Printable Version
Politics of the Beijing Olympics
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
CNP
Vice-President, Scott Bates opened this CNP
lunchtime discussion with a quote from
anthropologist John MacAloon, “Olympics have
proven to be an irresistible stage for the
political agendas of both governments and their
detractors alike." MacAloon’s comment rings
especially true for the Beijing Olympics of
2008, despite China’s attempts to separate the
sporting event from the political arena.
CNP was honored to host human rights activist and current director of the China Information Center, Mr. Harry Wu. Mr. Wu shared his impression of what the Olympic Games mean for the Beijing and his vision of the PRC’s future.
Mr. Wu discussed his long-standing opposition to China hosting the games based on his personal experience with and perception of the government’s violations of basic human rights. During his talk, Mr. Wu discussed five ways he feels the Chinese government is infringing on the basic principles of human rights. The first is the country’s policy of “the so-called ‘population control,” which he suggests has resulted in systematic forced abortions and sterilizations. Second, he focused on the government’s religious policies, including the Communist Party’s eradication of religion in the mid 20th century by sending priests and religious leaders to labor camps. He stated that the next two human rights violations are the absence of freedom of press and freedom of association. The final violation he discussed is the one that he is most familiar with- the existence of “laogai” (labor) camps. As someone who spent 19 years in a laogai camp, Mr. Wu knows better than most that the very existence of laogai camps violate human rights. He concluded, “Communist China, they need them…There’s no democracy. Laogai and democracy are incompatible.”
CNP was honored to host human rights activist and current director of the China Information Center, Mr. Harry Wu. Mr. Wu shared his impression of what the Olympic Games mean for the Beijing and his vision of the PRC’s future.
Mr. Wu discussed his long-standing opposition to China hosting the games based on his personal experience with and perception of the government’s violations of basic human rights. During his talk, Mr. Wu discussed five ways he feels the Chinese government is infringing on the basic principles of human rights. The first is the country’s policy of “the so-called ‘population control,” which he suggests has resulted in systematic forced abortions and sterilizations. Second, he focused on the government’s religious policies, including the Communist Party’s eradication of religion in the mid 20th century by sending priests and religious leaders to labor camps. He stated that the next two human rights violations are the absence of freedom of press and freedom of association. The final violation he discussed is the one that he is most familiar with- the existence of “laogai” (labor) camps. As someone who spent 19 years in a laogai camp, Mr. Wu knows better than most that the very existence of laogai camps violate human rights. He concluded, “Communist China, they need them…There’s no democracy. Laogai and democracy are incompatible.”
