It's gotten to the point, where we hear about the almost daily harassment, detainment and other egregious actions against the press reporting on the Olympics by Chinese authorities. From a South American journalist who's internet privileges were revoked, and questioned for searching for "forbidden" terms on the internet, to the roughing up of a British ITV journalist attempting to report on a protest in Beijing.
The International Olympic Committee, for it's part, is repeating it's demand that China respect press freedom. Thanks, but I've heard enough from the IOC.
This is the same IOC which told the world that they had reached a deal with China to have internet censorship lifted during the games, only to be told of the real secret deal weeks before the games began.
People inside and out of China have viewed the Olympics as a chance to open China up to the world. But all it has done, is result in much of the progress, that has been achieved in China in recent years, being clawed back. This is retrograde progress.
Land was outright expropriated without compensation to build Olympic venues, thirty to forty-thousand internet monitoring censors have been hired, journalists are being physically harassed, and human rights activists beaten and deported.
I've heard the arguments that boycotting the Olympics would "only hurt the athletes". I think that recent events might actually prove the contrary. By not doing so, we've allowed China to walk all over it's promises, all over us. They promised us progress in exchange for their big "coming-out ceremony". We gave it to them. Then they turned around and spit in our face. And we gave it to them anyways.
If anything, I think the IOC, by backpedaling on all of these agreements with China, has hurt many people, from journalists to Chinese citizens.
This is what happens when you try and deal with bullies. This is what happens when you play the "diplomacy at all costs" game. Sometimes it backfires.
I wish at least some country had the gusto to pick up their cards and go home. I won't hold out hope though.
