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China, Tibet, Olympics: Tension, bad timing and competing versions of what it means
The ramp-up to the opening of the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing that China is hosting for the first time is fraught with problems. The world's largest sporting event, Beijing 2008 is due to open in the smog-filled capital of China in early August of this year.
Recently, a variety of foreign observers have been vociferous in criticizing China's human-rights record . Some are high-profile public figures like Hollywood movie director Steven Spielberg, who resigned as a consultant to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, "citing concerns over the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, which he linked to the Chinese government." (Xinhua) In the past few weeks, a violent disturbance in Tibet has caused many foreign observers and many foreign governments to ask for or to start taking into consideration boycotting the Olympics entirely or partial, for example by skipping the vibrant opening ceremonies that will be watched around the world.
Tibet has become a public-relations nightmare for the Chinese government leading up to the celebrated sporting event .Both the Chinese government and general public "are feeling under siege." The Los Angeles Times reports: "China has battled criticism of its food and toy safety,....weathered athlete complaints about pollution and faced global criticism over its crackdown against the Tibet uprising....Few nations have spent more...to showcase their country than China has in organizing what are shaping up to be the most expensive Olympic Games in history. Spending is estimated at $40 billion, including related infrastructure projects such as a new airport terminal, subway system and even sewage systems." A Chinese correspondent observed: "Chinese have given so much to the Olympics, but we're criticized so harshly by foreigners."
Reuters observed that "China has pinned the blame for the...violence in the Tibetan capital Lhasa and other unrest in nearby areas on the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader[,] who lives in exile in India." A 24-year-old university student in Beijing told a reporter: "Tibet is a domestic affair, and the Olympics is an international event, so they shouldn't be put together....Foreign human-rights groups are using Tibet to smear the Olympics." An international-relations lecturer at Renmin University of China said: "Every report on Tibet mentions the Olympics...Those two items are not related, but media always make the connection."
