Reader Comments
Point-Counterpoint: Politics and the Beijing olympics
Published: Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
Point: Boycotts don't work
By Lily Shen '11
The media has recently buffeted Americans with the calamitous Olympics torch relay and all sorts of protests that came with it. Politicians are tripping over each other in their eagerness to condemn China, call ...(back to the article)
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To Makina: don't immediately judge WTP of Toronto's statements. You have something blatantly wrong in your statements about the army addressed as monks. That photo, which shows army officers addressed in monk robes, was taken 5 years ago during a film production and was dug up by the Western media to create sensational and counter-factual news. So doubt the media before you doubt some people who have real life experience.
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In reality, the very concept of promoting goodwill between nations through sport is itself a political gesture. The Olympics are inherently a political event. The truth is that China has appropriated the games for the purpose of domestic and international propaganda to promote itself internationally, provide an inspiring distraction at home, to enhance nationalism for Chinese in China and overseas, to universally tout it's culture and political system, etc. It is about enhancing the world's perception of China and thus elevate China's standing in the world. Certainly, I can't say that's all bad. It's definitely good that China gets more exposure to the outside world, and it's good that the outside world begins to glean the real China with all of it's complexities. Meanwhile, other groups have also tried to use the Olympics to pressure China on their issues. Likewise, I cannot say this is altogether a bad thing. Acknowledging certain realities -- such as the people who have been trampled-upon through China's breakneck growth -- will ultimately be good for China and help it become a more mature society. I live in China, and I can tell you that the victim mentality in combination with the broad stroke of the Chinese concept of identity is tiresome. Everything inevitably relates to how "we Chinese have been so humiliated, exploited, etc" and inevitably the culprit is the outside world. It would be nice to hear Chinese end their perpetual defensive posturing and start talking about their own racism, the extent to which they oppress, humiliate, and exploit each other, the turbulence and trauma of their own recent history, a desire to take an honest look at their own society in the manner that the West constantly undergoes self-examination, and ending the Chinese "victim mentality."
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WTP of Toronto has it wrong. Falun Gong has been labeled a criminal evil cult by Jiang Zemin to justify its genocidal campaign about the quasi-religous group on April 25, 1999. He has made sure that this info be on TV many times a day during the first few years of the persecution to persuade the Chinese people that they deserved to be killed for their belief in Truth-Compassion-Tolerance. There are no cultish traits about them according to western experts who are non communist party members and don't have an agenda of damaging the reputation of the benign spiritual group. Like the Christian priests, countless have been tortured to death for their faith and this is well documented at the UN, AI, HRWatch, etc. As for the Tibetan monks, 300 police dressed up as monks to create havoc during the peaceful protests, pictures were taken when the Tibetans defended themselves from the acts of violence. This was heavily publicized by Xinhua portraying the monks as violent criminals, etc. This tactic is frequently used by dictators to justify the killing and their grip of power--and most of all to keep their citizens in the dark about their bloodlust. Poor precious Chinese people! To this day countless of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience have been killed for their organs at the hands of the regime.But maybe WTP doesn't know any of this. Or just refuse to believe the truth. Remember one thing - the communist party is not your mother -- China is not the communist party either.
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The so-called "Pro Human Rights" loose faction are like a partner in a marriage who, whenever there is a disagreement, immediately drum up all the previous quarrels in a time-static way and continue to verbally abuse the other partner. I am a Chinese living as a Canadian for 40 years already with probably more insight into the west than most of my "westerner" associates. I feel the lack of information is what keeps this chasm festering. "Forgive them father for they knoweth not". Most Westerners ignore the silent majority of Tibetans who were formerly serfs under Dalai and have been literally liberated by the CPC. Their human rights seem to be not righteous while the rights of the Dalai monks and former landlord class seem so much more sacrosanct. Many monasteries in Tibet as wells as the rest of China were destroyed by the Cultural Revolution chaos mobs. Since Deng Xiaoping normalized China, for 30 years now, the CPC has done overall a good thing for all the people of China, lifting the greatest number of people over the shortest period from abject dead-end in every way to mostly hope and satisfaction today. 1.3 billion people's human rights has been greatly enhanced over the last 30 years of unrelenting improvements. I have engaged with China personally since 1984 at various levels of power, income, and beliefs and I say hurrah for Deng and his heirs. The China of today are still being hammered for deficiencies that have been rectified already long ago by CPC. All these have been done under the continued verbal condescension of the Western Human Rights proclaimers. The continued attitude of even most of my western friends here is the assumption conscious or subconscious, that they are morally superior. I see many problems in China; and I see many problems in Canada. The difference is that Chinese leaders know they must change or else be replaced by the next candidate while the Canadian leaders are more secure in their place in the oligarchy. In the cacophony of harangue against the Chinese government, we the Overseas Chinese have awaken and voiced our support for China very loudly and yet the Western media have ignored us, down-played our numbers, called us "brain-washed", CPC-sponsored, and other disrespectful labels. Just as an example, if Cafferty had said "Jews have been for 50 years goons and thugs", I am sure most so-called respectable media in the West would react very differently to Jewish anger. I rest my case. My euphemistic conclusion: racial bias. Imagine CNN clarifying with a statement like "Cafferty was referring to the Israeli government not the Jewish people." As for Falungong, don't even try. If this is only a group of meditation enthusiasts, and not a power-mongering cult, I will join Amnesty International tomorrow. Their selective attacks on China makes for Amnesia International.
