OLYMPICS WEB GUIDES
OLYMPICS FEATURE ARTICLES
LATEST BEIJING OLYMPICS NEWS
China Warns of Repercussions for Beijing Olympics Protests
by
findingDulcinea Staff
The Chinese ambassador to London claims that the torch relay protests could lead to a Chinese “backlash” against the West.
30-Second Summary
Ambassador Fu Ying criticized the West’s “demonization” of China on Sunday in U.K. paper The Telegraph.
The comments from the Chinese ambassador follow the spirited protests in London, Paris and San Francisco against China’s human rights record, its relations with Sudan, and particularly its clampdown in Tibet.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany have already announced they will boycott the opening ceremonies in Beijing. It does not appear that President Bush will do the same, and Stephen J. Hadley, the national security advisor, has called the decision to boycott a “cop out,” that will not succeed in curtailing China’s human rights record.
Senator Hillary Clinton has urged Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies and she has consistently spoken out against China’s policy on Tibet. However, it was recently revealed that Bill Clinton’s foundation has ties to a Chinese firm that has aided the government in clamping down on dissent in Tibet.
Thirty-six people were arrested in the London protests and Paris security officials extinguished the flame because of activists’ disruption. In San Francisco, the torch relay actually avoided the crowd by ducking into the backstreets and heading for the airport early.
The Olympic torch is currently in Muscat, Oman. It will be in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 16 and then New Delhi, India, on April 17.
The comments from the Chinese ambassador follow the spirited protests in London, Paris and San Francisco against China’s human rights record, its relations with Sudan, and particularly its clampdown in Tibet.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany have already announced they will boycott the opening ceremonies in Beijing. It does not appear that President Bush will do the same, and Stephen J. Hadley, the national security advisor, has called the decision to boycott a “cop out,” that will not succeed in curtailing China’s human rights record.
Senator Hillary Clinton has urged Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies and she has consistently spoken out against China’s policy on Tibet. However, it was recently revealed that Bill Clinton’s foundation has ties to a Chinese firm that has aided the government in clamping down on dissent in Tibet.
Thirty-six people were arrested in the London protests and Paris security officials extinguished the flame because of activists’ disruption. In San Francisco, the torch relay actually avoided the crowd by ducking into the backstreets and heading for the airport early.
The Olympic torch is currently in Muscat, Oman. It will be in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 16 and then New Delhi, India, on April 17.
Headline Links: China’s ‘backlash’ and Hadley’s opposition to boycott
Fu Ying, the Chinese ambassador to London, said the violent protests in London and the West’s “demonization” of China could lead to a “backlash,” The Guardian reports. The protests have damaged the West’s reputation in China and demonstrated to the Chinese people that the British “were against them,” according to Fu.
Source: The Guardian
Britain's Gordon Brown and Angela Merkel of Germany plan to boycott the opening ceremonies, but President Bush has not indicated that he will also do so. National security advisor Stephen J. Hadley said, “I think it is a way of dodging what really needs to happen.” Former President Jimmy Carter, who spearheaded the boycott of the Soviet Olympics asserted, “That was a totally different experience in 1980, when the Soviet Union had brutally invaded [Afghanistan] and killed thousands and thousands of people.”
Source: The New York Times (free registration may be required)
Background: Protests in London, Paris and San Francisco
Following the impassioned demonstrations in London, Paris and San Francisco during the running of the torch in those cities, Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said the Games were in “crisis.” China denounced Rogge’s remarks, though Rogge also noted that there were no plans to stop the relay.
Source: findingDulcinea
The Paris leg of the torch relay was so disrupted by protestors that Chinese authorities requested that part of the race be cut short. There were similar incidents during the London leg days before.
Source: findingDulcinea
Opinion & Analysis: The future of the Olympics and the role of protest
Buzz Bissinger writes in the International Herald Tribune that, “protests and boycotts are no longer effective remedies. There is only one way left to improve the Olympics: to permanently end them.” Bissinger reels off events from previous Olympics, including doping scandals, boycotts and murders, to support his argument that the Games no longer fit the ideal envisioned by Baron Pierre de Coubertin when he revived the tradition in the 1896.
Source: International Herald Tribune
An editorial from New Zealand’s The Dominion Post says that “it is naive to expect the Olympics to operate in a political vacuum, and neither the Chinese nor the International Olympic Committee believe they do.” According to the piece, China should have expected such focus on their human rights record would occur after they originally promised the Olympic Committee in 2001 that they would improve, and the politicization of the Olympics is bound to continue as the Games progress.
Source: The Dominion Post
The Wall Street Journal admits that China’s human rights abuses in Tibet are reprehensible, but it does not feel that boycotting the opening ceremonies will serve the interests of the world’s leaders. The Journal writes, “The boycott could do more harm than good, enraging the Chinese people and playing into the hands of the Communist Party leadership,” noting that even Chinese-Americans were angered by the San Francisco protests. “Mr. Bush could do more to further human rights in Tibet by attending the Olympics and, while there, speaking out on the plight of the Tibetan people.”
Source: The Wall Street Journal (registration required)
Before the Olympic torch relay started, Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po newspaper published an op-ed about winning the public relations battle. Hong Kong television commentator Dr. Qiu Zhenhai wrote, “The West's critical, liberal, empirical tradition and the simultaneous ignorance of facts and logic due to simplistic thinking create a paradox,” but “within this staggering confusion and misunderstanding, there [is] a huge opportunity for China to launch its own huge public relations campaign.” The author suggests engaging in dialogue with the West, conveying its point of view, and being transparent.
Source: Worldmeets.US
Related Topics: Bill Clinton’s connection with China
Former President Bill Clinton’s foundation has received a donation from Alibaba Inc., a Chinese firm that oversees Yahoo China and which has used the Web portal to encourage users to tip off the authorities about Tibetan activists. Bill Clinton’s tie to Alibaba is problematic at a time when Hillary Clinton is criticizing China’s human rights abuses in Tibet and calling for President Bush to boycott the Olympic opening ceremonies.
Source: Los Angeles Times
Reference: The 2008 Olympic torch itinerary
The Web site of the 2008 torch relay has an interactive map with arrows showing the order of stops on the tour and vignettes of each city.
Source: The official Web site of the Olympic torch relay
Most Recent Beyond The Headlines
© 2012 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
