Michael Portillo
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Adolf Hitler’s glee at exploiting the 1936 Berlin Olympics as a showcase for Nazism turned to fury when the black American athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals. The Chinese leadership must by now be wondering whether staging the Games in Beijing will bring the regime more accolades than brickbats. Be careful what you wish for, as Confucius probably said.
In defence of the Olympic movement, Berlin had been selected before the Nazis came to power. No such excuse covers the decision to award the coveted prize to Beijing. In 1989 the Chinese government crushed the peaceful protests in Tiananmen Square as the world looked on in horror. China still secured the Olympics and a propaganda triumph and has looked forward to showing off to the world.
The authorities must have reflected that other governments are rarely brave enough to boycott the Olympics. The Berlin Games proceeded even though the Nazis had by then implemented the infamous Nuremberg laws that deprived German Jews of basic human rights.
Admittedly the Americans led a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics because Soviet troops had stormed Afghanistan (Russian invasion bad, American invasion good). China knew that, short of marching into neighbouring territory, nothing it did would put its show at risk.
All the indicators suggested that China would be given a soft ride. When President Jiang Zemin visited Tony Blair in 1999 the Metropolitan police treated pro-Tibet demonstrators roughly. Double-decker buses were used to shield the protest from Jiang’s sensitive eyes. As Washington became embroiled in the scandals of Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay and extraordinary rendition, not to mention the tremendous loss of civilian life in Iraq and Afghanistan, Premier Wen Jiabao, the prime minister, must have been confident that America would avoid dialogue on human rights.
In any case we are all in awe of China’s economic power. When Gordon Brown toured there last month, he talked of business opportunities. Prime ministers loathe being asked to raise human rights issues that threaten to interrupt the smiles, handshakes and toasts by which the success of visits are measured. Brown probably limited himself to the vaguest urging of reform.
China’s economic sway is such that it has undermined US foreign policy with impunity. America aims to use its muscle to shape a world that embraces western values. In developing countries it insists that governments respect the rule of law and reduce corruption as a condition for trade and aid. China, on the other hand, has extended the hand of friendship to gruesome regimes (including Sudan’s). Beijing’s requirement for natural resources is its only consideration. Maybe it has enjoyed thwarting America’s attempts to export its liberal values.
So China had every reason to expect a trouble-free Olympics that would show its best face to the world. In Berlin the anti-Jewish notices were taken down in the weeks preceding the Games. In Beijing the use of cars has been restricted to reduce air pollution.
In the modern world governments are not the only players. Steven Spielberg, the film director, withdrew as artistic adviser to the Games’ ceremonies, remarking that his conscience did not allow him to continue while “unspeakable crimes” were being committed in Darfur.
His decision has transformed the situation. In that moment the Beijing Olympics flipped from being an opportunity for the Chinese government and became a threat. China’s deep concern that the Games should be a success provides those who oppose its policies with a narrow window of opportunity. It delivers leverage both to domestic dissidents and to the outside world, unparalleled since Tiananmen.
With the news blackout imposed by China on the country’s interior we cannot know whether the Tibetan protests are opportunistically linked to the forthcoming Games. But the Olympics are a political factor and the situation is dynamic. The eyes of the world are turned disapprovingly on Chinese policies.
“If freedom-loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China and the Chinese in Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak out on human rights,” declared Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, before cheering crowds of Tibetans in northern India, where she had gone to meet the Dalai Lama. Such outbursts had not featured in China’s “script” for the Olympics.

Michael Portillo left the House of Commons in 2005 after a 30-year career with the Conservative Party, which took him from MP for Enfield Southgate to transport and local government minister to the Cabinet, where he served as Treasury Secretary and Secretary of State for Defence. Since leaving politics he has written weekly for The Sunday Times and made a number of documentaries for BBC2
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To all my dear Chinese Friends ~
We dont need to fighlt here and I just think it waste our time to argue with some people only just follow what the media has reported. Fact is nothing to argue about, for instance, if I take my son to my work . I dont have to repeate myself to intorduce him to all my mates over and over again. The wise one will be already know he is my angle by a FACT.
To the rest of world
Fist all all , thanks for all of you guys. Your kind attention about China has really cheer me up~ I was so proud of myself as an Chinese, because you guys show your passion here to my country .
Come guys ~ I thought you guys are well educated and I am sure you will figure it out why some people has such great interets for BEIJING GAME. You konw it , so do I ~
Thanks all and have a great day.
FAN LONG, Perth, AUSTRALIA
I'm a student in Shanghai .And I know little about politics,but one thing I know that ALL CHINESE LOVE PEACE and JUSTICE!
You are truely hurting Chinese hearts!
Nazi?How come?
Compeletely different!
