How will the Olympics in Bejing affect the world's view of China? Already you have several protests and issues that have been bought up in the news

1. Various protests from the Free Tibet Group



2. Various protests from the Darfur movements (China lends aid to al-Bashir who is responsible for the Sudanese armies in Darfur)

3. The restrictions of the press along with the Chinese Intelligence groups monitoring pretty much any and all conversation.

4. Class discrimination - Chinese citizens cannot used various restroom facilities that are only supposed to be used by non-Chinese citizens.

5. Environment aspects affecting the athletes performance

10/7/2007 2:44:35 PM

Olympics? yawn*

wake me up in 2010 when a global sporting event worth talking about starts up again.

10/7/2007 2:51:23 PM

Obviously the Beijing Olympics will be a very carefully orchestrated PR campaign to make China look good. I hope that the networks don't fall for it and only show the side of China that the government wants the world to see. The very fact that they are having to shut down manufacturing facilities and restrict driving during and several weeks prior to the games should speak volumes about the air quality and typical environmental conditions.

10/7/2007 4:06:17 PM

The olympics are making china better, not worse. Engagement is better than antagonism any day of the week.

[Edited on October 7, 2007 at 8:17 PM. Reason : asd]

10/7/2007 8:16:26 PM

i hope its smoggy as fuck and i also hope there are a shitload of recalls during the olympics

10/7/2007 10:23:48 PM

^^Maybe so, but that doesn't change the fact that there will be a lot of dirt swept under the rug. After the games they can return to their human rights violations and lack of environmental oversight.

10/7/2007 10:33:22 PM

Yes, if you asininely assume that China, unlike any other country in the history of the world, is immune to the forces of social, political, and economic change.

[Edited on October 8, 2007 at 1:19 AM. Reason : Ignoring the fact that they have already changed a lot over the past 2 decades or so]

10/8/2007 1:18:50 AM