Don't Boycott the Olympics (or Ceremony)

My lady has a Chinese mother who, even now, only speaks her native language.

She left China because of persecution and is disgusted with their treatment of the Tibetan people (verging on genocide). Tibet has oil (surprise) which means that China now has that oil since their decision to annex Tibet.

The protests work.

I know this because my 15 year old son asked me what the protests were about, this evening. He couldn't grasp where Tibet was (or China, even) until I got the globe out and showed him. At which point I likened the annexing of Tibet to the Third Reich's annexing of Austria &/or Sadam's annexing of Kuwait.

He sat enthralled (for once) as I explained, as dispassionately as I could, the economics and politics and motivations of the big guy stamping out the life of the little guy in order to take that which formerly belonged to the little guy, for himself.

Please don't ignore, make light of, or dismiss oppressed people merely because they are racially, culturally, or geographically distant.

There but for the grace of whatever you believe in.

Chinese to use children to hold up hurdles!

What?

The Olypmics bring in too much money for me to care about Tibet.

Thought it had been so for years in the US...

Everyone uses the Olympics as a showcase. Why should China be different, but now you want to call it political. Why shouldn't China be proud of what she has achieved in the last twenty years in many areas?

Buddhists in violent protest against unconnected people carrying a symbol of unity and hope is in very poor taste and judgement IMO.

Human Rights in China. The truth is that Human Rights have improved considerably in China. This is not the way to help that process. It may be a slow process, but that is the conservative Chinese way. There are many mmany more countries where change will never happen under current regimes that no one is campaigning against, whilst in our own countries our rights are actually being eroded.

Yes the Chinese are showcasing themselves to the world and their own people, but in my opinion this will actually help development and freedom.

I agree with you, Drifter

China should be proud of many achievements past and present, as it should be ashamed of many other but the former does not excuse the latter. This applies to most nations of course, as do your own comments. Politicisation of sport is old hat, suggesting it's a recent development is a tad disingenuous.

I imagine it's the only way some felt their voice would be heard. But, as in many cases it's often the fringe who give the rest a bad press. Rather like football hooligans vs fans. For the hooligans, achieving bad press for the fans is an intended side effect.

Yes it has and yes it is, but a better question would perhaps be - had China been entirely left to its own devices, what do you suppose the Human Rights situation there would be today?

Of course, but China is a nuclear superpower and a major trading partner with the industrialised world. Unlike say, Zimbabwe about which few care or Iraq, well let's not go there. I'm not suggesting it's an equitable situation, it isn't.

I also agree that rights are being eroded back home, but in the UK, it's not Government policy that women be forcibly sterilised for having 2 children, nor is freedom of expression (religious, cultural or political) brutally repressed. Yes, I know the official PRC policy on this but reality doesn't always coincide with this and these events don't always represent the express wishes of the PRC upper echelon. Erosion of rights occurring at home isn't an excuse for ignoring contempt for them elsewhere.

Well, I'd say the way the PRC handled recent events resulted in the sort of showcasing they would have been better to have avoided. I suspect, but without real evidence that were it not for the upcoming Games the crackdown in Tibet would have been far quicker and more brutal. Still, I wasn't there and thus have no more in situ knowledge then you (unless you were there) so perhaps I'm doing the PRC an injustice, but I see little evidence of it.

Drifter, I know you have business dealings with China, and no doubt have greater and more up to date knowledge about the machinations of the PRC than I. It's been just over 3 years since I was last in China and I was their only as a visitor, but I can't help but feel your posts on this are somewhat apologist. Your sole (to my knowledge) condemnation of recent events being along the lines that 'it was unfortunate a few people died', while at the same time intimating the PRC had every right to do as they did.

I concede I may not be entirely even handed about this, but I have to question your own objectivity too.

Cynic.

I don't have a great deal of time to answer everything D. Not that there is a lot to debate on some of the issues.

Apologist - no. I just put the case for the other side, which I hope makes for a more balanced debate.

Propaganda. As you allude, all the regulars that are trotted out even though their practice is illegal. Forced sterilization was outlawed in 1998, I think, yet one case in a country of 1.5 Billion is enough for some to label the whole country again. The official responsible in the outlying area was prosecuted.

What of the double standard that everyone is so concerned that their huge population will want resources that we want whilst at the same time criticising their policy to control the population? Shannon Mathews' mother - I will say no more.

Personal economic development will lead to less repression of our types of personal freedom. This is China, it is their culture, it won't end up like ours, but it will and is changing.

Do not boycott them... expose the Chinese to the freedoms we enjoy and they will want and demand what we have and eventually things will change there. IMHO.

Aside from poor spelling, your post is sickening, but I will give you the benefit of doubt, hoping you meant it in jest.

Nope.

I doubt it.

Regardless of the fact that the 2012 games will end up costing about £10bn - latest budget is £9.35bn - which started at about £3.4bn. Over half of which is taxpayer funded.

This is against (hard to find) estimated revenues of:

• Tourism £2bn
• TV rights £2bn
• Merchandising ...£?

Very little of which will filter down to those actually footing the bill. But it will trigger regeneration and improvements in public transport and infrastructure, but wait - we're paying for those too.

It would be cheaper for the UK to 'free' Tibet. I'm not advocating it, merely comparing value for money.

Britain passed up on a request for a protectorate for Tibet. When the XIII Dalai Lama was in India in 1910 he asked for a treaty identical to that which had just been negotiated with Bhutan: help in defense against external aggression, management of foreign affairs, non interference in internal affairs.(Bhutan is Tibetan in language, culture, religion and architecture) China has also had claims of feudal overlordship of Nepal, Sikkim, Darjeeling, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Baltistan, areas historically all or part Tibetan.

The Chinese have been as cruel toward peoples they consider inferior, not just the Tibetans, but also the Turkestani's and Mongols, as the Japanese were in WWII. This was the case under the Manchu and the ROC as well as the PRC.