Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California has introduced a House resolution encouraging President Bush to boycott the 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing because of the Chinese government's support for the current regime in Sudan and it's horrible oppression in Darfur. The link to the article about this resolution is here. From that article.....



I can't recall if I've ever agreed with Maxine Waters on anything in my life, but this one has me really thinking on it. What is happening right now in Darfur is a human tragedy and it would appear that China is pretty much involved in supporting the continued oppression there. China is hoping to demonstrate by holding the Beijing games that they are indeed a world power and a boycott by the US of those games would be devastating to them. Perhaps even the threat of such a thing might cause them to re-consider their cooperation with the government in Khartoum. Perhaps it would be a way to demonstrate to China that being a "world leader" has some consequences that go along with it. So the question for debate is......

Would you vote yes or no on Maxine Waters' resolution? Why or why not?


Aquilla

There have been efforts made to persuade the Chinese to take a greater hand in stopping the genocide in Darfur, but Beijing has been reluctant to use their influence over the Sudanese government. There isn't a nation on the planet more sensitive to how they are perceived than China. They want to be seen as a growing economic force in the world, but their record of human rights is atrocious.

Someone may say a boycott of the Olympics only hurts our athletes and politicizes a sporting event. I would feel badly for the athletes, but for the world to celebrate while genocide continues unchecked is incredibly out-of-touch and putting entertainment above what is moral. The Chinese should not be rewarded by the world turning a blind eye to the Darfur tragedy and their complicity in allowing it to go on.

As for the Olympics not being political, that line was crossed decades ago. Landing the Games is seen as a matter of national honor and pride. They've been politicized for so long it's hard to remember when they were not.

I voted yes.

Is there anything more corrupt than politics or sports? I'm sick and tired of sports being given a bloated importance as a means of generating money and I' feel nothing for atheletes who would fraternize with murderers in return for money. What is sports actually about anyway when the greatest sporting events in the world are used for political show casing?

I'm supposed to think better of the Chinese or be impressed because they managed to 'persuade' the corrupt Olympic commssion into allowing them to host the Olympics games where who knows how many chemically enhanced super hero's carry their flag to the podium? No way.

Let the Chinese demonstrate their greatness by doing something worth while for a change.

What is happening now in Palestine is a human tragedy and it would appear that the USA is pretty much involved in supporting the continued oppression there.
What is happening now in Iraq is a human tragedy and it would appear that the USA is pretty much involved in supporting the continued oppression there.
Politics should leave athletes alone. Of course whoever said that ^^statement^^ hasn't been training hard for five years of their life, I'm sure. So easy and nonchalant.

Wow... um... yeah. So I don't want to get banned so... Yeah.

When has boycotting anything really worked? That's not rhetorical, I'm really asking.

So anyway, I agree with the sentiment of Maxine Waters but I don't think it will do anything but dash the hopes and dreams of people with very specific talents that really have no other outlet other than these games. And let's face, who watches the olympics anyway... not having the American's there would simply free up time for Lost for about 25 viewers. What's upsetting (to me) is all the commerce it will generate for the Chinese.

Excellent point-and where does it end? So our athletes can't compete against the Chinese, but it's o.k. to compete against the Cubans, the Iranians, not to mention team Venezuela? Yes, those instances have far less examples of oppression and death than China supporting Sudan, but if we are to remain consistent, then any oppression, no matter how small, makes us guilty by association as well right? Is that not what is at issue here? I have to agree with moif that athletics has been put on a pedestal for far too long, it's amazing how people are sooooo hooked on it that they lose perspective of what's really important. Let our athletes mop up and provide some good escapist television while our negotiators try and accomplish something.

The Olympics is far from turning China into a money making powerhouse. They already are. It's amazing how Americans rally around propaganda 24/7. Here's a funny recipe. Allow China to place a made in China stamp on 80% of all American's possessions, then go on a propaganda campaign about how unsafe and shoddy Chinese products are. No one gave a crap about unsafe Chinese goods until the mainstream media commanded it to. Just be quiet and go back to WalMart to buy more cheap goods.

