In the past three weeks there have been numerous reports about the current situation between the Chinese government and Tibet. For those who may not know the whole story here is a quick overview. Tibet is currently under the People’s Republic of China rule. Many Tibetans want Tibet to be independent and on March 10, 2008 they celebrated the 49th anniversary of the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against the Communist Party’s rule. This quickly went from peaceful protest to riots and extreme violence. It has been reported that Chinese Authorities used extreme force against the protester in hopes of maintaining public order. From this one protest, other protests across the region have occurred resulting in the same outcome. China as we know is no stranger to controversy and this may hurt them on the global scale. Personally I do not agree with the course of action that China has taken in this situation and I agree that the Chinese government needs to tone down with the level of force they are using against the protesters. Let it be known also that this is not a one sided issue as it takes two to tango. This may not be a problem right now if the protesters kept things peaceful.
For more information go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_unrest_in_Tibet, and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7299221.stm
As some may know the 2008 Summer Olympic Games will be held in Beijing. Due to the situation in Tibet many Athletes, Celebrities, Corporations, and Countries have decided to boycott the 2008 Summer Games. This all was brought to my attention while watching MTV Live on March 20th. Daryn Jones a host on the show is encouraging Canada to boycott the Summer Games stating “I think that this is the right thing to do. They are killing people because of the whole Tibet protests, their environmental record is dreadful, their human rights record is absolutely outrageous and I don’t think that you can go to the Olympic Games as a Country if you don’t agree with the Government. It is hypocritical.”
To see this clip go to: http://www.mtv.ca/mtvlive/community/index.jhtml, March 20, 2008 – the livewire
Protests against China and the Olympic have been happening all over the world. The most recent was in Greece on March 24, where a protester ran behind Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee, and held a banner than showed the Olympic rings but in handcuffs up behind him.
BBC Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7310654.stm
YouTube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzT0rw47-j4
I feel that politics and the Sports need to be kept separate. Daryn Jones voiced his opinion which is perfectly fine, but it doesn’t seem to have much research backing the conclusion that he came to. I think that people need to be real here and look at things from the other side of the story. Would there be such limelight on this situation if the Olympics were being held somewhere else? Let’s not get carried away here. The situation at hand is unfortunate but boycotting the Summer Olympic Games is not the answer. Think about our Athletes, the men and women that have been training hard for the past four years and to add working to get money since we all know that our government doesn’t give them squat. Four years is a lot of time, things change, and people age. This maybe the only shot for our Athletes to realize their dreams and achieve their goals. Let’s not take it away from them.
If boycotting China is the route people want to take then don’t buy products made in China this would be a huge blow to the not only the Chinese economy but to the North American companies that have factories there. Write letters or make phone calls to your politicians letting them know that you are unhappy with the situation going on in Tibet right now and for them to not support China. Have peaceful protests because violence is not going to achieve anything.
Some may disagree with my the side I have taken on the issue. What is your take on the China/Tibet problem and Boycotting the Olympics?
