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E-mail a friendYOUNG VOICES
Breaking China
2008 may be the Year of the Rat, but it is also the Year of China. During the 2008 Summer Olympics, the country of China plans to showcase its new modern and politically moderate nation. In the days leading up to the games, all the details are in place, and no one or thing is going to stop it from going off without a hitch...or so the Chinese government had hoped.
From the torch lighting ceremony in Athens, Greece to the Olympic torch relay in Istanbul, London, Paris, and San Francisco, pro-Tibetan protesters have lined the streets condemning China for its repressive regime.
Domestically, the Chinese government has always had to deal with dissents, such as the Tibetians, the Uighur Muslims, and the Falun Gong, all of whom are unhappy about religious and political oppression. The response to these groups' civil disobedience has been to use an iron fist.
At first, I thought the Olympic committee made a huge mistake in giving Beijing the honor of hosting the Olympics. Besides the horrible pollution, China is not really the best country to show off the benefits of global cooperation. But after thinking about it more, it could prove to be a very good thing for the Chinese people.
As the games take center stage, the media will swarm into China to provide coverage. As Simon Elegant of TIME magazine puts it, reporters may not have been able to penetrate the wall of oppression around Tibet as of yet, but with 30,000 foreign reporters expected to be at the Olympic games, some will certainly take advantage of Beijing's policy of allowing any interviews in which people agree to talk. If all goes well, back at home we may all get an excellent seat to watch the games—and to watch the political unrest and calls to action from those within China. If we can shine a light on the mold of tyranny, it can't grow. And for China, that could mean more political, religious and social freedom.