Mmm. The perks of placing profit over principles. Yes I'd vote for the resolution. It'll probably fail and I will have a big fight with Robert to look forward to. He loves watching the games. China is very hands off in terms of what goes on internally within states. They're investing and reaching out for the money and prestige. Intra-state power struggles aren't their concern. They may not be directly responsible for Darfur but you can make up the difference in dislike by looking at how they treat rural workers flocking to the city to feed their families and seperatist "terrorists".


What are you talking about? The media didn't enter propaganda mode until pets died and melamine contaminated pet food and feed was traced back to China. Then the "propaganda" moved on to other prodcuts like toothpaste.

For someone who's frequently railed against the excesses of capitalism and U.S. imperialism your perception of the Chinese economy and our interaction with it is curiously off key.

Would you vote yes or no on Maxine Waters' resolution? Why or why not?

Good grief, I am so shocked that I agree with Maxine Waters on anything, that I can barely marshal my thoughts! I'm for the resolution definitely, but I am also shocked that the Olympic Commission would even entertain awarding this honor to China given the fact that our athletes will be struggling for each breath the entire time!

No, simply on the grounds that there is a fine line between politics and international sports. The selection committee was the proper place to have handled this debate. The president should be under no obligation to raise the moral implications with the global community after a panel has decided on a location. The fact that this legislation is even being considered is in direct violation of the spirit of the Olympics and is in the same vein as China's unilateral, self-interested policies against Sudan, sending the message that one nation is above a multinational group... One being the Security Council the other being the Olympics selection committee.

Were Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 any worse or less memorable because USSR and Warsaw bloc countries were boycotting them? If anything, absense of Russian/Eastern European gymnastics teams allowed Mary Lou Retton to become a national hero that she was. Ditto for Moscow Olympics of 1980. Absense of one team, even as powerful and numerous as US team, does not diminish the spirit of the Games.
Boycottes don't work. Ever. Just ask Bill O'Reilly about his "Boycott France" campaign... It all depends on how much the Chinese want to avoid the negative publicity associated with such boycott. If they are thick-skinned enough (and they probably are), then we would punish our athletes for nothing.

The olympics are nothing more than a surface show of goodwill and cooperation, at least, a minimal pledge of it. We should allow such things to continue and use it to prod other nations to act better in relation to one another, if not their own citizens. Once again, we need to work behind the scenes diplomatically. We really need to focus on it evidently, as not even a week passed after Treasury Secretary Paulson talked to the Chinese that we were threatened by the possibility of the dumping of the dollar.

Would you vote yes or no on Maxine Waters' resolution? Why or why not?
No unless you want to do the same elsewhere. The UN, EU etc. sit by and watch the genocide in Africa and do squat as they did with Rwanda.

They bash the US then sit on their butts and wait for us to “save” these people. The sheer hypocrisy of it is staggering.

Let the games go on and let the UN and AU do their damn job in Africa.

Would you vote yes or no on Maxine Waters' resolution? Why or why not?

No, I would not. This gesture would be empty and symbolic at best and hypocritical at worst.

If Darfur is such a crisis, why does the UN, the EU, and just about every other power structure in the world ignore it?

Let's put the cards on the table: it isn't the "Chinese involvement" in Darfur that's the real problem. It's the Sudanese government, the local warlords and the roving bands of militias and thugs. The Chinese involvement is tangential at best. The problem is with the Sudanese government and the international community's inability to act (or, cynically, its decision not to act).

I'll agree with Lesly that the Chinese are behind more than a few dictatorial regimes around the world. However, that is simply one of the downsides of capitalism. They have a market there precisely because we (meaning Westerners) won't get involved.

I voted no simply because the US no longer has any credibility when it comes to lecturing others on human rights. With 1,000,000 dead and 2,000,000 internal and external refugees in Iraq as the result of an illegal invasion how can we lecture another country on its failure to use its influence with a third party. And then there is the open sore of our torture of detainees in Iraq and around the world without anyone in a responsible position being brought to account. Let's focus on our own wrongs and leave the moral lecturing of others to voices that have some standing.