China Olympics

CHINA OLYMPICS 08/04/2008 Remember a few years ago when China was selected as the site for the up-coming 2008 Olympics? We were promised a new era of openness. We were told this was an opportunity to move China towards democracy. We heard that China would respect human rights and dignity. And most of us said there was no way any of this was going to happen. We said this was just more political talk from vested interests who had more to gain from suppression than they did for openness. And so it was that last week we heard the Chinese government was suppressing Internet access journalists need to do their jobs. And what was worse, the International Olympic Committee was a party to the suppression. Not only did the I-O-C agree to the censorship, but the members apparently did so at secret, back-room meetings with Chinese officials. In fact, not even the head of the Olympic Media Commission knew about the deal. The last he heard was the head of the I-O-C publicly promising open and free access. Didn?t I hear something somewhere about the games being above politics and all that? Of course, no one really believes politics don?t play a role, but somehow I had hoped the I-O-C wouldn?t be so blatant in its catering to a repressive regime. Now I know someone out there is going to say I just don?t understand the intricacies of international diplomacy. Actually many of us understand it all too well. Here?s how it?s supposed to work: we support nations that value human worth, and we don?t support those who abuse human rights. Notice I didn?t say we have to launch a military expedition against every repressive regime in the world. We just don?t deal with them on their terms; we deal with them on our terms: you want our money, stop putting journalists in jail, stop blocking the Internet and allow open and free discussion of the issues facing your country. In his recent book, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan wrote about how Washington insiders are more concerned about their image and keeping their jobs than in what is best for the country. This past week we?ve seen the same thing on an international scale. The Chinese government may build a lavish venue for the Olympic games, but until it stops censorship it is still a second-rate repressive regime. I?m Larry Burriss.