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It is back-ass-wards for China to be able to host the Olympics. The countless abuses, like this one: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/world/asia/15cnd-china.html?_r=1&st=cse&sq=china+and+human+rights&scp=5&oref=slogin are simply unacceptable. No free nation should be showing China the honor and respect that it so clearly does not deserve. I'm sorry if as Chinese or Chinese-American students that makes you feel bad about yourself or your heritage. But you need to open your eyes and recognize that your fellow countrymen are being locked away for speaking out about the things they care about--the very right you are taking advantage of here in the states.
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Lily et al - guess what; THE CHINESE COMMUNIST DICTATORSHIP IS NOT CHINA although I am sure your education in China had you think otherwise. China was kidnapped by European Communism in approximately 1949. The ancient 5000 year history of China is filled with Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. The atheist CCP endeavored to wipe up all traces of that culture during the supposed 'cultural revolution'. The biggest trick that the CCP pulls on the Chinese people is to try and confuse the communist party with China. I actually heard that when Chinese people die they comfort each other by saying they are 'going to see Mao'... The Chinese Communist Party demonizes itself without any help from us. How many journalist languish in gulags for daring to tell the truth, how many environmentalists, how many human rights lawyers... people who truly love China and dare to stand up for the truth. Please do not think that because the CCP loses face, you lose face. This is the trick this brutal dictatorship has played on you since its inception. Please differentiate yourself - you are Chinese and thus have a beautiful and distinctive heritage. The Communist Dictatorship is not, heaven forbid, your mother.
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Some points need to be added here -- The fact that the Oly torch on its so-called ‘peaceful journey’ required protection by Chinese para troopers and has met with massive anti-government protests should come as no surprise given the recent crackdown inside and outside China. (Point: Boycotts don't work, April 23rd, 2008). This is the same regime that has been responsible for murdering Falun Gong adherents on the operation tables of China for organ theft that are sold to transplant tourists since 2001. ( http://www.organharvestinvestigation.net) Some Olympic host! There is more but the list is too long. Having said this, for people to argue that the Olympics are not political is a bit too late for that and by all means they should take it up with the IOC. Good luck with that. It’s worth noting though that the IOC were the first ones to make sure that the political nature of the Games be preserved from the time they gave the Games to Hitler right up until today. It should be clear to almost everyone by now that Olympic hosts with a dictatorial background tend to bring with them an aura of disharmony among other things. Now that the bloodbath has officially started in China with the arrest of nearly 2000 Falun Gong adherents since January 1 because of the Olympics--media is mute--I ask you why should we, in the free world, go along with the evil ways of Beijing? With all due respect, shouldn’t it be the other way around and have Beijing improve its ways in an effort to comply to the Olympic Charter along with its code of conduct and its high Olympic ideals. So far, quite the opposite has happened. We can’t ignore the bloodshed. Or can we? I’m afraid that if we don’t speak out now the true essence of Olympism will forever be lost and the crackdown will only get worst. It’s time to take a stand for human dignity and to give the true Olympic spirit to the Chinese people before it’s too late. The Hon. David Kilgour, author of the 'Bloody Harvest' on organ harvesting report once stated: "In hindsight, all nations should have boycotted the Berlin Olympics in 1936, but at the time most governments claimed not to know what Hitler had in mind. Today, we know too well what the Chinese communist regime has in mind for the Falun Gong community because of what it continues to do to them. This is a vitally important difference between 1936 and 2008
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yeah i agree it is a little tricky to see the point-counterpoint here, but that does exist.
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oops, shouldn't have lumped you in there! My point was simply that the first and second people I saw posting does not seem to have actually read the articles before attacking the Prince, which is par for the course in this comments section.
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Exactly. The articles do have a point and counterpoint, but the editors failed to properly label them.
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I think that you and "clearlyeditingproblem" both miss the point. There actually is a difference here, in that the point is saying that the protests have been attacking the Chinese people and engaging in racism whereas the counter-point is saying the opposite, quite explicitly in fact, e.g. "The recent wave of protests from advocacy groups and world leaders are not "anti-China," as some suggest, but instead "pro-human rights." Even the organizations that do condemn some in China are expressing outrage directed at the Chinese government, not the Chinese people. We regret that China today remains a nation where the crucial distinction between a country, its people and its government is blurred and ambiguous."
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The point-counterpoint designation would have been appropriate if the Prince editors made the point 'Protests demonize China,' and the counterpoint 'Protests not anti-China.'
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I believe that Mark's original intention was to simply write an opinion piece... The Prince wanted a point-counterpoint. Apparently they've somehow forced a simple opinion piece into a point-counterpoint article? Good job.
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Wow, so both "point" and "counterpoint" are anti-boycott? What's the point of this op/ed then? This is classic Prince, presenting all sides...of the same position.
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