Should we boycott the Beijing Olympics 2008

[AWellEarth]

China growing up! Olympics is opportunity for China!

Olympics in China is a great time to Celebrate China's potential!

Visitors & tourists are always great at criticism & shaping Politicial Discussions.

China always reinforces China sovereignty, so don't try to push your weight around.

Have fun at the China Olympics! Japan ain't against China! China deserves to celebrate!

 

[Pachipro]

Politics or not, the Olympics should not be boycotted and should not be used as a political tool of overzealous politicians determined to show who's penis is bigger!

The Olympics should be about the athletes and the athletes only. After all, it is they who have labored and sweated for the past 4 - 12 years, sacrificing their time and livleyhoods to get themselves ready for the world stage where someone may just notice their name or their performance and they may get their just recognition and compensation for all they've invested.

They deserve it and to take that away from them for the sake of politics is cruel and unjustified. Why make the athletes suffer because of it?

If the politicos want to argue about politics and the situation of the world or Tibet, or Iraq, or the Sudan, etc, let them grow a pair, get in the ring at the Olympics, and box it out with each other, but let the athletes compete!

Damn I hate politicians and the stupid games they play!

 

[Skullcrushergurl]

Boycott because there are too many things happening in China and it could really interfere with the Olympics. People may get killed because China gets really crazy with the riots and such.

 

[Absynthia]

Yes, the Olympics in Beijing should be boycotted.
People say, Olympics have nothing to do with politics in China, but they're wrong. Politics is everywhere, especially in the sports. It is run by politicans masked as sportsmen, and all they care about is the money.
Olympics are held in China - the country that allows no freedom of press, no freedom to their people, has no values of human life or rights what so ever, and yet.. people have the courage to say it has nothing to do with Olympics? Get real.
Boycott it!

 

[thatsme]

No really, while I understand the reason behind boycotting it, It is a great chance for both the protester and athletes to take part.

In any case, by boycotting it won't really serve the purpose in the long term.
Just my temporary opinion.

 

[Goldiegirl]

I'm going to watch the Olympics. I don't think boycotting what is "supposed" to be a competition of athletes should be entangled in politics. Too bad that that is what has happened. It's a shame really. I love competition and I love seeing the best do their best. I just wish it cold truly be about the endeavor and achievements of the athletes and not a forum to prove what country is better or worse. I'd love to be there.

 

[Eugeniu]

I voted the 4th option. The Olympics just happen to be in Beijing and that's all.

 

[delsin2]

I think politics and sports don't go together. I wanna to enjoy watching Olympics in Beijing, I don't see any strong reason t boycott it.

 

[theAlphaDuck]

indeed..

politics and sport don't mix...

sure china does alot of bad stuff....
but they also happen to be the up coming superpower...

so it would be prudent to pucker up and get our noses brown...

when taiwan gets re-colonised by china that will be the moment of truth!
China either moves to number 1 unopposed and starts to tell the rest of the world what to do...
or WW3 kicks off, China wins and Then tells the rest of the world what to do after crushing the US and bombing those that oppose it's will back to the stone age.

and if that happens....i REALLY wouldn't like to be living in a defenseless country, which has bad blood with china AND is chock full of US bases...
infact i wouldn't want to live in any country that has bad blood with China...

China and India are froming stronger ties day by day...
China and Russia are also becomeing best of friends once more...
so the UK is in a complex position...we are in NATO...
but class India as our friends,
and Russia as our enemy, (3rd largest threat to national security after al-qaida and iran)
thus it's important we get china itself on side...
yet if it DOES kick off...we will more than likely be backing up the US...

in all honesty it's bloody scary....and i am thankfull for the many thousands of miles between china and the uk..and hope that the european defense initiative gets set up nice and speedy like...

thus in conclusion....
i say attend the olympics...and afterwards send them a nice fruit basket and tell them what a good job the've done!

the Dragons waking up and i say lets not make it angry!

 

[Otenba]

I say: Yes. Boycott for all it's worth.

