the list of now

The 2008 Summer Olympics opened last week and will continue for the next two weeks. There will be unprecedented coverage of these games, with television viewing available nearly around the clock on NBC and streaming of many events available through their website.

Personally, I love watching the Olympic games. Seeing that I live in America – where female athletes and international sports are virtually invisible – I really enjoy the Olympics’ emphasis on “the others” that Americans typically are not able to see, support and embrace. It is one of the only times in sports coverage/media coverage that mainstream America really looks at or thinks about what it means to have a positive global convergence of any kind.

Beyond inspiring us to be more athletic and active people, I hope that it inspires Americans to learn more about other cultures, current events and simple geography. Because we need it. (I am always reminded during the opening ceremonies alone, how truly weak my education in simple geography has been).

With the Olympics happening in Beijing, China there have been calls to boycott these games. There are many people who will not watch and urge others to not support the very happening, let alone the coverage of these games. I believe this is unfair to the athletes who have trained, competed and deserve their moments to celebrate their accomplishments as extraordinary human beings, as well as the overall spirit of global unity that these games represent.

It is perhaps especially because of this spirit of global unity, that I think we also have an obligation to remember the context in which these games are happening and not turn a blind eye to the injustices committed by China and other oppressive regimes around the world.

So if you do watch, please also take the opportunity to learn about the controversies. Find out what is happening there and why people are protesting, speaking out and worried for the future. After these two weeks, the spotlight will go away and the world will no longer be looking at China, but it is crucial to remain aware of what is happening there. This is my attempt to join other writers in calling attention to the things that China does NOT want you to think about, while it is playing host to the world.

Here is a list of things to remember while you are watching the 2008 Olympics in Beijing:

1. China has a truly horrifying record of human rights violations.

Amnesty International has documented widespread human rights violations in China. An estimated 500,000 people are currently enduring punitive detention without charge or trial, and millions are unable to access the legal system to seek redress for their grievances. Harassment, surveillance, house arrest, and imprisonment of human rights defenders are on the rise, and censorship of the Internet and other media has grown. Repression of minority groups, including Tibetans, Uighurs and Mongolians, and of Falun Gong practitioners and Christians who practice their religion outside state-sanctioned churches continues. While the recent reinstatement of Supreme People’s Court review of death penalty cases may result in lower numbers of executions, China remains the leading executioner in the world.

Amnesty International’s page about China
Wikipedia entry about Human Rights in the People’s Republic of China

In fact, there has been a documented surge in human rights violations leading up to the Olympic games as the government tries to crack down on protests, do some PR damage control and cover up what is happening there in the face of more media coverage than ever before. (via Human Rights Watch)

2. China does not allow its people free access to information in the media, online, in public record or in learning about their own history.

This is a topic I’ve been following for the past few years. The government of China has denied the erasing and rewriting of history, as well as the physical harassment, impediment and detainment of journalists and media who attempt to report within the country and to the rest of the world about what is happening there. They do not deny some of the blocks placed on the internet, although it is not overt and several websites are just redirected to an error message or blank page due to a “poor connection”. In a large public move, Google caused outrage by agreeing to censor search results in accordance with a request from the Chinese government.

In 2006, PBS devoted a Frontline program to commemorating the Tiananmen Square Massacre. It is available for viewing (in full) on their website. It is a comprehensive look at the events leading up to the protest, the fall-out and the state of Chinese society, two decades later where many do not remember or have no recollection of the event, because it has been erased from their cultural memory.

A week ago, a Beijing newspaper was recalled, had their website and distribution of their paper instantly blocked by the government, for publishing a photo of wounded protestors in Tiananmen Square. (via Yahoo news, AP) The editors may face further punitive measures by the government’s media authorities. The “major political mistake” was apparently an accident by a young staff editor who had no memory of the events in 1989, and therefore did not know what it was a picture of. I don’t know which is more disturbing, the fact that this “mistake” is being punished, or the fact that it happened because the youth don’t have any recollection and therefore don’t know what they are supposed to be prohibiting the public from seeing.

