Opinions

Free Tibet, boycott the Olympics

In print | March 27, 2008

On March 14, violence erupted in Lhasa, the capitol of Tibet. Nonviolent protests by Tibetan Buddhist monks devolved into violence with China’s brutal engagement of protesters and looters. Since then, the protests have been growing in the region and coverage by international journalists has been suppressed, though the Tibetan government-in-exile has confirmed at least 140 deaths of protesters as a result of police actions.

The protests are centered on the 1951 Chinese annexation of Tibet and the subsequent denials of religious freedom and governmental representation. Since 1951, little international consensus has emerged regarding the diplomatic status of Tibet, especially following the failed Tibetan nationalist uprising in 1959. In the subsequent 49 years, the Chinese government quelled the Tibetan uprising, exiled the Dalai Lama and repressed outward religious expression.

The economic gains and military buildup in that time gave the Chinese government the tools it needed to forcefully pursue its nationalist ‘One China’ policy, and the ‘progress’ achieved by China in that amount of time was due in no small part to its trampling of human rights including the rights to expression and self-determination. The violent suppression of dissenting voices and religious expression in Tibet echoes the cries of the Chinese massacred in Tiananmen Square, the ‘June Fourth Incident,’ nearly 20 years ago.

Despite the lack of resolution among the international community with regard to Tibet and the persistent human rights abuses by the Chinese government, the International Olympic Committee awarded the city of Beijing the honor of hosting the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. As such, we feel that the bestowing of this honor upon China was a mistake and urge the United States and other nations to boycott the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Since the Olympics provides a unique venue with which countries can advertise their best qualities to the rest of the world and attempt to ignore their worst qualities, the nature of the games is very political. The political precedent for such a boycott exists, as boycotts were enacted for the Summer Olympic Games in 1956, 1976, 1980 and 1984.

In the past, protests by both Chinese and Tibetan citizens have been shown to be ineffective against the Chinese government, though the protests have gained large media coverage in the West in the past week and a half. China’s intense focus on its success in hosting the Olympics provides a unique opportunity for Western nations to leverage public opinion in the service of political reform, with the goal being discussions between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama; the eventual goal, of course, would be the achievement of a semi-autonomous Tibetan state led by the Dalai Lama.

An American boycott of the Games would be unfortunate for the athletes who have been preparing for the Olympics in 2008. However, there may never be a better opportunity to stand up against Chinese human rights violations in Tibet and China, nor a better chance for the West to show solidarity with Tibet in order to achieve some independence for the region. American participation in the games would legitimize Chinese actions and in fact support them for years to come, due to the likely financial gains and international exposure for China. Tacit acceptance of China’s violent methods would lower the American morality to an intolerable nadir.