Since I moved to Hong Kong 2-years ago, not a day has gone by without someone here mentioning the Beijing Olympics in someway. Most comments are positive, proud and nationalistic but, a significant minority of Hong Kong or mainland Chinese are rightly, in my opinion, concerned about the potential of the Beijing Olympics to strengthen the grip and power of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) – no doubt putting back by years the day that China can ultimately enjoy a liberal democracy.
To be fair, since the 1980s, China has gone through a dramatic economic reform process that has, in most ways, been hugely successful. There is no question that the average Chinese person is materially better off and better fed than ever before. Personal freedoms, especially with the advent of the internet and modern telephony, are more widespread than ever before. In this regard, for the Chinese and the rest of the world, China is a far better place than it was three decades ago.
However, political freedoms remain dramatically constrained. The CCP retains a tight grip on all instruments of power – the state, military, courts and civil service. There is no free press, no right to a fair trial, widespread detention without trial (with very liberal use of hard labour camps) and widespread use of torture and other repressive measures.
When China bid for the Olympics, it made a number of promises on personal and political freedoms that it has not kept. Those who believed them were fools. The CCP will never, voluntarily, give up its grip on power. It’s a gravy train that they cannot afford to stop, no matter what the price. Hosting a successful Olympics, starting with the Opening Ceremony this week, will only embolden the CCP.
Despite this, world leaders such as Bush and Brown, are right to attend the Olympics if they use it as an opportunity to advance the course of freedom in China. Bush has, in the past, said that he will attend only as a “sports fan” – an attitude that is utterly wrong. As the leader of the free world, he and others have a duty to make clear to the CCP that the world finds much of what it does unacceptable and will closely watch its political and human rights performance (at home and abroad) as well as the Olympics. Just two weeks ago China called for the UN to stop going after the Sudanese leadership, and vetoed the UN sanctions on Zimbabwe.
So, as the Olympics begin, let us not forget the ordinary decent Chinese that continue to suffer under the hands of their own government.
