Will Beijing be a war zone for the Olympics?

[jim]

What happens when you combine the world's largest event with a police state intent on silencing dissidents?

In the run-up to August the ruling Communist elite have been doing whatever they can to silence outbreaks of protests by targeting the few brave souls who risk 'disappearing' by issuing statements critical of the government. Bloggers are imprisoned for 10 years just for suggesting policy change. This is not surprising in a country that goes to great lengths to ensure web knowledge repositories like wikipedia and various news sites, are censored.

During the Olympics, the world's eye will be trained on a country choking on the coal emissions of their unmanageable growth. The normal brutal methods used to repress crowds and dissidents will not be available to a regime eager to improve it's image in world standing but not actually willing to make changes concerning human rights.

Things get dangerous since protesters with an agenda know that the government's hand will be tied during the Olympics themselves. What better time to rally for real environmental regulation, property rights, cultural preservation in Tibet, fair and open policy creation?

Do you want to be caught in Tiananmen square when police and soldiers wonder what to do as the crowds gather?

Or am I wrong and everything will run smoothly?

[Demonicat]

As someone who lives and works in China, and has recently visited Beijing (two weeks ago), I can only say- Holy shit, it willbe. Beijing is woefully unprepared for both the public eye and the influx of countless visitors.
While visiting, my friend and I decided to see how far we could get if we only spoke English- answer being, not far. Everywhere from restaraunts, to taxis, to bus stations was Chinese only. The only places to find English were maccas and the hostel that we laowai are allowed to say in (remember, China has rules about where foreigners are allowed to sleep).
When compounded with China's growing insecurity around its desire to remain a totalitarian police state with aspirations of communism (hah!) and its desire to become the champion of world economics- the beijing olympics will be a disaster. The thing is, we may not hear about it.
A friend of mine, a Chinese tattoo artist, was explaining it to me. He related that due to the olympics things have changed horribly for the local Chinese. Marijuana possession, for example, was overlooked as little as a year ago- now its a death sentence for a Chinese. Many buildings are being "repaired", but poorly- with things such as heat and water being withheld from locals- very rough in the -15 degree winter. China has a great way of abusing their people in a way to improve their global image. The olympics will be an interesting scenario regardless.

[jim]

i think you make a good point demonicat - we won't hear about the worst that goes on.

and probably they will wait on putting away people until after all the foreign journalists have left....

knowing that - what better time to put on another mass rally? i really hope the Chinese people can free themselves, big international companies aren't helping the situation by kowtowing to the powers that be there.

[freaker]

I can only say having lived the last year in beijing, that the city of beijing is not ready for that many foreigners. there is going to be a problem at least to some extent. I can remember my first days in beijing not even being able to buy food. I can remember the attitude of the local beijingers, and having a problem getting along. I have been all over the world, and I can scarecely remember a city in which I was treated so badly. The local people treated me like I was a piece of s#$t! I never learned to love the local people untill I learned the language! But only after I learned to speak the language, and learned to live in a way acceptable to the beijingers was I able to be tollerated. I met some good freinds over there, but unfortunately it took a long time, and I wonder if it was worth the effort the way I was repayed.

[Ali Baba]

The authorities have already arrested all the beggars, drug addicts and homeless in the major cities, ensuring most visiters leave with a sanitised image of China.

I imagine many of the protests will be performed by foreigners such as green peace and friends of the earth. The goverment will either have to let these group be or risk masses of bad publicity.

With so many foreign journalists entering the country it will be a great oppourtunity for the Chinese to stand up and be counted.

[jim]

It is a great opportunity for the Chinese to stand up and let their voice be heard - but unfortunately my take is that the propaganda system is so powerful there that many Chinese would ask why they should.

And also to be fair, is there anyone out there who liked traveling to Beijing and China? I've only heard negatives so far but there must be some positive stories someone has...

[Demonicat]

After the cultural revolution, Chinese were taught to never disagree with the system. At first it was a fear thing- those who dissented were killed or imprisoned. As time went on, however, it became an ingrained idea. Very few Chinese now would even consider thinking differently from how they are told to think. An example for you all:
I teach university level English. One of the asssignments I gave last semester was to write a 1 page essay giving your opinion on media, internet, and news censorship. Out of 300 students, 5 were anti-censorship and the rest were for it. The most common sentiment was "It is the duty of the government to prevent people from seeing or thinking things that they shouldn't."

[ohio]

fuck china, I was almost desperate enough to go work there once, thank god that didn't work out. Taiwan must be alot different, right? Anyone taught english in Taiwan?

[jim]

Tom has taught English in Taiwan (for one day I think) maybe he'll weigh in.

Speaking to the Taiwanese I met in Beijing is like a night and day difference. Maybe it's like trying to figure out who is a zombie vs. who isn't ...

Canadians who trash on America have this problem - if it weren't for slight accent they're impossible to tell apart, unlike taiwanese (or singaporese) vs mainland chinese.

[Ali Baba]

--And also to be fair, is there anyone out there who liked traveling to Beijing and China? I've only heard negatives so far but there must be some positive stories someone has...--

I spent 2 months in China and have mixed feelings about the place. Whilst some people were rude and impatient others were kind and considerate and I made some good friends with people who were genuinely interested in travelling and learning about different cultures.

Xi-An is the only city I liked as it had some landmarks and character. I prefered the small towns and less visited places.