It has been surreal to watch the Chinese demonstrate against the protesters who support human rights for Tibet, as the Olympic torch has been carried around the world -- and now the rallies in China against French retailer Carrefour, which the Chinese have targeted because of the company's alleged support of that well-known Peace-monger the Dalai Lama. The French enterprise has denied its support of the Tibetan Buddhist leader. How sad for them -- but how absurd for them to have been put in this position. The angry Chinese are also rallying against CNN because of inflammatory comments by newsman Jack Cafferty. It's not like the 24-hour news network doesn't deserve to be taken to task for its "reportage" -- that can be, and often is, about nothing but ratings -- but Cafferty, like so many American journalists, has made his name by spouting off on the air. We may sometimes wish he'd shut up, but in our country he has a right to express his opinion.
Amazingly, however, we now have the spectacle of the Chinese, who are themselves woefully short on human rights (such as free speech) being intolerant of others having them. But then again, since 1949 when the Communist Party of China took control, generations of citizens have been educated in its groupthink. Their perception has been filtered by its propaganda machine, which counted on this Olympic parade as a nationalistic calling card -- much the same as the Nazi leadership in Germany crafted when the worldwide race was begun in 1936. The Chinese Communist leadership hoped to show off their country's new world position and power.
China would have been better off to improve its human rights record, as the leadership promised, and the world could have applauded their efforts. The following paragraphs are but a teaser of China's human rights failures outlined in Amnesty International's full article on the subject:
Liu Jingmin, Vice-President of the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee, said in 2001 that allowing Beijing to host the Games would "help the development of human rights." Seven years on, China's human rights record shows little sign of improvement, according to an Amnesty International report.
It was hoped that the Games would act as a catalyst for reform but much of the current wave of repression against activists and journalists is occurring not in spite of, but actually because of the Olympics, according to the report China: The Olympics countdown - crackdown on activists threatens Olympic legacy.
As for Tibet and the Tibetans, the protestors advocating for their country's independence were disciplined on Tuesday when 30 people (including some monks) were sentenced to from three years in jail to life imprisonment for their alleged roles in the riots at Lhasa.
According to Human Rights Watch, those sentenced were denied a fair trial:
"The Chinese authorities have so restricted the defendants' rights that the hearings are no more than a rubber stamp," Sophie Richardson (Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch) said. "This isn't fair and transparent justice, it's political punishment masquerading as a legal process."
Is anyone surprised?
According to The Washington Post,
It is unclear how many others are awaiting trial in Lhasa. Jiang Zaiping, deputy head of the Lhasa police, told Chinese reporters last week that 170 were on a "wanted list" and that 82 of those had been arrested. Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region government, told reporters at a news conference in Beijing this month that 403 people had been arrested in connection with the March 14 rioting.
Thank God actress and activist Mia Farrow is keeping our eyes peeled on the genocide in Darfur and reminding us, in pieces like this, that China is underwriting these atrocities, and that Olympic corporate sponsors could make a difference.
What are the Chinese people told about Darfur -- if anything?
I -- and we -- all understand loving and feeling/or wanting to feel national pride for one's country. It's our natural right to do so. In fact, I think it's probably hard not to love the land of one's birth, although there will be exceptions. I also comprehend how it is to feel horrified by one's country, as I have been by many of the actions of the United States since Bush/Cheney have been our undeserving autocratic leaders and our democracy has broken down--including our ineffective and fearful Congress, not to mention our press that has lost its own integrity. But, at least, we know this and can say it out loud.
Still, because of the disastrous war that Bush/Cheney started in Iraq and the subsequent losses of our democratic ideals, we have lost our own global moral authority to caution or condemn the Chinese in their actions. As everyone knows, there is also our gigantic financial debt to them -- again due to this terrible war that ties our hands. We have crippled ourselves as well as Iraq. How the ripple effect spreads across continents and oceans.
As China continues to spread its chilling attitude, what are we to do? But there's another area I'd like to add to our list of concerns. Is Laos next on the Chinese agenda? A Laotian friend of ours recently sent us this email:
Dear Family and friends,
Sabaidee Pi Mai... I wish you a wonderful Theravada Buddhist year 2551!
Despite very good predictions for this year, I am still worried about the fate of our landlocked country, and I just hope we will be able to maintain our Lao culture long enough to be remembered as a nation who made history in SouthEast Asia.
The influence of China is growing, and it won't be long before they take over.
The construction of five dams in China is drying the Mekong River from Laos to the South of Viet-Nam. It seems we can walk across it today -- from Thailand to Vientiane! The culture of Hevea trees replacing rice fields across the country to provide 'black gold' to our 'big brother' is an ecological disaster, and Lao minorities are displaced. China incursions with casinos in Nothern Laos is alarming.I know I sound dark, but living here just open my eyes to many issues I cannot conceal....
Beth Arnold lives and writes in Paris. You can see more of her work at www.betharnold.com.