China Olympics: The High Cost of Entertainment

Known for a lack of fairness and empathy regarding human rights issues, China has been making headlines for the last few years as the Communist nation readies itself for the 2008 Olympics. It is unusual for so much scrutiny to be directed towards an Olympic host nation, but when China was selected, everyone took notice. Normally, the runners who bring the Olympic Torch to its next host nation do not receive more than a few nods from the media; after all, it is just a routine tradition. But when the Torch came to China, it was truly a saga of epic proportions.

From terrorist bombings to political protests, China is awash in the struggles of a growing nation that is finally making its push into the modern age of consumerism and capitalism. With the recent world wide epidemic of terrorist activity, China has not remained idle; the success of the 2008 Olympics in China rests on how well the national authorities can contain and control any terrorist activity that might seek to take advantage of the event. If China gives the appearance that it is unsafe to host the 2008 Olympics there, then another host would be selected.

The Olympic Games in China will be anything but unsafe, however. In fact, it could be too safe. China has spent many millions of dollars on modern security measures from run-of-the-mill cameras to state-of-the-art biometric technologies that use facial recognition technologies. And when the Games are over, the new security paradigm will remain intact. It could be argued that the potential threat of terrorism during the Olympic Games has given Chinese authorities the excuse it needed to watch, and thereby control, the population better. The accusation would not be without merit; even now, plans are in the works to make sure that authorized protesters are segregated from the general Olympic spectators.

And what would protesters want from the Olympics? Attention. With camera crews from almost all of the civilized nations of the world in attendance, the Olympics would make for a great opportunity for protesters to bring international attention to their issues. China is still a Communist entity, after all, and is still often ridiculed for its lack of human rights standards. They do allow protests though, so long as the participants are authorized by the local authorities, which means that the protesters have agreed on what will be discussed before the event. So what might protesters be denied to speak about? Perhaps the people who were evicted from their homes to make room for some of the gardens planted for the Olympic layout would be one of those banned topics.

There is no doubt that China has left nothing to the imagination with regards to security at the 2008 Olympics; the 100,000 security personnel would surely attest to that. But China is still a Communist nation in spite of recent events that might help some people to forget that.

There is a cost associated with the hosting of the 2008 Olympics in China; the people will be left under more police control than they had before the entertainment event was announced. This means more potential human rights issues.