The BBC is reporting that its website is unblocked to Chinese access for the first time. Although the government has not admitted that this website has been censored, the BBC reports that blocks have been documented for over a decade, since the inception of a comprehensive BBC news site. They have been flooded with comments from people within China, able to view unhindered content for the first time. This is excellent news, but many have speculated that this has been done to keep up appearances for the international tourists that are currently in Beijing and expect it to return to normal after the games are finished.

On the flip side, in this same article, the BBC reports that they are still encountering many problems on the ground, even though the Chinese authorities had promised to give foreign journalists more freedom during the preparations to the Olympic games. For example, the BBC and other media outlets have been prohibited from entering and reporting on events and protests in Tibet. You Tube, the Times and the Guardian websites were also blocked while trying to post coverage of the protests.

For everyone watching press coverage of the Olympics, we need to be aware that things are happening there and we are not being allowed to see them, hear them, or read about them. The BBC is one of the best sources that remains vigilant in discussing these issues. I highly recommend going to their website, reading and listening to their incredibly informative public radio reports.

3. China’s political, economic and military relationships with Sudan have directly contributed to the genocide in Darfur.

Furthermore, as a part of the UN, the government of China does everything in its power to stand in the way of UN sanctions, action and aid to the people on the ground who are being slaughtered.

(Quote) No country has done more to support the regime in Khartoum than the People’s Republic of China: no country has offered more diplomatic support, nor done more to provide money to buy the weaponry that fuels the engine of genocidal destruction.  And no country has done more to insulate Khartoum from economic pressure or human rights accountability. (Via Dream for Darfur)

Read also: China and Sudan Fact Sheet at SaveDarfur.com

I’m surprised this is not more widely known and publicized in America. Many people don’t realize that China has any link to the genocide in Darfur. I’m hoping that the controversies surrounding these games bring those facts to light, but the authorities are doing their best to keep these issues out of the arena.

Even if that means denying entry to athletes who are speaking out (Via the Guardian)

Joey Cheek, a speedskater who won gold in Salt Lake City in 2002, was informed yesterday morning that his visa had been revoked, hours before he was due to travel. Cheek is a co-founder of Team Darfur, which has encouraged 73 athletes to use the platform provided by the Olympics to protest at China’s support for the Sudanese government, which is accused of sponsoring genocide in the region.

4. China continues to occupy Tibet.

There is so much to say here, I don’t really have adequate time or space with this list. If you don’t know about the occupation of Tibet, the ethnic and cultural cleansing, the violent military state imposed on its people and the exile of the Dalai Lama – go read all about it here.

Recently, during the preparations for the Olympic games, the people of Tibet have been bravely protesting and revolting against the occupation and struggling to draw attention to the injustices occurring there. They have been violently restrained and as I mentioned above, the global media has been prohibited in reporting about it. Please learn more about this and spread the information.

5. The United States of America has done and said surprisingly little to condemn these actions.

In the past few days, Bush gave an address, reportedly to “condemn” human rights violations in China, but his speech proved to be very light and nuanced instead of the specific and harsh words that would be entirely appropriate right now. He brushed over the topics and focused on Burma additionally (which is a worthy topic, but in this case took away from the point that needed to be made on the eve of the Olympics in China). He talked about the positive elements of the relationship between China and US in the areas of trade and foreign policy. In the following few days, the only mention of their policies took the form of criticism of their heavy restrictions on religion, specifically in reference to Christianity. Bush neglected to visit any of the underground churches or acknowledge the organizations and people fighting for the freedom of religion, including the protestors in Tibet.

While religion is also an important issue and inextricably linked to much of the oppression, censorship, imperialism and violence that China inflicts on its people, it is not the cause of the human rights violations. I believe that the people of China should have the freedom to be a part of any religion they choose, and so I am pleased this issue was addressed at all. However, I feel that Bush and other American leaders have a responsibility to be more comprehensive in their condemnation of the human rights violations of China – all the time – but especially right now.

I urge you to be public and vocal in your support of media outlets, writers, reporters and bloggers that are including these issues in their Olympic coverage. Celebrate the Olympics with the rest of the world, but don’t be silent about the issues surrounding these games while you are doing it.