The real China

Published 10:38 pm Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Recent violence in Tibet serves the handy purpose of reminding us of the totalitarian nature of the Chinese government.

In August, we will be expected to ignore that harsh reality and make nice with one of the most brutal regimes in the modern world. All of this is supposed to be done in the name of the Olympic Games.

Tough.

The International Olympic Committee made a huge mistake in accepting the Chinese bid. While we do not advocate government-mandated boycotts (as ordered by Jimmy Carter in 1980), we hope that many athletes from all over the world will take the opportunity to decry the thuggish policies of the host country.

The crushing of dissent in Tibet is sure to garner most of the media’s attention, but the subjugation of more than 1.3 billion Chinese citizens should not be forgotten. Neither the “Olympic spirit” nor the free-market fueled Chinese economic resurgence should obfuscate the reality of modern China.

It remains a totalitarian state at odds with the tenets of a just society.

Hopefully the world’s athletes will not shy away from carrying a message of freedom to Beijing.



The Daily Citizen