Hillary Clinton Calls for Bush To Boycott Olympics
In a bold move Senator Billary Hillary McCain Clinton calls for President George Bush to stay out of Beijing and boycott the Olympics. She sites the treatment of protesters in Tibet and other human rights violations as reasons for her decision.
«The violent clashes in Tibet and the failure of the Chinese government to use its full leverage with Sudan to stop the genocide in Darfur are opportunities for Presidential leadership. These events underscore why I believe the Bush administration has been wrong to downplay human rights in its policy towards China. At this time, and in light of recent events, I believe President Bush should not plan on attending the opening ceremonies in Beijing, absent major changes by the Chinese government.
I encourage the Chinese to take advantage of this moment as an opportunity to live up to universal human aspirations of respect for human rights and unity, ideals that the Olympic games have come to represent.
Americans will stand strong in support of freedom of religious and political expression and human rights. Americans will also stand strong and root for the success of American athletes who have worked hard and earned the right to compete in the Olympic Games of 2008.»
She joins people like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (who personally visited the Dalai Lama) and Director Steven Spielberg (who quit his position as artistic adviser over China’s role in Darfur) in rejecting China’s Olympic event.
George Bush has already explained why he’s not boycotting the Olympics, so it’s very unlikely her request is going to be anything more than a political stand. A statement was given via a spokesperson to TheHill.com:
“The president views the Olympics as a sporting event and an important opportunity to support America’s athletes. He has also made it very clear that the Olympics will shine a bright light on China regarding a variety of issues. These games will provide China with an opportunity to put its best face forward.”
Full article HERE.
My Take:
If we would have boycotted the Olympics in 1936, when Hilter was Chancellor of Germany, we wouldn’t have had the chance to let Jesse Owens embarrass him.
I don’t think the Olympics should be so politicized. We knew that China was a human rights offender when they were awarded the honor years ago. Why were they given the chance in the first place? It seems to me like allowing them to have the Olympics only to insult and humiliate them isn’t the way to go about changing their attitude.
And what good is it if our President sits out an opening ceremony but is torturing prisoners in Guantanamo? We lost our moral high ground the minute we allowed for torture in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo to be acceptable in our nation.
I think it’s fitting our president sit next to other human rights violators while the Olympic torch gets snuffed out in every city it visits by angry protesters. Where our president shows up is irrelevant. He ceased to represent the American people a long time ago.
Let’s let the athletes compete. We will resolve this issue in other arenas. We should be boycotting places like the UN, the diplomatic organization that lets countries like China sit on its human rights commission. Our focus is sadly limited to pop culture when the real places change is possible are ignored.
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UPDATE:
A great dissenting opinion to my belief is HERE. It is from the SeattlePI.com’s opinion section. An excerpt is below:
«Americans attended every Olympics until the Moscow Games, of 1980, which they boycotted to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Sixty-two countries joined the boycott, including — you guessed it — the People’s Republic of China.»
I don’t 100% agree yet, but this article got me understand the other POV more.
I saw this when I was in the gym today and thought the same thing. Bush should worry about supporting our athletes, not protesting China at a time when politics aren’t even the issue. Do you really think anybody, besides Americans, are even going to care if Bush is there or not? No, because contrary to popular belief other countries don’t care that much about us outside of business and foreign policy. Plus, being absent at one of the only events that unites the entire world on a common ground sends the wrong message.
Allison:
I agree. The Olympics are not the time and place for that. If the people want to protest, fine, but I highly doubt our leader not being there is going to do anything for Darfur or Tibet.
President Bush hasn’t done anything in the political sphere for those nations, I frankly don’t care where he sits during the Olympics.
Having athletes being able to compete in a competition seems to (by some) out weigh the 100,000 and growing [Tibetans] killed during the 1959 takeover. It is interesting we think protesting the thousands of deaths given in China for the pursuit of democracy is equated to insulting and humiliating the Chinese Government. A government where you could not even have a blog let alone write in one. Equally strange is the equation of Guantanamo to 100,000 citizens being slain by a foreign Government.
More dangerous is the parroting of ideals without embracing a cognoscente worldview. How many Olympics have come and gone since 1959? China’s days of making us stick our heads in the sand are over.
RV:
To me, having athletes compete does not outweigh the Tibetan people’s need for freedom and autonomy from the Chinese. However, I don’t think the Olympics are a political forum. The United Nations, that is a political forum. The Chinese sit on the UN human rights commission and they receive the honor of getting to host the Olympics in Beijing.
Who are the people that are giving them these privileges? They are the ones that need to be protested against and they are the ones that need to be held accountable.
The athletes did not get to choose where they would compete. They just want to compete.
Politicizing the Olympics is trendy. But after the Olympics, the fires will subside, the headlines will be nonexistent, and people will go back to their routines. It is apathy, not the Olympics, that is allowing the Tibetan crisis to continue.
And as far as Guantanamo and Tibet go… human rights crimes are human rights crimes. I understand the statistical figure may be different, but the lack of humanity is the same. And the number of civilians dead in Iraq is also troubling, that total is in the several thousands.
Understand I am in full support of Tibetan independence and do not hold athletics above freedoms. But, if we were to wait for the world to be hypocrisy free we would never have another Olympic event again.
Thanks for your dissent.
I’M SORRY, BUT DO YOU PEOPLE HAVE PROOF THAT CHINA DID OFFEND THE HUMAN RIGHTS? IF NOT, THEN, EXCUSE ME, BUT DON’T ACT LIKE YOU DO HAVE PROOF.(BY THE WAY, THE DALIA LAMA SAYING WE DID IS NOT PROOF, NEITHER ARE THE OTHER PEOPLE SAYING WE DID !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!
YKW:
There is plenty of evidence that proves China is a human rights offender. Tibet is the tip of the iceberg. Most recently, China topped Amnesty International’s list of countries with the most death penalty executions. You can find that information HERE.
You can also visit Human Rights Watch’s China page HERE. Like Amnesty International, HRW is non-partisan and is completely dedicated to protecting human rights all over the world, so their stories, unlike the Chinese government’s propaganda, can be trusted.
I’m sure more would be known if China’s leaders were bad at covering up these stories, but until now they have mastered secrecy and with the advertising from the Olympics will have mastered PR as well.
Thanks.
I believe that every country has it’s dirty secrets. I bet there are many human rights offenders in this very country. Every country has it’s own culture and it’s own way of doing things. Culture is different everywhere, as Americans, we should know this very well. So, this whole boycotting JUST because of the Tibet thing… why make sports political? We already have everything else political… at least leave one thing out of it! Proof or no proof, this is not our problem. This should b settled by that nation, it is china’s responsibility.
Thank You Hilary Clinton for supporting the Tibetans of Boycotting the Olympic 2008. Thank You!
I am not saying that the Olympic 2008 should be boycotted as per His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama’s suggestion. We are fully against the policy of the Chinese Govt. But we are not against the innocent Chinese people.The Olympic shouldn’t be boycotted as this event will improve the financial status of China. And once again,
Tibetans and supporters are against of Chinese govt.’s policy only!