The Olympics is, inherently, a political event. Throughout its history, the event and where it is held has been subject to criticism and opposition. The 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia were boycotted for various reasons by various nations, and 65 nations refused to participate in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia because of atrocities committed in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
China refuses to allow Taiwanese athletes to participate. Even the Olympic Charter defines the event as a political one: “The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.”
Because of China’s human rights record and its recent conduct in Tibet, the world must act, as it did in 1980, by boycotting the event.
On April 9, pro-Chinese students assembled on the steps of the Student Union Center and I was fortunate enough to walk by the rally as it was beginning. They held posters and handed out flyers that spread vicious untruths about the Tibetan unrest. I’d like to make a few things clear, on that subject.
First, Tibetan protesters have remained remarkably peaceful throughout the demonstrations. Of course, there have been instances where unruly youths have punched, knocked down or otherwise assaulted innocent bystanders, but any attempt to equate their regrettable actions with the entire movement is ridiculous.
Furthermore, it has been various news outlets and intelligence services have published evidence suggesting that Chinese military officers have been staging most of the violence that has taken place by dressing up as Tibetans attacking civilians.
Second, the pro-Chinese students claimed that Tibetans are forced into slavery, and that they live in an “autocratic, theocratic serfdom.” The central government appoints a governor to oversee Tibet, so the only autocracy in the region is perpetrated by China.
Tibet is a culture with its foundation in the teachings of Buddhism, but it is not an official state religion (as Tibet has no state); Islamic mosques and Catholic churches are widespread in the region. Finally, most of Tibet’s economy relies on subsistence agriculture, and adheres to a lot of classic principles of field working. The most important point, though, is this: There is no widespread prosecution of those that think or act differently and there is no slavery in Tibet.
The death toll of the Tibetan riots is very unclear right now, because the Chinese government has banned all foreign media from reporting on the incidents (a sure sign that nothing untoward is happening). Most say that somewhere between 50-100 Tibetan monks have been killed, and an unknown number have been arrested. The only reporting from credible outlets has been from The Economist’s James Miles, who was given a one-week pass to cover the events, which just happened to coincide with a dramatic increase in rioting – buttressing the claims that the Chinese government is staging violence in Tibet.
I participated in a counter-rally, and began to follow the pro-Chinese group around campus, making sure that their propaganda flyers were not unanswered. Slowly, as I made my way around campus, about a dozen people joined me – and, thankfully, brought loud voices with them. It seems that loud voices are the only way to get the truth out about China.
China is the primary reason why the Western world cannot get involved in ending the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. China’s support for the Sudanese government, because of their close oil ties, prevents the United Nations from passing a Security Council resolution.
In Rwanda, as well, China prevented the world from acting by vetoing a Security Council resolution. There is no freedom of speech or assembly or religion in China. China has also been criticized by Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch, hardly part of the “far-right corporate media” that the pro-Chinese group was decrying, as having an orchestrated imprisonment and torture campaign against political dissidents.
To connect China’s unabashedly oppressive government to an event that claims to “promote a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity” is a travesty that the world cannot ignore. The outrage of holding the Olympics in China is only fermented considering the countries that the International Olympic Committee is honoring by holding a torch relay.
Before the torch arrived in the United States on April 9, it had passed through countries like Turkey, Russia and Kazakhstan. After the torch leaves the United States on April 10, it goes to countries like Oman, Pakistan, North Korea and Vietnam. Of the 24 stops in the torch relay, only 10 are free nations.
What can individual citizens do? It’s simple: Don’t watch the Olympics, don’t buy Olympic merchandise and write to your local newspapers and news stations and tell them you won’t tolerate China’s abuses anymore.
The International Olympic Committee, the United States and the rest of the free world must put some teeth behind the declaration that the Olympics is a place for the free man to exhibit his human dignity. China’s abhorrent human rights record, their deceitful and violent misinformation campaign in Tibet and their continual crackdown on domestic political freedoms makes the nation unfit to be graced by an Olympic tournament. The world should boycott the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Scott Harris is a UMass student.
