Digging to China

DTC - Freedom First, Olympics Second

The opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympic games is less than a year away, and the Chinese government is trying very hard to deliver a flawless Olympic spectacle, which is widely viewed as a metaphor for China’s rising power.

Beijing is well ahead in preparing for the influx of more than two million Olympics spectators form China and abroad. All but one of the 37 new or refurbished hosting structures are on track to be completed by year end. But this preparation process also highlights many tricky variables, such as air pollution, open media access, and human rights.

In 2001, when Beijing made its bid for the 2008 Games, then deputy mayor Liu Jingmin said, “By applying for the Olympics, we want to promote not just the city’s development, but the development of society, including democracy and human rights”.

The Chinese central government also promised unfettered press freedom and even permitting greater freedom of speech for the Chinese people. But so far, there’s been little progress in living up to these promises. The Freedom First, Olympics Second Campaign was kicked off in early 2007, this campaign’s goal: China must be free before it is the host for the Olympic Games

Guest: John Kusumi, Director emeritus of China Support Network

Segment 2: Beijing Olympic and Darfur Genocide

For the past two years, China has protected the Sudanese government as the United States and Britain have pushed for United Nations Security Council sanctions against Sudan for the violence in Darfur. In April 2007, something unexpected happened. A senior Chinese official traveled to Sudan to push the Sudanese government to accept a United Nations peacekeeping force. He even went all the way to Darfur and toured three refugee camps, a rare event for a high-ranking official from China.

Nongovernmental organizations and other groups appear to have scored a surprising success in an effort to link the Olympics to the killings in Darfur. Some U.S. and European entertainment and political figures have also called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics unless China brings more pressure on Sudan to resolve the conflict in the western region of Darfur.

Guest: Sam Bell, Director of Advocacy, Genocide Intervention Network.