2008 Woodie Awards
Boycott the Olympics? It's a start
Doug Graham
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Opinion
French President Nicolas Sarkozy recently threatened to boycott the Aug. 8 opening ceremony of this summer's Beijing Olympics, a move made in response to recent Chinese crackdowns on Tibetan protesters who want nothing more than to be allowed to practice their faith.
The Associated Press reports that the unrest in Tibet arose from "patriotic education" classes that force monks to denounce their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Dozens of Tibetans who resisted have been arrested, and according to Tibetan rights groups, nearly 140 have died.
It comes as no surprise, really. In China, loyalty to state is more important than loyalty to any god - or anything else, for that matter. Tiananmen Square, anyone?
I'm all for boycotting the opening ceremonies. My question is, why not do more?
A simple way for the United States, France and other countries to show their disdain is to simply not send their athletes to compete.
Religious oppression is just one of China's many backward human rights policies. As evidenced by Sarkozy's comments, and others like them, concern is growing over the Chinese government's near-complete lack of respect for human liberties.
Just recently, Steven Spielberg pulled out of coordinating the opening Olympic ceremonies, citing a crisis of conscience over the Darfur genocide. China has essentially provided the Sudanese government with the means to wipe out as many as 400,000 people in exchange for good deals on oil.
The Chinese government's assaults on human life extend even to the unborn. An NPR report filed last year said that "dozens of women in southwest China have been forced to have abortions even as late as nine months into the pregnancy."
The report recounted the story of Wei Linrong, who thought she could simply pay a fine to get by China's one-baby-per-family policy. She was wrong.
Wei was seven months pregnant when "family planning" officials came to her home and forced her to go to a hospital for an abortion. Another girl said she was forced to have an abortion nine months into her pregnancy because she wasn't married.
The AP reports that the United States, Britain and Germany have all "condemned" China for its handling of the Tibetan protests. All of the other atrocities I've described have been "condemned" as well. Without action, these words mean next to nothing.
I can't say I know what to do to punish the Chinese government for what it's done to its people. I don't think it would be right to boycott Chinese products, as it would be economically devastating and hurt the Chinese people even more.
But the Olympics provide an excellent opportunity to send China a message: "We care that you are oppressing and killing innocent people, and we're not going to put up with it."
The Olympics are a symbol of international unity and mutual respect. While I'm sure the Chinese athletes who are preparing to compete are worthy of such respect, their government is most certainly not.
The Associated Press reports that the unrest in Tibet arose from "patriotic education" classes that force monks to denounce their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Dozens of Tibetans who resisted have been arrested, and according to Tibetan rights groups, nearly 140 have died.
It comes as no surprise, really. In China, loyalty to state is more important than loyalty to any god - or anything else, for that matter. Tiananmen Square, anyone?
I'm all for boycotting the opening ceremonies. My question is, why not do more?
A simple way for the United States, France and other countries to show their disdain is to simply not send their athletes to compete.
Religious oppression is just one of China's many backward human rights policies. As evidenced by Sarkozy's comments, and others like them, concern is growing over the Chinese government's near-complete lack of respect for human liberties.
Just recently, Steven Spielberg pulled out of coordinating the opening Olympic ceremonies, citing a crisis of conscience over the Darfur genocide. China has essentially provided the Sudanese government with the means to wipe out as many as 400,000 people in exchange for good deals on oil.
The Chinese government's assaults on human life extend even to the unborn. An NPR report filed last year said that "dozens of women in southwest China have been forced to have abortions even as late as nine months into the pregnancy."
The report recounted the story of Wei Linrong, who thought she could simply pay a fine to get by China's one-baby-per-family policy. She was wrong.
Wei was seven months pregnant when "family planning" officials came to her home and forced her to go to a hospital for an abortion. Another girl said she was forced to have an abortion nine months into her pregnancy because she wasn't married.
The AP reports that the United States, Britain and Germany have all "condemned" China for its handling of the Tibetan protests. All of the other atrocities I've described have been "condemned" as well. Without action, these words mean next to nothing.
I can't say I know what to do to punish the Chinese government for what it's done to its people. I don't think it would be right to boycott Chinese products, as it would be economically devastating and hurt the Chinese people even more.
But the Olympics provide an excellent opportunity to send China a message: "We care that you are oppressing and killing innocent people, and we're not going to put up with it."
The Olympics are a symbol of international unity and mutual respect. While I'm sure the Chinese athletes who are preparing to compete are worthy of such respect, their government is most certainly not.
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