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China Accuses Dalai Lama of "Sabotage," but Olympics Still On For Beijing
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao today accused the exiled Dalai Lama of orchestrating the protests sweeping through Tibet in recent days, with the express purpose of inciting "the sabotage of the Olympic Games." (The Dalai Lama denied the charges.)
But the Chinese needn't worry. Though the information emerging from the region is intermittent and often secondhand—estimates of the number of dead range from the Chinese government's 13 to the Tibetan's 99—what news there is seems to have satisfied the international community: The games must go on.
Over the past few days, representatives from the EU, the UN, and the international Olympic committees have stated unequivocally that any disruption of the summer event is out of the question. "Not one government leader has called for [an Olympic] boycott. A boycott is only a punishment of the athletes," said Patrick Hickey, head of the European Olympic Committees, on Monday. Likewise, while both the EU and the U.S. called for restraint on both sides, they made no mention of any reprisal against the Chinese government.
The muted official response to the violence is surprising, given that the Olympic torch is due to pass through Tibet in roughly two weeks. A boycott may not be the best way to register the world's disapproval. But in assuring China that the games will take place no matter what, the international community is tacitly, if unintentionally, endorsing whatever measures China might take to make that possible.
—Casey Miner
Photo used under a Creative Commons license from Flickr user askal.bosch.
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The Dalai Lama has not called for a boycott, but -- on the contrary -- would like the games to take place. The temporary influx of foreigners, even for so short a period, would probably pump some spiritual oxygen into the situation.
The world has contributed to Chinese hegemony by economic mismanagemnt on lots of different levels from that of heads of state -- Bush and Chirac to name only two -- all the way down to the individual consumers who take out the over-sized loan so that they can have an extra bathroom and a couple more bedrooms in a house which is already twice as much space as they really need.
It' all connected one way or another. Inversely, were western nations to mop up the economic mess, were heads of state to manage resources better, were consumers to spend more judiciously, a win-win situation with China could be created. In that case the regime would progressively mellow through postive contact with other cultures.
Before closing, I'd simply like to say that China,which has many faults, is one of the few nations which have done something for the problem of overpopulation. The Chinese evidently don't feel that they have to preach at the American right-to-lifers who are willing to march in the street for their convictions but far less likely to help over-subscribed families with child-care.