Sports, imho, is overrated. People moving around showing off their fit bodies cannot possibly be more important than what's happening in China. Is a sports event, Olympic or not, so much more important than how China is treating the Tibetans? I keep hearing politicians say: "Our athletes have dreams" blablabla, but dreams of medals, are they worth the innocent blood of Tibet? Also, China is currently butchering stray cats and dogs to make the streets "beautiful" for the visitors of the Olympics. I don't see how steets covered in the blood of the Tibetans and other oppressed groups of innocent people and animals, can be beautiful! I would not want to walk on a pavement that is soaked with so much blood, just for some sports event. This matter, Olympics fun vs. Tibetan lives, disgusts me. But ofcourse, the Olympics MAKE more money while helping Tibet COSTS money... I bet that's the main concern here. Those in power, those who could change things, are too damned greedy.

And China's double standard is also lovely:
"Please do come to our Olympics, dear foreign people, we'd love you here."
"Please don't freakin meddle with how we handle our Tibet problem, buncha foreign clowns, stay off of our case."
Well, if I'm not allowed to complain about the inhumane treatment of fellow humans, I'm also not interested in making China rich by spending any kind of money on any part of the Olypics. I hope some huge natural desaster no one can be blamed for, makes it all one huge waste of each and every sacrifice

As a world traveller, I will never set foot into China until they start treating humans like humans, EQUALLY.

 

[nuage]

I'm chinese myself, it's rather interesting to watch you discussing this topic.

once i travelled to france and bought a book by baudelaire which concluded that belgians disgusting. Then i took my way to Belgium and found this conclusion absurd.

So i now found you guys absurd when seeing you discussing to boycot a nation you've never been to, and talking about Tibetans as if you all know more than i did.

it's more than absurd to disprove you and i can only deem that you are lovely and innocent, with a superstition of trusting in western medias. But western is no longer the world centre now.

 

[Elizabeth]

I voted the 4th option. The Olympics just happen to be in Beijing and that's all.

1. China is one of the worst violators of human rights in the world. By any measure, that is a universally acknowledged condition and statement of fact among the human rights community.

2. China was granted the privilege of hosting the games with the hope by the IOC that it would help facilitate openness and lead to some improvement in their human rights record.

3. The human rights situation has actually become WORSE in recent years. Particularly since being awarded the games in 2001. See the below cited report by Amnesty International that puts much of the blame for the current state of affairs on the OLYMPICS themselves.

4. The government has used the unprecedented prestige of an event like the Olympics to score a huge propaganda and public relations triumph by cracking down harder and harder against pro-Democracy activists with greater and greater impunity by the world community.

5. How anyone can participate in a farce of a spectacle that puts at risk the interests of millions of people fighting a corrupt, viscious totalitarian regime against a few thousand athletes on a stage that is intended as a celebration of the human spirit to me is is beyond all comprehension.

So anyone that believes China as a nation doesn't deserve to host the Olympics, please don't watch. The effect may not break down any existing system in the way of a real boycott but low ratings will undeniably have some effect of freeing future IOC processes from the offensive taint of political gamesmanship.


BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Olympics 'worsening China rights'

It is increasingly clear that much of the current wave of repression is occurring not in spite of the Olympics but actually because of the Olympics
Amnesty International report

 

[KirinMan]

What I would love to see is the athlete's themselves refuse to go to the games not for any of the politics involved here but because they are going to be putting themselves at risk of getting serious health problems due to the incredible problems that Beijing has with air pollution.

I dont think world class athletes that train for years to go to the Olympics should have to compete with the knowledge that they may be literally killing themselves doing it.

 

[theAlphaDuck]

two things i think are worthy of consideration.

1. would we be debating china's human rights record right now were it not for the olympics?
Iran has pretty much THE WORST human rights record in the world...no-one is talking about them...

before there can be change...there must be debate...so perhaps the IOC had a plan!

2. let's not be hypocrites here.... the USA, Europe, and pretty ,much ALL western nations have had bad records on human rights in the past...and some of them i.e. the USA (G-bay) still ignore human rights.

politics and sport are seperate.

who will benifit the most from the olympic games?
the PEOPLE of china!
so lets let them enjoy it.

as for TIBET....has that not been part of China for well over 1000 years?
and also would it not be in TIBETS interests to remain part of China?

hmmm small utterly defensless nation state with almost 0 exports or resources forced to rely on a meagre tourist trade...OR
part of THE global super power with access to resources beyond its own means....

hmmmm worth considering that

 

[A ke bono kane kotto]

Sometimes I wonder how many Tibetans there are really in the world. Officially between 5 and 10 millions, but when I see all the pro-Tibetan propaganda everywhere, I feel that they exceed the number of Chinese worldwide. I don't count the flags at windows here; they are more common than this country's flags !

