http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1207462555198850.xml&coll=6
Dismal pre-Olympic record in China
Sunday, April 06, 2008
The Olympic torch came to Beijing last week, an im****tant moment of
symbolism in an international event chock full of ceremonial
trappings. But even amidst the pomp of the torch bearer running into
Tiananmen Square, other telling markers of Chinese society can't be
overlooked. They include the brutal repression of peaceful protesters
in Tibet, a gagged press and a generally dismal human rights record on
the part of the country's communist government.
The Olympics have always occurred in the context of international
relations and internal politics. Countries boycott. Winners make
political statements on the medal stand. Simple contests become
freighted with implications beyond s****t, such as the 1980 "Miracle on
Ice" hockey game between the United States and the U.S.S.R.
Where the language of symbolic gestures is so well understood, then,
the United States should speak. President Bush ought to use the power
of his office to, at the very least, strongly express U.S. disapproval
of Chinese policies. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Czech
President Vaclav Klause said they would not travel to Beijing for
opening ceremonies in August because of the crackdown in Tibet. Mr.
Bush's absence would make a further statement of international
separation from China's thuggish ways. Mr. Bush, however, has said he
will attend the games as "a s****ts fan." That's diplomatically
disingenuous and he knows it. As president of the United States, he is
much more than that.
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The crackdown on Tibetan protests last month marked the worst
repression by China's government since the 1989 military reprisal in
Tiananmen Square that killed hundreds of people. Violence against
Tibet's robedmonks again reveal China as something other than the
economically advanced, harmonious society Chinese President Hu Jintao
is eager to present to the watching world.
Political repression isn't China's only problem. Pollution is so thick
around Beijing that some athletes fear for their health. Ethiopian
marathoner Haile Gebrselassie dropped out of the games because of
exercise-induced asthma. The air quality points to the need for China,
India and other developing countries to join in any international
agreement on global warming. China's massive industrial growth coupled
with weak environmental standards are exacting a toll not just in
Beijing and the Chinese countryside, but around the globe, especially
for countries down-wind from its power plants and factories.
China remains a significant trading partner for the United States. But
between currency manipulation and patent infringement, unsafe drugs
and lead-tainted toys, China's not-so-Olympic record is a matter of
growing concern to this nation and the world. China's attempts to turn
the Games into a feel-good celebration of national pride won't outrun
those realities.
The United States can seize a little of China's Olympic spotlight and
apply pressure to its government. That should begin with Mr. Bush's
conspicuous absence from the opening ceremonies. Some may dismiss that
as mere symbolism. But where the Olympics are concerned, symbols, like
gold medals, mean a lot.
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