As we collectively count down to the 2008 Olympics this summer in Beijing, the emblem of that event — the Olympic torch — is presenting a challenge to our perceptions of human rights and global respon-sibility.
While the torch makes its way around the world, it has been greeted by vocal and sometimes violent protests, most notably in Paris, London, and just yesterday in San Francisco - the only torch stop in North America. The protesters are demonstrating against China's abhorrent disrespect for human rights within its borders and the violent oppression of demonstrators in Tibet who seek independence for that embattled mountain nation. Protestors also object to China's lack of action in ending the bloody genocide in Darfur despite the country's significant influence as the main supplier of the Sudanese government.
Tibet is facing annihilation. While some demonstrators certainly have been physically abused or have even "disappeared," the threat of annihilation does not come in a physical form, but rather in the shape of forced cultural absorption. Cultural assimilation is taking place throughout the region as the roughly 2.5 million ethnic Tibetans are facing unprecedented restrictions on their culture and religion while China is attempting to flood the area with Han influences including through a state sponsored immigrant influx of ethnic Hans. Chinese efforts have also included the "re-education" process of Tibetans about their own religion as well as the elimination of the original Panchen Lama (the second highest ranking spiritual leader after the Dalai Lama) and the replacement with a Chinese-selected Panchen Lama.
In Darfur, millions have been turned into refugees and thousands have been systematically killed in what observers have called reflective of the process of genocide. China is a major trading partner of the Sudanese government (which tacitly supports the slaughter) and serves as a diplomatic advocate for that African state. Despite these ties, China has refused to intervene on behalf of those in Darfur, by leveraging its immense influence to stop the bloodshed.
The torch and this relay are seen as an opportunity to publicly decry the actions of the Chinese state on issues of human rights. While the Chinese government and the Olympic governing body have claimed that these protests are simply using the Olympics to gain publicity and are unnecessarily politicizing what is essentially a sporting event, one can contend that China is doing the same themselves. China has used these Olympics as an opportunity to showcase its increasing influence and economic strength - a "we have arrived" moment, if you will. In fact, the torch relay is the longest ever and intends to represent China's new globe-spanning influence.
Additionally, while the Olympics are primarily a sporting event, to assume that they don't inherently carry social and political implications is uninformed and foolish. China, which objects to their politicizing, has been among the worst offenders in this regard by making the games as much about China's new status in the world as about athletic events. Even before these Olympics, however, the event has held strong implications that reverberate far beyond the sporting world. From the 1948 Olympics, which helped heal and restore England's post-war psyche, to the 1980 Olympics, which much of the world boycotted in response to the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan, and to the 1984 Olympics, which created a sense of new hope for the Baltics, the Olympics have long been strongly political.
Kevan Gosper, an international Olympic committee board member, decried the protestors who were, in his words, "(taking) advantage of a democratic environment" to launch their vocal opposition. In response, I would counter that these protesters are indeed empathetically and effusively "taking advantage" of their democratic rights in honor of those victims of China's human rights record who are unable to exercise their own. If the Olympics are an international event with political implications, they can be opened up to international political debate - and if the situation merits it - international condemnation.
As much as China has sought to silence these protesters, it has been unable to do so (much to its chagrin) as it has discovered that it has no authority in lands where democratic ideals and basic freedoms such as speech are guaranteed and enshrined.
As millions around the globe watch a series of sporting events, united in a common bond of human interest and cooperation, it is worthwhile to remember that these massive new venues - feats of engineering ingenuity - cast long shadows, shadows that cover ongoing state-sponsored human rights abuses, cultural assimilation, religious oppression, and tacit collusion with genocidal forces.
As the world prepares to congratulate China's ascendancy - a momentous and noteworthy feat to be sure - it's worth looking behind the shiny gilded surface to uncover the realities beneath. If China is ready to take the mantle of a global power, it needs to realize its commensurate responsibilities.