Archive for the 'China' Category

The Olympic Torch

2 Comments
March 25th, 2008 by ThunderDragon

The lighting of the Olympic torch as it begins it journey from Olympia to Beijing in time for the 2008 Olympics was disrupted by a group of demonstrators. The group, Reporters Without Borders, said that:

We cannot let the Chinese government seize the Olympic flame, a symbol of peace, without denouncing the dramatic human rights situation in the country.

Whilst I agree with the sentiment, no matter what the human rights situation is in China what is the point of disrupting a sporting event? This is not a political event, but a sporting one. And it’s not like the Olympics could be held anywhere else at this late stage.

Rather than disrupting the Olympics, use the “symbol of peace” that the Olympic flame stands for as an opportunity to show where the Chinese government fail to meet what we consider to be the correct standards - but in a more effective way than the IOCs “silent diplomacy” [which means what, exactly? Saying and doing nothing].

By disrupting the Olympics, demonstrators are not helping their cause, but just ensuring that the Chinese become more intransigent to making any positive change.

China, Olympics, Sport