In light of the brutal and bloody measures now underway in Tibet, some people are calling for a mini-boycott of the Beijing Olympics. This doesn't mean a boycott of the entire Games (that wouldn't do anything much anyway), but the refusal of international VIPs to attend the opening ceremonies might be a big slap to Beijing.
Well, it would certainly be a loss of face. Plus it would tell everyone -- IOC included -- that not everybody is comfortable with silently colluding with autocratic dictatorships that trample on human rights.
Anyway, 2008 was supposed to be Beijing's big year of self-promoting propaganda -- but so far, it's turned out to be a disaster. I'm thinking, you know, that's just FINE with me. Go ahead, let the world see the huge gap between the shiny happy images that Beijing wants people to see and the very different images that it's been producing lately -- even though it's been trying to block YouTube and other sources of video from Tibet.
No comments:
Post a Comment