Should China Olympics be Boycotted over Tibet Slaughter?

[GeniusLib]

[joeybee12]

1. I don't know...

...did the boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980 accomplish anything (other than help Carter lose re-election)? Did it get Russia out of Afghanistan sooner?

[spoony]

2. Do anti-war protests accomplish anything?

I think sometimes making the point and being true to principles can be its own purpose.

[joeybee12]

3. This is different...China is still fairly isolated in many ways...would

isolating it more help? Or would it hurt? I don't know...there are two schools of thought on this.

[rpannier]

5. The reasons for giving China the Olympics have failed miserably

The government has displaced thousands of people (dumped them into the streets) to make room for building the Olympic venue.

The government continues it's crackdown on people they consider dissidents

Official Olympic good (clothing, etc) are made in China by 'slave labor'

Giving them the Olympics will be remembered by people in the same vein as the Berlin Olympics in 36.
It added legitimacy to a government unwilling to change.

[LSdemocrat]

4. It also denied a bunch of innocent US athletes the chance for Olympic glory

[GeniusLib]

6. Should athletic achievements trump basic human rights?

The IOC seems to want to sweep the whole mess under the rug


" The president of the International Olympic Committee expressed concern Sunday about a Chinese government crackdown in Tibet and neighboring provinces that is the latest bad publicity for the Asian giant ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.

"We are very concerned," Jacques Rogge told reporters during a one-day visit to St. Lucia. "The IOC hopes that there can be an appeasement as soon as possible to this situation, and I also want to offer our condolences to the relatives of the people who lost their lives."

On Saturday, Rogge flatly rejected the idea of boycotting the Summer Games in Beijing over the violence in China, saying it would only penalize athletes. He has declined to say whether the committee would change its stance if the fierce crackdown continues."

[LSdemocrat]

7. They're two completely different realms

There are plenty of unused, policy-based alternatives available to protest the awful events in Tibet, Darfur, etc.

To boycott the Olympics while those alternatives go unused would only deny athletes the opportunity to compete in the premier event of their careers while doing absolutely nothing to further human rights in China or other policy objectives.

[erpowers]

8. What Are the Alternatives

I would like to know the other alternatives. I do not think I have heard much about the alternatives.

[LSdemocrat]

9. Well there are plenty of diplomatic alternatives that would all be more direct

High-profile condemnation from US officials, giving the Dalai Lama a highly prominent platform to voice concerns, bringing up the matter at the UN, targeted trade and military sanctions, summoning the Chinese ambassador for a high-profile rebuke, increasing US military presence near China, would all be more appropriate responses.

Even if we wanted to use the Olympics as a platform, the more embarrassing protest for the Chinese would be an organized, international protest by athletes by perhaps waving/wearing Tibetan flags at ceremonies and events while having officials and athletes speak out on the issue in media appearances.