this rule there is the statement that essentially states that along with Olympic rules, the rules of the host nation must be adhered to. And to top it all of the bye-law to this rule reads, “No form of publicity or propaganda, commercial or otherwise, may appear on persons, on sportswear, accessories or, more generally, on any article of clothing or equipment whatsoever worn or used by the athletes or other participants in the Olympic Games”. In other words, athletes are not allowed to protest against China as well, with the consequence of losing one’s medal. This consequence will most probably deter any sort of protesting in opening ceremonies or on podiums. Taking this into account, chances of anything similar to that of the 68’ Olympics Black Power salute are very slim.

So what of all the “Free Tibet” protests, and the demonstrations during the passing of the Olympic Torch? As of now it seems that China seems to have things under control, especially being that the law is on its side. After all, China has a reputation for quietly putting down any sort of opposition, and chances are that the consequences of any demonstrations will be enough to deter any protestors from actually taking to the streets. However, one can never be sure how strongly a person, maybe even an athlete, feels on a certain topic, such as Tibet. So now admirers of sport and camaraderie will sit down around the world and watch and wait to see the events of the 2008 Beijing Olympics unfold. The only question that arises in some minds is: was Beijing the smartest place to host the 2008 Olympics?

posted by thethoughtless @ 7:57 AM