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As the torch was about to be lit at Olympia, Greece, a group called Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders) broke through police lines with a peaceful protest against the violence in Tibet.
A spokesperson for the group said "We cannot let the Chinese government seize the Olympic flame, a symbol of peace, without denouncing the dramatic human rights situation in the country,"
Were they right to disrupt the ceremony? There are many people both outside and inside of China with strong feelings about how Tibetans have been treated since China tried to take Tibet by force in the 1950s and fighting often breaks out with Chinese military forces or police using heavy handed techniques.
The arguement against the protest is that the sports event is for the people and tries to unify everyone, the political situation is 'beneath' the scope of the Olympics.
My own views are that this was a peaceful process and I can see their point, it was certainly effective going out on worldwide live TV. If they had prevented the actual lighting of the torch then maybe it would have been a bit different, but no harm was done and it was funny to see Liu Qi and the polititians in China try to quickly brush over the event.
So, what views do you have on this event? Were they right to disrupt it? Is China right to ignore it? Should the Olympics actually be held in Beijing at all?
A spokesperson for the group said "We cannot let the Chinese government seize the Olympic flame, a symbol of peace, without denouncing the dramatic human rights situation in the country,"
Were they right to disrupt the ceremony? There are many people both outside and inside of China with strong feelings about how Tibetans have been treated since China tried to take Tibet by force in the 1950s and fighting often breaks out with Chinese military forces or police using heavy handed techniques.
The arguement against the protest is that the sports event is for the people and tries to unify everyone, the political situation is 'beneath' the scope of the Olympics.
My own views are that this was a peaceful process and I can see their point, it was certainly effective going out on worldwide live TV. If they had prevented the actual lighting of the torch then maybe it would have been a bit different, but no harm was done and it was funny to see Liu Qi and the polititians in China try to quickly brush over the event.
So, what views do you have on this event? Were they right to disrupt it? Is China right to ignore it? Should the Olympics actually be held in Beijing at all?
It's a bit of a tightrope for any country to accuse China in that respect. Commerce has to be balanced with intervention. Iraq saw the opposite issue where some countries (well, one in particular) stood to gain with direct intervention, but with China it's more delicate as the commerce side is linked to good relations with the country rather than any easily gathered natural resource.
Still, there is a Human Rights issue, that is beyond argument and something needs to be done to address it. The Olympics isn’t exactly the right forum, but it does, perhaps, offer the opportunity of leverage.
Still, there is a Human Rights issue, that is beyond argument and something needs to be done to address it. The Olympics isn’t exactly the right forum, but it does, perhaps, offer the opportunity of leverage.
It's quite the clash, isn't it? China is a rising power, so much of the world has vested interests financially and so forth, yet there are also the concerns about the often undemocratic and illiberal nature of their government. Whether economic reform will be finally coupled with political reform is another question, as to who can put pressure on who, and whether it's even feasible...
tough call. On one hand, maybe the event that only unites us all shouldn't be used as some political tool. But then, its the best place to tell everyone about china and whats happening in tibet.
Something should be discussed about tibet, but then people will use the 2012 olympics to discuss:
-the war in iraq and afghanistan
-Capitalism
-Holding scotland, ireland and wales.
Its just one of these things where i just prefer to bury my head in ignorance and leave it be. Its sad i know, but its the mentality of Nimbys i guess.
Something should be discussed about tibet, but then people will use the 2012 olympics to discuss:
-the war in iraq and afghanistan
-Capitalism
-Holding scotland, ireland and wales.
Its just one of these things where i just prefer to bury my head in ignorance and leave it be. Its sad i know, but its the mentality of Nimbys i guess.
As the torch was about to be lit at Olympia, Greece, a group called Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders) broke through police lines with a peaceful protest against the violence in Tibet.
A spokesperson for the group said "We cannot let the Chinese government seize the Olympic flame, a symbol of peace, without denouncing the dramatic human rights situation in the country,"
Were they right to disrupt the ceremony? There are many people both outside and inside of China with strong feelings about how Tibetans have been treated since China tried to take Tibet by force in the 1950s and fighting often breaks out with Chinese military forces or police using heavy handed techniques.
The arguement against the protest is that the sports event is for the people and tries to unify everyone, the political situation is 'beneath' the scope of the Olympics.
My own views are that this was a peaceful process and I can see their point, it was certainly effective going out on worldwide live TV. If they had prevented the actual lighting of the torch then maybe it would have been a bit different, but no harm was done and it was funny to see Liu Qi and the polititians in China try to quickly brush over the event.
So, what views do you have on this event? Were they right to disrupt it? Is China right to ignore it? Should the Olympics actually be held in Beijing at all?
A spokesperson for the group said "We cannot let the Chinese government seize the Olympic flame, a symbol of peace, without denouncing the dramatic human rights situation in the country,"
Were they right to disrupt the ceremony? There are many people both outside and inside of China with strong feelings about how Tibetans have been treated since China tried to take Tibet by force in the 1950s and fighting often breaks out with Chinese military forces or police using heavy handed techniques.
The arguement against the protest is that the sports event is for the people and tries to unify everyone, the political situation is 'beneath' the scope of the Olympics.
My own views are that this was a peaceful process and I can see their point, it was certainly effective going out on worldwide live TV. If they had prevented the actual lighting of the torch then maybe it would have been a bit different, but no harm was done and it was funny to see Liu Qi and the polititians in China try to quickly brush over the event.
So, what views do you have on this event? Were they right to disrupt it? Is China right to ignore it? Should the Olympics actually be held in Beijing at all?