Beijing Olympics: Human Rights Abuses Addressed

The 2008 Beijing Olympics are approaching and many are torn between supporting historical athletic tradition and condemning human rights abuses worldwide. China's friendly economic relationship with the Sudanese government is concerning to several people who believe it is the moral responsibility of major powers to stop genocides. Furthermore, China has raised eyebrows in recent clashes with its declared Tibetan territory. A public response to China's actions in Darfur and Tibet is boycotting the Olympics this year. I mentioned in a previous post that China is the first nation to reach the UN Millennium Development Goals for eradicating poverty. However, does China deserve praise if it eradicates poverty in its own country but endorses poverty in another? If boycotting the Olympics can send China a strong message that it's human rights abuses are unacceptable, then it is the least the international community can do.

While powerful states have done little but acknowledge the genocide in Darfur, China has strengthened economic ties with Khartoum, Sudan's capital. A BBC article explains that "China imports two-thirds of Sudanese oil--estimated at 500,000 barrels a day. Last year, it imported a total of $4.1bn ($2.0bn) worth of goods from Sudan, mostly oil." Furthermore, the genocide worsens because China is now known as Sudan's biggest arms supplier. With a flourishing economy and abundant advanced weaponry, it will become harder to halt Sudan's destructive forces. Although the death toll in Darfur is unknown because the Sudanese government tries to conceal it as much as possible, it is estimated to be around 400,000 people since 2003. Another controversial issue is China's long relationship with Tibet. Since 1950, China has claimed Tibet to be part of its territory and enforced communist Chinese ways on it (see image to the left). Since then, Tibet has been in the spotlight as an example of an unruly Chinese regime. "Free Tibet" is a slogan and campaign that has long been publicized in film, songs, and public activist voices. Recently, riots that began as protests have broken out in Tibet as Tibetans voice their concern over a neo-colonial China attempting to integrate Tibetan economy with China. Tibetans feel their identity is threatened as neighboring Han Chinese enter the region for work and China continues to control Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and religious practices.

The main question is: what does this have to do with the 2008 Olympics? The Olympics originated in 776 BCE in Greece as a competition of the best amateur athletes in the world and has been in practice since 1896, occurring every four years. The debate against the boycotts include arguments like an athletic gathering bringing the international community together has no need to be politicized. Rather than use the Olympics as a spectacle on the host country's practices, it is in the spirit to focus on international unity and sportsmanship. China's foreign minister, Yang Jiechi agrees with these arguments when he responds to the boycotts by claiming "campaign to boycott the Olympics is 'against the spirit of the games.'" While the United States has chosen not to boycott the Olympics, the US-China Security Review Commission claims China to be a "growing economic and military threat." It can easily be claimed that the US public and other allies are using the Olympics as an excuse to publicize China's wrongdoings in hopes of denouncing it internationally and eliminating the economic threat China poses on the United States. Furthermore, many of the nations threatening to boycott the Olympics, are ones that have their own human rights violations. France, for example, has a number of anti-semitic incidents as well as excessive force by law enforcement officers, according to the US State Department. Therefore, it is hypocritical and morally unacceptable to ask China to stop its illegal practices if other countries do not as well.

While these arguments against boycott are valid, they are not convincing. State officials, celebrities, and organizations have vowed to boycott the Olympic games to send China the message that their human rights abuses will not be overlooked. French president Nicholas Sarkozy has refused an invitation to the Olympics opening games unless China complies with three conditions - "China frees political prisoners, ends violence against Tibetans and opens dialogue with the Dalai Lama." Steven Spielberg, who was meant to be artistic adviser to the 2008 Olympics, pulled out claiming China must end its assistance to the Darfur crisis. Human Rights Watch, which has vowed not to participate in the boycotts, is one of the many organizations taking a stance to raise awareness to China's human rights abuses. In an open letter to China's Ethics Commission of International Olympic Committee, Human Rights Watch describes some of China's human rights violations and ways in which the committee can manage them to make the Olympic games less controversial and politicized. In it, the organization suggests, "Articulate the ethical obligations of the movement with respect to human rights in line with the values and principles enshrined in the Olympic Charter." Reporters Without Borders is another organization (photo to the right) publicizing China's brutality to freedom of press. Through the boycott by state officials, celebrities, and organizations, a clear message is being sent to China that their actions are inexcusable. Furthermore, Chinese political issues are being publicized to a much wider audience because of these high profile boycotts.

If China continues to ignore these threats and disregard them as irrelevant to the Olympics, their economy could take a strong hit. They have been preparing for the Olympic games by rebuilding infrastructure and preparing for economic gains from tourism. E, Long Inc. is an online travel service provider in China who earns $36 million in sales yearly and is projecting to profit from the $82.6 billion Chinese travel market pie during the Olympics. With enough boycotts, China can take the international community's message seriously after its economy has taken a blow and the Olympic games are not the cash outlet they expected. The benefit of this is that without an increase in China's economic power, there will be no increase in funds for importing Sudanese oil or managing a Tibetan colony. This spotlight on China has given the international community an opportunity to investigate its practices and publicly condemn them. A blogger dedicates her entire blog, Boycott 2008 Communist Olympics, to informing the world about China's abusive practices and the progress international groups have had in protests and public letters. The blogger provides a letter by an imprisoned human rights activist, Hu Jia, who warns, "please be aware that the Olympic Games will be held in a country where there are no elections, no freedom of religion, no independent courts, no independent trade unions." These are facts that should have been addressed long ago. Now that the Olympics are providing a spotlight on China, the international community should take advantage and address China's violations to improve the lives of over 1.3 billion Chinese people and millions of others in Darfur and Tibet.