The
1964 Olympics in Tokyo placed Japan on the world’s center stage, and it marked
the first time that the Olympics was held by a non-Western nation. It was also symbolic
of Japan’s
emergence as a global economic power. We are now in 2008 and just months away
from China taking the
world’s center stage by hosting the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
This year’s Olympics is also
symbolic of China’s
emergence as a global economic power. In 1964, the major controversy was the
banning of South Africa
from the Olympic Games due to their segregation of black athletes. The
controversy in 2008 for China,
however, is proving to be a far greater challenge and much closer to home.
Chinese Occupied Tibet
The quick and dirty history behind what is currently happening in Tibet dates back to the time when Mao Zedong
announced the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in
October of 1949. More specifically, he declared that “the
Chinese people have stood up”. As it turned out, the People’s Liberation Army literally
stood up, marched into Tibet,
and crushed a poorly equipped Tibetan resistance force. The Chinese announced
their sovereignty over Tibet
and their control has lasted to the present day. The 14th
Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, went into exile in 1959 in Dharmsala, India
and has remained there ever since.
Tibet’s Big Chance
It does not take a political genius to recognize that the
2008 Beijing Olympics is a rare opportunity for
to share the world’s spotlight with
their persecution. Beginning last week, peaceful protests quickly turned
violent and the Chinese are certainly not the kind to back down from a
challenge. It has been reported that the Chinese crackdown in
now a lock down on the entire city.
As the violence unfolded, the Dalai Lama spoke of how the
Chinese are conducting “cultural genocide” on the Tibetan people.
The Chinese Reaction
As one can imagine, the Chinese hold a different view regarding
the Tibetan uprising. The Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, has openly accused
the supporters of Dalai Lama for planning and executing violent attacks on Chinese
citizens and businesses in a deliberate attempt to sabotage their hosting of
the Olympic Games. The Chinese, however, find themselves in a very delicate
position where the whole world is watching.
Some German athletes have already threatened to boycott the
2008 Beijing Olympics due to the violent Chinese crackdown in
very best to ensure that this is not an Olympics that will go down in history
with an asterisk (like the 1980 Moscow Olympics), the chants of “Boycott
Beijing” are becoming louder with each additional day of violence in Tibet. The
next few weeks will be critical in determining whether this situation can be
contained, or whether it will be one that results in more violence and a
widespread boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games.
The most recent news is that the Dalai Lama is threatening to step down if
the violence does not stop and has denied any involvement in orchestrating the
demonstrations. It will be very interesting to see what effect this statement
has in upcoming days. I do find it hard to believe that the Dalai Lama would
resign a few days after his “cultural genocide” speech to the international
press. He also has to balance a desire for change with his pledge for
non-violence.
is quickly learning that being on the world’s center stage is more like being
on a slippery slope. The uprising in
has the potential to truly ignite the already existing outrage regarding the
lack of human rights in
If
is unable to successfully quell the Tibetan flames, then the chances are
becoming increasingly better that there will be Olympic boycotts. This would be
the equivalent of the world throwing tomatoes at those on stage rather than
roses.
Dalai Lama Condemns Tibet violence:
