It seems to me that the countries through which the Olympic torch is traveling are giving WAY too much leeway to these Chinese government agents who are traveling with the torch. I read a story last week about a woman who was "handled roughly" in England by several of the agents when she tried to interrupt the torch parade with a Free Tibet sign. Of course, by "handled roughly", I mean tackled and pinned to the ground until the procession had passed.
There was quite a bit of (deserved) criticism of the English government for allowing these agents to essentially assault an English citizen, on English soil, for saying something that the Chinese government did not agree with.
Well, it happened again...this time in San Francisco. And this time, American police helped.
According to this story, Majora Carter, a torch bearer in the San Francisco procession, apparently hid a Tibetan flag inside her sleeve. As she ran with the torch, she pulled the flag from her sleeve, exercising her right to free speech. The flag (and the torch) were quickly snatched from her by the Chinese guards running alongside and she was pushed into the crowd by the San Francisco police officers who were also along the route. The two other gentlemen that she was running with later decried her actions, saying that she "dishonored herself and her family" and that the act was "disgusting and appalling".
Now, it could perhaps be said that the timing was in poor taste. However, there are a few things that bother me about this story:
1. This woman has a right to speak her mind. It's right there in the Constitution. Unless there was some sort of treaty with China whereby the ground surrounding the torch temporarily became Chinese territory, it would seem to me that that right was suppressed; which is against the law.
2. The response to her actions was overwhelmingly negative; which baffles me. To say that she brought "dishonor to herself" by standing up and exercising her right to criticize what she sees as an oppressive, overstepping government if foolish. I, for one, think it is dishonorable, not to mention un-American to decry an individual for speaking their mind. As Evelyn Beatrice Hall once said, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
3. What does it say about the English and American governments when they are not only allowing Chinese authorities to enforce their will upon their citizens on their own soil, but they are helping them do so? I'll tell you what it says; it says that the era of Western dominance is over. The English and American governments rely upon China too much at this point. The dollar is declining world-wide at a rapid pace. The American economy is no longer the number one economy in the world. It's not even number two. China and India have taken those spots. England and America live on Chinese imports.
China knows this. They understand completely the economic power that they now wield worldwide. No government is really willing to stand up to China because of this and as a result, China has seemingly grown indignant with the rest of the world. Any time they are questioned on their human rights violations, past and present, they always say something like "that is an internal matter".
Now, someone reading this might think that I am completely anti-China. This is not the case at all and is not what this is about. I believe that China is an important country rich with and extremely diverse and interesting history. I do, however, feel that the current government is an oppressive, choking regime who is riding to the top of economic superiority on the broken backs of its mostly poverty-ridden populace. I feel that the Chinese government still has a long way to go on human rights.
What this is really about is the seeming willingness by my and other governments to allow their citizens rights to be suppressed by agents of the Chinese government simply because they have said something that the Chinese government doesn't like. That may fly on Chinese soil, but around these parts...not so much.
There was quite a bit of (deserved) criticism of the English government for allowing these agents to essentially assault an English citizen, on English soil, for saying something that the Chinese government did not agree with.
Well, it happened again...this time in San Francisco. And this time, American police helped.
According to this story, Majora Carter, a torch bearer in the San Francisco procession, apparently hid a Tibetan flag inside her sleeve. As she ran with the torch, she pulled the flag from her sleeve, exercising her right to free speech. The flag (and the torch) were quickly snatched from her by the Chinese guards running alongside and she was pushed into the crowd by the San Francisco police officers who were also along the route. The two other gentlemen that she was running with later decried her actions, saying that she "dishonored herself and her family" and that the act was "disgusting and appalling".
Now, it could perhaps be said that the timing was in poor taste. However, there are a few things that bother me about this story:
1. This woman has a right to speak her mind. It's right there in the Constitution. Unless there was some sort of treaty with China whereby the ground surrounding the torch temporarily became Chinese territory, it would seem to me that that right was suppressed; which is against the law.
2. The response to her actions was overwhelmingly negative; which baffles me. To say that she brought "dishonor to herself" by standing up and exercising her right to criticize what she sees as an oppressive, overstepping government if foolish. I, for one, think it is dishonorable, not to mention un-American to decry an individual for speaking their mind. As Evelyn Beatrice Hall once said, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
3. What does it say about the English and American governments when they are not only allowing Chinese authorities to enforce their will upon their citizens on their own soil, but they are helping them do so? I'll tell you what it says; it says that the era of Western dominance is over. The English and American governments rely upon China too much at this point. The dollar is declining world-wide at a rapid pace. The American economy is no longer the number one economy in the world. It's not even number two. China and India have taken those spots. England and America live on Chinese imports.
China knows this. They understand completely the economic power that they now wield worldwide. No government is really willing to stand up to China because of this and as a result, China has seemingly grown indignant with the rest of the world. Any time they are questioned on their human rights violations, past and present, they always say something like "that is an internal matter".
Now, someone reading this might think that I am completely anti-China. This is not the case at all and is not what this is about. I believe that China is an important country rich with and extremely diverse and interesting history. I do, however, feel that the current government is an oppressive, choking regime who is riding to the top of economic superiority on the broken backs of its mostly poverty-ridden populace. I feel that the Chinese government still has a long way to go on human rights.
What this is really about is the seeming willingness by my and other governments to allow their citizens rights to be suppressed by agents of the Chinese government simply because they have said something that the Chinese government doesn't like. That may fly on Chinese soil, but around these parts...not so much.
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