All 2 entries tagged China

The Olympic Torch

Writing about web page http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7333955.stm

The 2008 Olympics appals me more and more with every passing day. The cowardice of our governments in dealing with China is astonishing, the blood of the Tibetans rendered cheap by the lucrative contracts offered up from the poor and submissive labour market. Amnesty reports a worsening of China’s human rights conditions because of the Olympics, a situation which should be arousing more condemnation, if only because China was granted the Olympics largely as a result of adhering to WTO conditions. As usual the message is money first, human rights whenever. This is why dissidents are being jailed to bring an air of peace and calm, and houses are being demolished to build posh hotels for western journalists.

Plenty argue that the liberalisation of markets will bring liberation of the people, but the evidence for this is scarce. There are certainly moves forwards in China – rather amusingly, it has become common for arrestees to demand their ‘rights’, a trait apparently picked up from re-runs of Hawaii 5-0 and Starsky and Hutch. However the move towards liberalisation of markets has also bought with it harsh crackdowns – death penalties for economic crimes, violent anti-union laws, and an insistence on appearing calm and ordered, whatever it takes.

My housemate thought that trying to douse the Olympic torch was a step too far. It is certainly shocking, and seems to attack the wrong target. However the lack of outrage from the media at the treatment of the Tibetans, and the more obscene lack of outrage from our governments, leads activists to take more drastic measures. Being dragged off by the police is no-one’s first choice for an afternoon, it is an act of frustration and powerlessness. None of the celebrities asked to carry the torch stood up and said No, because these games are a farce. The prevailing attitude has been that yes, China is wrong, but the Olympics are more important. They’re not.

Connie Huq was upset, because she doesn’t support China, she was just carrying the torch. The reality is that high-profile denunciations and boycotts would be highly embarrasing to China, and would force it to make more concessions on rights, aware that the eyes of the world are upon it. As mentioned above, it wants, above all else, to present an atmosphere of peace and calm. At the moment the cheapest way to do that is to lock people up. If we can shame China, then the cheapest way is to leave the dissidents and to stop massacring Tibetans. If Connie Huq carries the torch, and mentions that China’s not very nice, no-one cares. If Connie instead refuses, or better puts it out herself, then it’s big news, and it makes an effect. The protestors shouldn’t have had to try and put out the torch; but if not them, then who?

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If anyone’s really really bored, then I wrote a long essay on whether or not the West should and could influence China’s human rights situation. It’s a little dated, and apparently includes ‘unquestioning acceptance of the liberal paradigm’, but it does contain some useful sources.
china_assessed_essay.doc

Christopher Rossdale : 07 Apr 2008 12:31 |  Tags: China Human Rights Olympics |  Comments (60) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Boycott Google

Writing about web page http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4647398.stm

As i'm sure you've all heard, Google have just released their .cn version, catering to users in China. To keep in line with the lovely cuddly western-friendly Chinese government, they've agreed to censor the usual danger-words such as 'democracy' and 'rights', and are very excited about making browsing a much more exciting experience for the soon-to-be enlightened Chinese people.

Once again we see that the 'westernisation' of China is just a buzzword for western firms making money out of a billion oppressed people, with no care for the drastic human rights infringements that they're now fully and progressively complicit in. It's a sad state of affairs when thousands of liberal activists work tirelessly to establish human rights awareness in China, and then a western company, once lauded for it's underdog nature, appears only too happy to contribute to the oppression of information and freedom – factors crucial to the survival of the totalitarian regime.

Google, I'm disgusted, and I won't be using your site ever again. I invite everyone else to search elsewhere – I know i'm not the only person on the internet saying this, and whilst it's a poor second place to direct action, consumer power can have an effect. Boycott Google!

Christopher Rossdale : 26 Jan 2006 00:36 |  Tags: China Democracy Google Politics Rants |  Comments (75) |  Close comments |  Report a problem