Canada shows it is not too serious about Chinese human rights violations by our continuing multi-billion dollar trade with them. If we were really serious we might put a very heavy tariff on imported Chinese goods. Actually, I'd to see a "sub-standard labour practices" tariff charged on goods coming from an assortment of countries.
That said, I find it morally repugnant that humanity could celebrate itself (via the Olympics) within the midst of a cesspool of human misery and exploitation.
Eloquently put, Stephen. Thank you.
"Actually, I'd to see a "sub-standard labour practices" tariff charged on goods coming from an assortment of countries. "
Interesting idea, Stephen. The problem is that the dependance on the cheaply made crap from China has gotten to the point where you can barely buy ANYTHING that doesn't have at least some part of it made in China. Thus the price of pretty much EVERYTHING goes up. I doubt any government has the balls to do that, despite the advantages to Canadian manufacturers.
Isn't it sad that we can imagine a principled policy actually being brought into existence because it would require moral fortitude and courage?
*can't
It is so easy to get caught up in the Olympic protest crap.
I would rather vote liberal then have the PM use the olympics as a pulpit.
Harper is on the record with china. The PPG have spent the last couple years whinning about it.
No need to use athletes for some partisan gain, there is lots of time to go at china. The olympics is the easy route.
Harper has played this smooth and classy.
I agree with Blue Magic. The Olympics is about the athletes, and we should not forget that. Canadian athletes should not be forced to pay for the mistake that the IOC made in giving China the Olympics.
It has, of course, absolutely nothing to do with punishing our athletes. There are a number of national, bi-national, and international competitions that do not involve China or any other evil states in any way and these are the ones that free nations should be attending and enjoying. What irony that a communist country should participate in the Olympics, a forum of unrestrained competition, while their businessmen are victims of a moratorium on productive minds. We should be thinking of establishing an international athletic event with a much stricter list of criteria for a country's participation. The Olympics are like a desperate slut; so painfully self-conscious that it's willing to sleep with any country with a pulse. But to earnestly state that the Olympics aren't a political event is disingenuous to the umpteenth degree. The Chinese state perpetrates murders against its own citizens and dominates people over whom it has no right to control but if it would disappoint our athletes to take a stand against it you would support a compromise? In any compromise between good and evil, evil always benefits. China gains legitimacy and tourism and, hell, even glory when it takes home medals. It's inexcusable actions are glossed over with fuzzy feelings because it's easier to play nice than to consistently uphold the values of liberty and democracy. Boycotting the Beijing Olympics would make a powerful political statement: we are not interested in complicity in bringing legitimacy to your despotism.
Although it's true that China has us by the balls economically, it would be unwise to underplay the extent to which we have their balls in a cold and clammy vice-like grip as well. An OECD boycott of the Olympics would be an unbelievably disastrous diplomatic event for the Chinese government. At what point do we say enough is enough? Do we wait for the proverbial 1939 invasion or do we confront evil where it exists when we identify it as such?
(I posted this comment at Dust My Broom as well but it applies equally to these comments and there are only so many hours in the day)
Interesting article.
Sarkozy to boycott Olympics if China fails to meet 3 strict conditions:
http://afp.google.com/article/
AL...UUW2HxfMxwsfGew
Keep in mind that the next Winter Olympics is where? Vancouver you say?
Canada has invested plenty of time and money into their own bid and we should think carefully before we throw our own Olympics into the toilet and we see how many countries follow China when they boycott OUR Olympics.
The hypocrisy in all of this is that the Tibet situation has been going on for over 50 years and the China bid was approved knowing all about Tibet.
So one can view it as an extortion attempt to try to force the Chinese into doing something when they are at their weakest.
And about keeping the Politics out of the Olympics, I would argue that everything about the Olympics is all about politics, from rigged selection comittee's (and payoff's to get the Olympic's in the first place) to judges being bought off and of course drug testing. The pessimistic side of me says that the athlete that wins is the one who was able to best mask their steroid use...
Lots to think of on all sides ...
Would it actually be that devastating if the biggest communist country in the world failed to send delegates to our Olympics? And are you actually suggesting that the international community would follow China in a boycott of Canada? Why, because of our shoddy human rights record and our brutal repression of the Quebecois? Maybe France would issue a few conditions of their attendance?
China got the bid for political reasons. It's true that Tibet is old news and that the Chinese bid was approved with full knowledge of their record, but that's the point of a boycott, isn't it? To send the message that illiberal tyrannies will not be tolerated.
Would you do business with a murderer? Then why should you want your country to do so?
Republican Rep: President Bush Must Skip Beijing
http://www.humanevents.com/artic...le.php?
id=25863
"Would you do business with a murderer?"...
Talk about selective morality!...
Canada specifically and the rest of the world collectively does business with China...look at your laptop as you type!
Boycotting the Olympics in China this summer is a poor solution at best and an incredibly shortsighted strategy to boot.
China's desire for global respect is so obvious that chopping off its arms and legs and throwing it in the cellar to rot as a form of protest especially after the trouble and money they spent to put on this show would only serve to create possibly irreversable loathing on the part of Chinese rulers and possibly the Chinese population as well.
This would be to no avail as we would effectively be socially shunning them while at the same time embracing their trade goods with open arms.
Its my thought that prosperity changes human rights issues within more effectively that any other means.
When people have taken care of their basic needs, then there is time to devote to social change.Its a basic human tenet.
As for the desenting nations that are willing to make hypocrites of themselves for the sake of political points,I would have to say that 'remember, the adversary hiding in your cellar is far harder to keep tabs on that the one at your front door.
Harper is an astute politician and has done the right thing.
China's desire for global respect is so obvious that chopping off its arms and legs and throwing it in the cellar to rot as a form of protest especially after the trouble and money they spent to put on this show would only serve to create possibly irreversable [sic] loathing on the part of Chinese rulers and possibly the Chinese population as well.
You know what's great for global respect? Not murdering people.
This would be to no avail as we would effectively be socially shunning them while at the same time embracing their trade goods with open arms.
You're right. Our trade regime with China is hypocritical. It white-washes over the fundamental truth that their practices are unacceptable and I'm all for a comprehensive renegotiation of the trade and tariff system we currently have.
Its [sic] my thought that prosperity changes human rights issues within more effectively that any other means. When people have taken care of their basic needs, then there is time to devote to social change.Its a basic human tenet.
If you're unfamiliar with the refutation of the causal link between poverty and violence, read this: "Education, Poverty and Terrorism: Is There a Causal Connection?" Alan B. Krueger and Jitka Malečkov, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Autumn, 2003), pp. 119-144.
Moreover, are you actually under the impression that our presence at the Beijing Olympics would help to "satisfy their basic needs" and somehow provide them with a greater chance at social change? Let me remind you that China is a communist dictatorship, and not a silly little one like Cuba. Their history is coloured by the blood of millions and the bodies continue to pile up. The government remains strong and in control. Communist regimes do not tend to breed prosperity. Appeasement is not the route to sparking social change in China.
As for the desenting [sic] nations that are willing to make hypocrites of themselves for the sake of political points...
I remain baffled that people continue to see the Olympics as apolitical. It is a fundamentally diplomatic event. Do you think there were no politics involved in the IOC's decision to hold the 2008 Olympics in Beijing?
You're right that Harper is an astute politician but he did not do "the right thing." He did the pragmatic thing. Big difference.
Commenting by HaloScan
