posted Feb 27, 2008

I think the comparison with Berlin 1936 is proposterous! Any student of history knows in 1936 Hitler had not yet put his plans like extermination of a entire race and the domination of Europe in to action -- so the Olympics was used as a peaceful fassade to hide his evil intentions.

On the other hand, anyone who knows something about Chinese history knows that china has been opening up to the world enormously in the last 10-15 years -- not only economically but culturally as well. Younger generation are pursuing Western life styles. Of course there are still many things in China which are appalling: lack of political freedom, disregard of nature in order to promote economy, pollution... But if you look back at the time under Mao Zedong: man-made famine, faction fighting, political purge etc which cost more than 70 million, I repeat, more than 70 million lives -- a stunning fact totally unknown in the West! In fact Mao was idolized by many in 60-70s!!!

So, unlike Berlin 36, China is moving to the right direction -- The West should encourage that progress by engaging them further. Nothing is better than events like the Olympics where China can show the world what they really are and what they are still lacking!

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posted Feb 27, 2008

Dear Sonlanum,

As a Chinese living in this country for over 14 years, I appreciate your comments from my heart.

"I hear many talking about Human Rights, but many don't mention what they are. Perhaps a little more interest and understanding of the country's history may be needed here.

China has gone through enormous change to get to where it is today, and to be awarded the Olympics shows us their readiness for forward moves towards a more fairer and peaceful regime. If you look back into the history of the games, there have always been an element of controversy towards those countries.

Bringing up Darfur seems to be ill judged. To think that they can have that much of an impact towards the country's problems is naive to say the least. It's not about selling weapons to countries, it's about respecting other countries just like we should with China too. How can we sit on our high horse and judge another country like we are superior and have a better system? Where did the wealth of this country come from? Without oppression, Britain and America wouldn't have been able to speak the way they do today. Wouldn't it be more honest to say that with time, we can all change for the better. This includes China.

Sports can be a wonderful way to bring together the world and combine a unity within us that says we are humans above everything else and all those political side issues should be put to bed for these events."

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posted Feb 27, 2008

this is absolutely one of the most wise comments i've read here

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posted Feb 27, 2008

What else could the IOC do? China may lose face if people boycott the Games but the IOC itself has a lot to lose if it does not back Beijing now.
One can sympathies with the athletes who have trained hard and looking forward to these events to be asked of them not to participate. Unless one has a heart of gold one can not see how by taking a stand against China could change the lives on millions people in the Darfur region, in Burma, in Tibet and some other African countries.
As a Buddhist, I believe in the good of people and by not looking at self interest one can achieved more than gold, silver or bronze medals at the Olympics.

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posted Feb 27, 2008

The fault lies with the IOC

Whether you agree or not it has been awarded now, so its probably too late.

Considering issues like Tibet, giving China the Olympics is a joke.

Countries who occupy foreign soils unlawfully should not be allowed to host the Olympics

If we follow this trend Zimbabwe are likely hosts for the next Commonwealth games.

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posted Feb 27, 2008

"HUMAN RIGHTS" defined by western coutries are only applied to the people of their own country. The American can put any Non-American whom they suspect so called "terrorsit" into prison and torture them to death, or kill the woman and children in Iraq and simply have an explanation that it was a mistake. Where are the "HUMAN RIGHTS" of these Iraq and Afganastan people?

Double standards always exist in western coutries dictionary!

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posted Feb 27, 2008

"I think the comparison with Berlin 1936 is proposterous! Any student of history knows in 1936 Hitler had not yet put his plans like extermination of a entire race and the domination of Europe in to action -- so the Olympics was used as a peaceful fassade[sic] to hide his evil intentions."

In 1935 and 1936, persecution of the Jews increased apace. In May 1935, Jews were forbidden to join the Wehrmacht (Armed Forces), and that year, anti-Jewish propaganda appeared in Nazi German shops and restaurants. The Nuremberg Racial Purity Laws were passed around the time of the great Nazi rallies at Nuremberg; On 15 September 1935, the Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour was passed, preventing marriage between any Jew and non-Jew. At the same time the Reich Citizenship Law was passed and was reinforced in November by a decree, stating that all Jews, even quarter- and half-Jews, were no longer citizens (Reichsbürger) of their own country (their official status became Reichsangehöriger, “subject of the state”). This meant that they had no basic civil rights, such as that to vote. (But at this time the right to vote for the non-Jewish Germans only meant the obligation to vote for the Nazi party.) This removal of basic citizens’ rights preceded harsher laws to be passed in the future against Jews. The drafting of the Nuremberg Laws is often attributed to Hans Globke.

In 1936, Jews were banned from all professional jobs, effectively preventing them from exerting any influence in education, politics, higher education and industry. Because of this, there was nothing to stop the anti-Jewish actions that spread across the Nazi-German economy.

I know this isn't directly related to the topic but felt like I needed to reply to bingtin.

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posted Feb 27, 2008

Icelandic-superlion,

If you read my post carefully -- I said by 1936 Hitler has NOT put his plan to exterminate the Jews into action, and that stands perfectly. That said, the Nazi government passed many discriminatory laws against the Jews through the years before WW2, as you mentioned in your post.

According to the official record, the "Endloesung"(final solution -- extermination of the Jewish race)was originated by Heinrich Heydrich, chief of SD (Sicherheitsdiest -- bureau of security), who convened so called "Wannsee Konferenz" (conference of Wannsee)in the the suburb of Berlin in Jan,20,1942, where he ordered the extermination of the entire Jewish race.

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posted Feb 28, 2008

sorry, I meant Reinhard Heydrich, not "Heinrich"

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posted Mar 1, 2008

I have tremendous respect for the people of China and their history and culture. I also feel free to criticize my own country (USA) and to criticize colonial impulses in other countries, both historically and currently. This freedom is itself a basic Human Right.

What concerns me now, in addition to documented repression by the Chinese government of ethnic groups and religious groups, is the lack of freedom of speech and the increasing censorship of journalists as the Olympics in Beijing approach.

What is Human Rights, someone has asked. Certainly they include the right to conduct this discussion! I doubt that the BBC's site can be accessed by most people within China, and I know that people traveling to China cannot count on carrying reading materials by their favorite author ... if he happens to be a Nobel Prize winning spiritual leader named Tenzin Gyatso (the Dalai Lama).

I personally would have great difficulty finding the courage to travel to a country lacking basic human rights, and I greatly applaud the British athletes who insisted that their own country not join in the attempt to censor their personal beliefs and statements.

If the Chinese government wants the Olympic Games to show the world that China has entered the modern era, they must do more than temporarily curb their pollution and build big buildings. The spirit of the Olympics needs to manifest in more personal freedoms for everyone on soil governed by China, more respect for ethnic and religious differences, and more openness to ideas from those who see the world quite differently. The Chinese government made promises along all these lines in order to be awarded the 2008 games -- I see no reason to refrain from trying to hold them to what they promised!

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