Boycott Beijing 2008

Should Beijing Host 2008 Olympics?

  • No
  • Yes

0 voters


A New Wave of Repression Justified by the Olympics

While a wide majority of International Olympic Committee (IOC) members were voting, on July 13, 2001, to attribute the 2008 Summer Olympics to Beijing, Chinese police received an order to step up their executions of delinquents and intensify repression against “subversive Internet users”. IOC members, encouraged by their president, Juan Antonio Samaranch, who personally supported China

[quote]China is apparently planning an

I agree. The free world should boycott the Beijing Olies. It’s time to take a stand against tyranny worldwide, and sports are not that important. Remember the Olies in Germany in 1936. It’s time to take a stand.

If sports are not that important, then it would be a boycott against something not important.

Beijing 2008.

Love this pic, btw!

Agreed. The antics of the Canadian government vis-a-vis the PRC over the past decade sicken me.

I wonder if Stephen Harper has the balls to stand up for what’s right, or will he, too, be Beijing’s bum boy?

The question should be how much did the OIC members received from Beijing for this?

Actually, I was strongly considering trying to get tickets for the Games…guess I better change those plans so I don’t screw up the boycott… :wink:

I don’t think isolating China contributes to the development of freedom and democracy there. I was against boycotting China in 1989 (post-Tiananmen) and I am still against it now.

You guys are selfish and probably never trained to be an international athlete. You think some ROC athlete should waste their life over your political idealogy.

I assure you most athletes would tell you to go screw yourself and the ban you are proposing. Not to mention the 4 million ROC tourist that go to the PRC every year would not be sympathetic to your cause.

[quote=“ac_dropout”]You guys are selfish and probably never trained to be an international athlete. You think some ROC athlete should waste their life over your political idealogy.
[/quote]

Don’t you mean “Chinese Taipei” athlete?

You think international athletes usually care about the “country” they represent. At the elite levels it is like free agents swapping citizenship for the chance to compete.

Take your political idealogy to some other venue. People who train all their lives for mere minutes to compete don’t appreciate politics mucking around.

exactly… sports and soapbox politics should be kept seperate…
there are many reasons to protest against Beijing, the most important IMO being the treatment of animals in GuangDong fur farms, but like AC said the olympics isn’t the vehicle to achieve this…

also having a poll question like “should the Beijing host the 2008 olympics” is kind of assinine since it implies there’s something anyone at all can do about it, when there isn’t… Beijing will host the olympics in 2008… Even if every visitor in the western world boycotts it, they will still fill the stadiums and grandstands with hundreds of thousands of smiling, happy Mainland Chinese and to the world’s TV audience it will appear that all going off without a hitch in shiny happy China…

poeple with a axe to grind with Beijing should find another soapbox since this one is going to achieve nothing… pity…

[quote=“ac_dropout”]You think international athletes usually care about the “country” they represent. At the elite levels it is like free agents swapping citizenship for the chance to compete.

Take your political idealogy to some other venue. People who train all their lives for mere minutes to compete don’t appreciate politics mucking around.[/quote]

You’re fucking kidding me, right?!!!

That’s the most intellectually dishonest argument – scratch that – That’s the most absurd comment I’ve heard in quite some time. Congratualtions! :notworthy:

(funny I couldn’t find an athlete on Google waving a Chinese Taipei flag).

unless they are going there with black gloves…

And you have? Year, please. Times, dates, locations, medals? :laughing: :laughing:

Not a single elite athlete has a chance of winning a medal without massive support from his government. I think that any protestation on their part that sports should not be affected by politics is risible. Make it to the Olympics on your own (and that means paying for your own accommodation and meals, too) and you can pretend you are a “free” agent.

The fact is governments make all kinds of security and policy decisions that affect the lives of its citizens. Been to Cuba lately?

Anyone who truly believes the Olympics aren’t influenced by international politics needs to visit that reality agent in Kaohsiung.

Okay, great. So it is decided that the Olympics in China will be influenced by international politics. And the result will be… exactly the same as in other realms having to do China these days: business as usual and politics ignored. Seems to work well for the people who run things in this world; everybody else ever only has the choice of playing along anyway.

Nope, there are quite a few ROC dual citizens that swap countries when the opportunity is right.

There are PRC citizens that specifically immigrate to European countries with a weak performance in their sport to get a chance at the Olympics.

There are Canadian that go to the USA…etc. etc.

Many Athletes in the USA and ROC do just that, pay for everything on their own. The ROC has a pay out system for medal winners. And the USA have a private sport marketing firms to try to make some money for medal winners.

In any event, what is banning the ROC athletes going to do for Taiwan.
A single gold medal win in TKD for ROC in Beijing, would bring so much positive publicity for Taiwan. People would have to ask again “What is Chinese Taipei,” “Is the Olympic theme song an athem?” etc.

Don’t send any ROC athletes to Beijing and it will really be a “out of sight out of mind” situation. The world won’t even blink that Taiwan didn’t go. It not like most people can find Taiwan on a map anyways.

Nope, there are quite a few ROC dual citizens that swap countries when the opportunity is right.

There are PRC citizens that specifically immigrate to European countries with a weak performance in their sport to get a chance at the Olympics.

There are Canadian that go to the USA…etc. etc. [/quote]

That accounts for a few special cases and you know it. Try being a little less disingenuous with your arguments.

[quote]
In any event, what is banning the ROC athletes going to do for Taiwan.
A single gold medal win in TKD for ROC in Beijing, would bring so much positive publicity for Taiwan. People would have to ask again “What is Chinese Taipei,” “Is the Olympic theme song an athem?” etc.

Don’t send any ROC athletes to Beijing and it will really be a “out of sight out of mind” situation. The world won’t even blink that Taiwan didn’t go. It not like most people can find Taiwan on a map anyways.[/quote]

Despite what you want to believe, the Taiwan / China issue is more in the fore of global issues than you might think.

If you think the Taiwan issue won’t be talked about if there was a boycott, then I’ve got a Chinese goodwill panda I want to sell you.

Of course it will be talked about. And China will probably help matters by not compromising with the torch relay qualifier that Taiwan has asked for, as well – and I’m sure there will be other stupid PR disasters that only the PRC can dream up.

The Chinese Taipei thing is old news and certainly won’t get as much airplay as Taiwan boycotting the games.