Thursday, December 6, 2007
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So much for China's Olympian vulnerability
I've blogged a few times about whether China's hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympics has increased the government's vulnerability to domestic and external political pressure. The Christian Science Monitor's Peter Ford reports that in advance of the Games, China's government is devising new ways to handcuff indigenous NGOs: Last Thursday morning, five law-enforcement agents marched into Zhai Minglei's Shanghai apartment, seized his computer hard disk and copies of the small magazine he used to publish, and ordered him to report for questioning the next day.It should be noted that this reaction to the color revolutions is not unique to China -- it mirrors what governments in Russia, Iran, and Central Asia have done as well. posted by Dan on 12.06.07 at 08:09 PM Comments: This isn't surprising at all. Dictatorships routinely do this kind of thing, unleash a wave of repression before a major event to present a happy smily face to the world. Russia did this for the Olympics in 1980. Argentina did it for the World Cup in 1978. Only in the latter case the one dissident they couldn't silence for obvious reasons was the manager of their World Cup-winning national team. Cesar Menotti masterminded, chain-smoked and junta-lambasted his way to one of the more impressive World Cup wins of recent times. Unfortunately, China does not yet have a sport that ordinary people would unleash a revolution over. The Menotti example is also instructive for Beijing; China might let a few big fish go for symbolic reasons but they will ruthlessly "weed" the grassroots. posted by: DB on 12.06.07 at 08:09 PM [permalink]Post a Comment: |
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