China and the Olympics

Having spent a bit of time contemplating the issue, I’m still not sure where I stand on the whole China Olympics thing. Partly this is because I don’t really care about the Olympics, and wouldn’t notice if they just cancelled the whole thing, so it’s hard to get excited about applying precious mental resources to the problem. Partly, because the answer is somewhat elusive.

I understand the argument for China having it is that it will focus attention on human rights in China, and that may have a beneficial effect. There is some evidence that this is true, and temporarily at least Internet censorship in China seems to have been slackened somewhat for the moment. There is little expectation that this will last, but it may give Chinese ‘net users a sense of what they’re missing the rest of the time.

It occurs to me that the optimal outcome is for China to go ahead with the Olympics, but for the games to be boycotted by athletes from concerned liberal democracies. An Olympics without the US or Germany or the UK or a bunch of other prominent sporting countries would be a pretty obvious slap in the face to China. It would be hard to spin. It would also reflect badly on the sponsors, and if it hits them in the hip pocket it may cause them to rethink some of their complicity in China’s political situation.

There is already evidence of the embarrassment that the Olympics is causing the Chinese government with the protests against the torch relay. What is supposed to be a showcase of the international nature of the ‘Olympic spirit’ has turned into a trigger for protests which have received worldwide attention. Nothing sums up the contradiction that is China’s Olympics better than the torch relay runners surrounded by dozens of Chinese and local security, with the crowds that the relay is supposedly for held back due to the protests. I’ll certainly be interested in seeing what happens when it comes here to Canberra, and would argue that a torch relay that has to happen away from the public eye defeats the purpose of holding the relay at all.

The problem is I don’t believe significant boycotts will happen. I’m happy to be proven wrong on this point, but I just can’t see all these athletes who have trained and aspired to Olympic gold choosing to forgo their once-in-four-years opportunity to compete just because the Olympics is being hosted by an oppressive regime. The Olympic window for most elite athletes is so small that missing one might mean abandoning the Olympic dream altogether.

Whilst boycotts have happened in the past, that was before Olympic prestige became what it is now. An Olympic medal means worldwide acclaim and a lifetime of sponsorship opportunities (well, not quite a lifetime, unless the ‘Ore-some Foursome’ are all dead), which is probably too attractive for the most promising to pass up.

Not surprisingly, those who are the most adamant about the torch relay remaining unmolested are the torchbearers, even going so far as to suggest that the relay should be scrapped, rather than becoming a vehicle of protest. But personally I think the arguments of the Olympics remaining outside politics sound somewhat hollow, and is just further indication that widespread boycotts by athletes shouldn’t be expected.