Victor Cha, a professor at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., believes that the Olympics will be the crux of China's entrance into the modern, advanced world. It is not clear whether the China is actually working to resolve the human rights, environmental, and other violations it has made or the nation is simply placing a band-aid on issues to ensure a successful and more importantly profitable Olympics. One thing Cha makes clear is that the Olympics will continue to impact China and its neighbors long after the athletes leave from the brand new airport China built specifically for the 2007 games.
China's Issues
China has absolutely made immense progress in the past years regarding economics, manufacturing, international cooperation, free competition, and, most recently, the environment. Cha regards the Olympics as China's opportune moment to begin "showcasing its rapid economic growth and prosperity" on the world stage. However, I believe that the world is already aware that China has taken over many areas of clothing, electronic, and other types of manufacturing.
China's poor labor practices, domestic human rights violations, and lack of safety standards in the production of toys, plastics, and other exported goods is a negative issue overshadowing this progress. This issue impacts not only China but the entire world. The mistreatment of workers deters many from purchasing China's goods and the recent discovery of poisons in plastic toys harms people on the other side of the globe. This is the issue China must address and actively work to change if its foreign relations and trade are to improve.
Another negative issue regarding China is its oil and arms trade to and from Darfur, The Sudan. China, Cha notes, has received criticism from journalists and activist groups for continuing to supply arms to the Sudanese government and purchase oil from Sudanese companies in the face of the genocide occuring in Darfur. The world is very unhappy with China's disregard for the seriousness of ethnic cleansing by the government in the region and this has hurt China's reputation in regards to Olympic ideals. The world has every right to disrespect China in this respect because it shows that they are not up to the human rights standards set by many of the most influential nations in the world.
According to Cha, however, China is openly improving this. They have been supporting UN sanctions against The Sudan and have even sent envoys to the region of Darfur to bring aid. It is not a coincidence that these moves have come only in recent years as the Olympics have been approaching. While any progress in the Darfur crisis is welcome, it does not hide the fact that China is still aiding in the killings by supplying the weapons to the Janjaweed. Again, here it is obvious that China is simply placing a band-aid on the problem for the sake of public relations.
China has also been cited as one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. According to an article the International Herald Tribune, http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/20/business/emit.php, China surpassed the U.S. in greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, China releases the most of the gases known to cause global warming out of any other nation in the world. This is a major problem that, again, hurts not only the people and environment of China but of the entire world.
The solution to the problem outlined in Cha's article? Ban a million cars and plant 200 million trees. This is an amazing initiative to begin with. However, the only way to truly reverse this statistic is to continue with it for the long-haul. China must continue to plant more and more Carbon Dioxide consuming trees and implement a public transportation system to allow its people to continue living their normal lives with the absence of their banned cars. Again, Cha reports that China is working to fix their environmental impact but fails to highlight that it is only a temporary fix meant to appease the public eye.
Regional Issues
Cha makes an interesting point that Asia is a region where a historic "tradition of sports diplomacy is arguably more prominent than in other regions." Some examples he cites are ping-pong helping Sino-American relations (presumably during the Vietnam conflict) and the merging of North and South Korea as an Olympic team. Also, it can be said that the 1988 Olympic Games held in Seoul, South Korea spurred the creation of a democratic system in the nation. These are incredible stepping stones for improved world-relations in the region.
The reason that more progress has been noted in these regions is because they are so much further behind in democratic and other ideals than other regions where the games have been held. Asia is thought of in the world as backwards in many aspects so there is more room for improvement. While this seems worthy of praise, I'm not sure how accurate Cha's statement is.
From what basis to we compare China's current state to? Western ideals and western systems? If this is the case, then one can say Asia does benefit more from the politics of the Olympics than other areas because the Olympics promote such western ideals. However, this way of thinking is harmful because it simply places western thinking against eastern thinking as the correct way. Asia has more contrast to Olympic democratic ideals than any other nation, so it fits that many see it as the perfect place for improvement via sports diplomacy.
What I wonder is this: Will the impact of the olympic games make such a lasting and positive change in China as it did in South Korea or will these recent changes turn out to be band-aids ripped off as soon as the initial bleeding stops? Do the people of China want this? And finally, is taking on global ideals of democracy, conservation, and human rights protection the only route for a better life in China?