The whole thing is just ridiculous. What is Tibet doing for the world ? Nothing - except bothering us with self-pity and hateful feelings towards one fourth of humanity ! What is China doing ? Contributing to the world economy like no other country, allowing us to buy cheap products... The Chinese are moving forward to the future. They embrace progress and reforms, admitting their own past mistakes (communism). Tibet is still stuck in the past, insisting on returning to old-fashioned ways and live in complete isolation of the modern world and modern technology.

To add to the Tibetan hypocrisy, they w ill never tell you that it was them, the Tibetans, who first invaded and pillaged China ! They only got what they deserved in return. Well, no, that would be too kind. Tibet does enjoy part of the Chinese economic boom as a part of China. Maybe they should be on their own and see if things will be better with no resources and no local economy. I doubt ! Imagine New Mexico wanting to leave the USA because of its Hispanic population and history. How stupid would that be ?

 

[Otenba]

Oh I see, and because they're useless and "anti-social", it's okay to oppress and butcher them. Interesting. Even more interesting to me personally would be to know how a Belgian, a citizen of a nation whos citizens tend to support "Free Palestine, boycott Israel"-garbage, would think about Palestine. I mean - they're even more useless plus destructive. And the starving children in Africa? I mean, those regions are useless too, so are you saying: let them croak?

I agree that useless countries and people, be it Palestine-like countries or severely handicapped individuals (all those who can't do anything useful), don't need too much attention, but freeing them of tyranny isn't too much imho. Tibet retreating from modern technology is also Tibet not costing the world much money I think. Let them have their modest lives, can't harm anyone.

Wait a sec, it just doomed on me: are you saying that some silly sports event is more important than human life?

 

[theAlphaDuck]

Oh I see, and because they're useless and "anti-social", it's okay to oppress and butcher them. Interesting. Even more interesting to me personally would be to know how a Belgian, a citizen of a nation whos citizens tend to support "Free Palestine, boycott Israel"-garbage,

erm..... get with history...as in please do learn some...

sorry that is a bit flame-y but ignorance irritates me.

now even though iv'e been to the region...and shagged on both sides of the palastine isreal border
(isreali women by the way are FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!)
i really don't care one way or the other...

but here is a little history lesson for you...

there was once a land called palistine
it was part of the British Empire (along with most of the world)
then the British empire got into a teeny tiny war involving the Ottoman Empire
in return for palastinian support and help in this war the palistinians were promised their independance...

the war ended...we won...they got their land...

so technically it IS palistinian land...

learn the history then comment.

TIBET is a part of China....

just like okinawa is part of japan....

Bleh

 

[Emoni]

I voted yes, but not in the way that many might boycot.

The Olympics are politics, business just like everything else in the world. It is the way China is using it, and every other nation has. To lie to yourself that the Olympics are some sort of holy blessed and sacred event when history has shown nothing of the sort (other than that being a good advertising campaign, among the billions of others at the Olympics) is foolish and naive.

If I'm correct, having read the news online and other various resources for over a year now, China was given the honor/business opportunity of hosting the Olympics under certain pretenses. Certain promises were stated by China, and many have been already broken. I have been to mainland China, twice. I loved aspects of the country, and loathed others. The country is not yet a modern nation socially from many aspects I have seen, and I traveled the entire eastern side for over a month covering more ground that 99% of tourists and witnessing a lot. China simply does not deserve the Olympics with it's current human rights record. My god... just the pollution along is frightening. It BURNED in my nose to breath in Beijing on a good day. It is that bad.

However, that choice can't be back tracked. Just like the choice to give the Olympics in 1936 to Nazi Germany couldn't. It still was a mistake and was simply giving power to a country to misuse.

From a historian's perspective, it is going to be a great chance to see all the horror stories that begin to show up and problems that will show. I know that many will not get through the news censorship and iron hand of Chinese government control, but it will also be a wake up call that China cannot control what the world thinks or speaks of outside.

My "boycott" method will simply to speak out as I have above. I'm not going to stress too much, but I sure do not support the Chinese Olympics or Chinese government. Do not mistake that for not having a great deal of fondness for China and the people of the country.

I will say this, for those protesting and speaking out I support it completely, as I consider the lives of human beings far more important that the ritual of throwing a stick so businesses and governments can make a few more bucks selling souvenirs and tickets.