Long live China!
Jianning Wang, shanghai, China
Switch from Visa and don't drink Coke.
China politicized the Olympics.
Coke and Visa bank rolled them.
Deny them their profit stream!
Phil Green, Dublin,
"Tibet issue" was out of concern When Beijing was chosen to host the Olympic. The recent change is due to the riot violence over Lasha and protests otherwhere. Now, to advocate a boycott of Olympic seems to encourage the riot violence and to hurt the billion Chinese when they are warming up their huge enthusiasm to embrace the world. When the Olympic used as a tool, it first hurts the advocator as disregarding of the spirit of Olympic and enlarging the split of world. The Chinese critize the government as other people critize theirs, why they turn to help the government this time. Go to the Beijing and may you find the reason.
shinga, Sendai, Japan
Seeing is believing.
Come to China and make your own judgement.
Please add your standing points: have you ever been to China?
Li, Shenzhen, China
Tibet being controlled by China is similar to Japan controllin Manchuria in the 1930's. They had no right to be there, vulturally, thenically, or on any grounds. They took it upon themselves. Now China is imposing itself on Tibet, and has done for 50 years. We gave autonomy to some countries in Europe but forgot about Tibet in 1949. About time we rectified this i think..i would be proud id we did boycott them, even though i want to see our athletes prosper
R.A, Kent, UK
As a Chinese, who lived in China and now living in London, I can reassure you that we perfectly understand the meaning of free speech - we value and appreciate it like the rest of the world.
But we have no respect for and trully despise hypocrisy and double standard shown by the western world. I believe that western world has no right in lecturing China on human rights, given what they have done in Iraq. Both US and UK legitimised the invasion withouth international approval by falsifing evidence. After having destroyed Iraq as a country completely and ruined Iraqi people's life totally, and now UK is starting to teach chinese about respect for different regions and other cultures??? I find it way too ironical!!!
MeiFan, London, UK
The tibetan policy of the chinese government obviously can not be heralded as a success. Dalai Lama's call for greater autonomy and cultural preservation should be supported by all Chinese. (I'm a chinese myself). If we look at the atrocity the government have committed to all those important aspects of chinese culture (Destroying ancient buildings, little respect for environment, etc.), it is not difficult to imagine why tibetans have such grievance against the government.
I'd like to point out, if there are only two political entities in the world, china and tibet, nobody in china will care if tibet is independent. It's precisely that there are these western countries that to a large extent created this problem, such as the Great game, and british invasion of tibet, that china will not let tibet independent. So, please fight for Tibet's culture preservation. westerner's chatting for tibet independence will create more chinese anger and tibetan sufferings.
aaron, Santa Fe, USA
Though I agree with the spirit of this article, I cannot help but feel that spurious comparisons with the Berlin Olympics (I fail to see the validity in comparing the taking down of anti-Jew posters to an attempt to make the Beijing air breathable) do not achieve anything positive, and instead hand organs such as the People's Daily a stick with which to beat the Western media.
This comparison helped provide the People's Daily with enough evidence to today portray Mr Portillo as "wildly arrogant" and "competely ignorant", among other things, and accuse the article of having "low-IQ bias". This in turn helps build a picture of the Western media as being baselessly and implacably anti-China and gives credence to a charge of "steroid-enhanced mud-slinging".
Emotive comparisons with Nazi Germany are inappropriate and unnecessary. The recent events in Tibet and the question marks on China's human rights record are serious enough on their own.
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/1030/7059943.htm
Alastair, Dingwall, UK
On the issue of Tibet I am amazed to see all the Chinese comments here and elsewhere on the internet as of with one voice supporting what their government says and does.
Its frightening - like watching the Chinese police and military running in line like ants and giving no room for protest or other view on matters.
Apparently we should ALL ONLY thank Mao´s heroic soldiers that so unselfish climbed to the top of the mountainous land and freed the Tibetans from Dalai Lama and his religious and suppressive rule that kept its people in a stone age like state.
Sorry, but to me from what I have heard and seen on TV through the years, and always through Chinese eyes, as all film crews have been on guided tours thanks to the generous help of the Chinese authorities, I am of the opinion that all Chinese effort of helping this poor undeveloped province of China with goods and not the lest manpower by the millions, is indeed heartbreaking - Dear Tibetan natives, as the saying goes âwith such a friendship â you do not need enemies!â
Not all souls can be bought the Tibetans have shown. Itâs a hardy and injuring people that build their home in those hills in the first place â they are indeed the true caretakers of that region and have given the world more gifts and prosperity than communist China ever can.
Steven Spielberg âflew over the Beijing Nestâ - it is possible - the choice is yours.
Sven Hansen
Denmark
Sven Hansen, Horsens, Denmark
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