Protesting China’s Olympic Games

Posted April 8, 2008 at 09:00 PM by Megan Hueter

Section: In The News, His Fitness, Alt. Therapies, His Health, Physical Health

Think about it. You’re a world-class athlete, you’ve been waiting your entire life for a moment like this. You’ve been selected to carry the Olympic torch in one of the most time-honored traditions in modern-day athletics. All of a sudden, just as your fingertips grasp the torch, you are attacked, verbally and physically.  People are jumping at you, yelling “free Tibet,” and “stop the Olympics.” Water is being poured on you in an attempt to extinguish the flame, things are being thrown, people are screaming with anger. Suddenly, you feel like a target of hate and disrespect. Now, you’re simply focused on making it to the end of your journey and hand off this hated symbol to the next poor sucker in line.

That’s probably exactly what torch bearers have been experiencing over the past few days, most recently in Paris, France, and soon take place in California—pictures scoured the news tonight as protesters climbed the Golden Gate Bridge hanging “Free Tibet” signs.  For the first time in Olympic history, authorities were forced to deliberately extinguish the flame.

Google has even invented a map for you to track the progress of the flame.

When is this madness going to end? Not soon enough, I’m afraid. The Chinese are continuing with their public relations nightmare, as they parade (and guard) this torch through San Francisco, Buenos Aires, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Pyongyang.

Protesters from around the world are boycotting the 2008 Olympics, because they’re being held in Beijing, China, a country who has economic and military connections to Sudan, a place where more than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced by civil war. Concern about the game arose just this month, because Chinese police violently cracked down on protests by ethnic Tibetans and Buddhist monks in Lhasa, Tibet.

Congressional representatives are urging President Bush to reconsider his decision to attend the Beijing Olympics ealier this week. They’re referring to the crackdown in Tibet that occured earlier this month, as well as the Beijing government’s close economic ties with the government of Sudan and recent suppression of religious and human rights advocates. Presidential candidate Barack Obama said he’s conflicted, saying, “I am hesitant to make the Olympics a site of political protest because I think it’s partly about bringing the world together.”

Regardless of who participates in the Olympics, I think this situation is embarrassing for China. Human rights (and freedom of religion) are important across the globe to millions of people, and I believe that protesting the Olympic torch is a true example of social uproar toward the use of violence.

According to the International Olympic Committee, “Olympic spirit” requires “mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.” With 13,000 of the world’s best athletes and over 25,000 broadcasters traveling to Beijing this summer, China’s “Olympic spirit” will truely be put to test, as it will be difficult to make friends when you don’t allow religious freedom. The torch relay is only the beginning of a larger uproar which has been repressed for years. The Olympics are simply setting the stage.

Research sources and for more information: [MSNBC]; [infoplease.com]; [IOC]; [picture]