China Accuses Dalai Lama of “Sabotage,” but Olympics Still On For Beijing

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


tibet.jpg

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.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate