Athletes who support Tibet could be cut from Olympics by anti-propaganda rules

are you serious? so lets all just watch the Olympics and look the other way about Tibet. China 1, Human Rights 0

Well, i guess the athletes will have to make a decision:
Either protest for human rights and earn the respect of their country or win a bloody(literally) medal.

It is sad that this has to happen. As opposed as I am to China, this puts the athletes in an uncomfortable spot. Indubitably this will lead to many situations similar to the '68 Olympics Black Panther incident.

The Olympics have long been a forum for politics...S Africa was banned during apartheid...

sucks has to be this way, why does everything have to be ruined by politcs?

I agree Critter...I'm really surprised with how shocked people are with how politically charged this Olympics has become and its only going to grow and get more intense.

Perhaps the real victory from this Olympics will be for the Chinese people, when the world takes a good long look at what's happening to them.

wait so China would physically remove them from the country? I wonder which would upset them more - a complete boycott from a country or this public display of dissent. Public resistance sounds good to me...

I am dumbfounded at everyones suprise as to what will / can happen under the Chinese rule... keep watching, once all the Tibetans are dead, which will occur right after the olympic, they will be on the move into Nepal , Mongolia and on and on.... anyone recall this is how Hitler got started, enjoy the show!

human rights abuses and dirty air : two good reasons for athletes to sit this one out. I would if I were one.

Of course the athletes (and everyone else) will live without their freedom and basic rights while in China. Just like if the games were held in Suadi Arabia the female athletes would have to run the 100-yard dash in a birka. Apartheid comes in many forms and is alive and well in Tibet, across China, the Middle East, and many other places around the world. The fact that we call these people our friends, allies, and trading partners reminds me of the appeasement of the Third Reich before WWII.

What I'd like to see is the medalists bring out and wave a Tibetan flag after they have received their medals, in front of all the world. What could China do then? China doesn't control the Olympic Games Committee, so it could not withdraw the medals from the athletes.

Vierotchka, I respect you, but i have to say , you don't know China at all.
have you ever been to China?or have you ever been to Tibet??
i am from China, so i know what you are thinking about.Tibet is not just a' LOST HORIZON ',the fairyland in the fiction was written by a European.
Even all the Europeans think that those Tibetens are fighting for their freedom.You are all be fooled. what they are desiring is Feudal Autocracy-monry, women, and privilege!

Yes I have been to Tibet, and I have a great many Tibetan friends, and I respectfully and totally disagree with you. Furthermore, Alexandra David-Neel's book is not fiction at all. As for the social divides described in the YouTube Chinese propaganda video about Tibet (where I posted about Alexandra David-Neel), they reflect exactly the social divides in China today.

Alexandra David?Lost Horizon was writen by James Hilton.
And ,of course you can hold your opinion. but do you really know the the social divides in China today??? What is showing in the vedio is not the whole China.
Go Beijing,and to see what is the real China now. Go tibet and to see what happened in 3.14--how many poor people were killed by those armed rebel !!Vedio on line can never stands for truth.

i thought bringing all the countries together in a sporting competition was supposed to bring out the best in everyone and possibly bring change. the only thing that has been changed is the route the torch was supposed to run on.

Strawman fallacy, fleuret. I never mentioned "Lost Horizon", you did. You are hoist by your own petard! Furthermore, Alexandra David-Neel wrote several books about her experiences in Tibet. Yes, I know a great deal about the social divides in China today, and no, my knowledge is not limited to short videos on the internet, by any means. Go spread your hateful propaganda elsewhere, it won't take here.

This is outrageous. Will the U.S. be there? yes. Will Iraqi's be there? yes. Does anyone care? No.
It's the Olympics. It is the one event in the world that is supposed to surpass all political rivalry and replace it with athletic competition.

I love the Chinese people. I adore their food and culture. But, this time, they got it wrong.

Natatomic, agreed.. in art and culture I feel the area now known as China has had an amazing history .. art, culture and innovation, then came Mao...... and here we are today.....

fleuret LOL you mean how many innocent Tibetan monks, nuns and civilians were ruthlessly murdered at the hands of chinese paramilitary police thugs, like the ones guarding the bloody torch about the globe????

@stephenthomson:
If you were one of those athletes you certainly wouldn't give up on something you've worked so hard everyday for the past 4 years.
The hypothesis of athletes not showing up at the games sounds irrealistic and unfair. They have nothing to do with Tibet and China and have the right to take part in the competition. But they also have the right to protest, much like everybody else should, without being expelled.

Well..... Mixed emotions here, personally if I were an athlete and knew the games were in China, I would have been thinking twice... I protested the games in China b4 IOC gave them the games, nothing here is surprising... additionally as the point has been made above, the air quality??? I expect we may see athletes passing out if the Chinese are unsuccessful with the air pollution control plan.

well flueret, I have to say I'm saddened how fast you went from a respectful debate to calling Vierotchka a stupid woman. I very much think you shouldn't engage in debate until you can do so respectfully.

As to China, it's probably never going to change from the outside because it's policies are mirror images of US expansionist policies. They are just more brazen about it. What's funny to me is how many chinese I've seen getting extremely defensive over this issue, citing violent protest and calling the dalai llama a guerrilla leader basically. For some reason they think people will forget that china is basically committing genocide against Tibetan culture if not the people themselves. If we're going to save Tibet we have to save the chinese population from it's ignorant nationalistic self-centeredness. but that will be impossible as long as the current gov is in place. the athletes should smuggle in pro-tibet gear and proudly display them when they get an opportunity.

Why is the Olympics the perfect stomping ground for political unrest? It's one of the few times, "the whole world's watching", including those who don't know what's going on and should. It's the Earth's biggest venue.

Yes, huntre, that is why. It was inevitable when the IOC decided to hold the games in China which is occupying the country of Tibet and committing genocide there, and oppresses the basic human rights of it's own people. The Chinese government's "God" is stability which means control over every individual. There is no human right or human life which they will not sacrifice to their God. I am glad that the olympics being held there will shine the spotlight on the horrifying practices of the communist Chinese government.

Even if it's the most visible venue doesn't mean it's an effective way of bringing up those kinds of issues to get attention.

How many times has making political statements at the Olympics had any positive effect on the causes that were raised?

Is there any evidence at all that it helped end apartheid when S. Africa was banned, or were there a lot more important factors?

Did boycotting the Moscow Olympics have anything to do with the fall of the Soviet Union? Or was it something else that contributed a lot more to it?

The more solid evidence that all political statements only have a negative impact on the Olympics most directly on the athletes that have trained for years for a shot at it no matter where it is held.

And the most notable negative impact was at the Munich Olymics where a lot of athletes and terrorists died but still the Isreal and Palestinian conflict rages on unabated.

The abuses that China has inflicted on Tibet for 50 years should be addressed,but the Olympics is not the place to do it since there is no reason to believe that it will be any way effective in making a change for the better.

"The more solid evidence that all political statements only have a negative impact on the Olympics most directly on the athletes that have trained for years for a shot at it no matter where it is held. "

If spectators and politicians choose to stay home from the Olympics I will encourage and applaud them.

I oppose any move to impose restrictions on athletes choosing to compete. Most have made enourmous sacrifices and worked far too long and too hard to be denied this opportunity.

I suspect that China will find ample opportunity to behave badly in front of the world press without any provocation from within the Olympic community.

If it is true that any support for Tibet will get you tossed by China I think it is time we seriously consider a boycott. We can not let the Chinese think they can hide the horrors they have brought on Tibet.

Better yet maybe every athlete in the games should unfurl a Tibetan flag during the opening ceremonies. The Chinese can't possibly toss every athlete out of the country.

If the Chinese are so proud of themselves for hosting these Olympics and being center of the world for a few weeks they need to step up and stop denying basic human rights and freedoms.

The Chinese have been actly badly toward Tibet for 50 years, what makes now any different? Are they suddenly going to give them rights and freedoms because people are upset about ruining the Olympics?

Why punish the ahletes from all over the world that had nothing to do with it? Are you going to reinburse them for all the money, time and effort they have spent training?

The point being that it hurts the Olympics a lot more than it helps any political cause so why is it worth it?

I do not understand your response. I am for protecting the athletes from all over the world by letting them all participate in the Olympics. The political stuff will keep on. The impact of all of the athletes working together is probably more valuable. I agree they have spent money and lives to prepare. So let the Games go on. There are lots of countries that have participated in the past that were not free. Now, they can be impacted by the free nations. ??

I think what is important is that athletes act like athletes, politicians like politicians and so on.. The athletes just need to do what they are there for and ignore their self righteous battle to free people they know nothing about and vice versa. When are people going to realize that there is a time and place for all things. the Dalai Lama would say the same thing. As a matter of fact I'm pretty sure he mentioned that he hopes the games are successful and that no one creates any trouble etc.

The athletes deserve to participate in the Games without the pressures of political weight. They have sacrificed so much to be there, as well as their families. We have plenty of time to be political. Oh, to have a world free of oppression, and inhuman treatment. We are, after all, only as strong as our weakest links!

http://www.anti-cnn.com/

http://www.anti-cnn.com/ - this is the official, racist, and mendacious Chinese anti-Tibet propaganda spread by Chinese agents like fleuret. Their description of 19th century Tibet is very much like what China is today.

We all know and have witnessed propaganda as we have grown up in the differences between communist nations and Free countries. It is unfortunate, and I hope the world pressures will help change this, but we have to not punish the Olympics. They have every right to go forth without the political woes of a growing planet.

Often the media helps expose the wrongs so we have to take the good with the bad, and comment when we think it is unfair. I believe in my heart, that all countries who imprisson their people, and do not allow them basic freedoms and human rights, are wrong, and will have to face this in the future. However, I also believe in my heart that the Olympics should not be punished with these differences, and should be allowed to happen without political weight on the atheletes.