--- Russell Chapman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> "John D. Giorgis" wrote:
>
> > Instead, the PRC's capital city has been awarded
> one of the highest honors
> > in the international community, the right to
> showcase itself on the Olympic
> > Stage.
>
> I wonder if anything can be achieved by ostracising
> China? If we deny them the
> games, are they really likely to start reconsidering
> their position? Will they
> suddenly free Tibet because we say we don't like
> their attitude, or will they
> just close their borders more and restrict their
> citizens more to protect the
> status quo? Their significance to the economy of the
> US and other G7 nations
> means no real sanctions will ever occur, and they
> know it.
>
> My fervent hope is that the sheer volume of overseas
> visitors, the intense
> scrutiny, the influx of the world's press, and their
> prominent position on the
> world stage will bring about real change for the
> citizens of China (sadly, I
> hold less hope for the citizens of Tibet).
>
I wholeheartedly agree. Several American presidents
in the past have extended a hand to China, much to the
bafflement of their contemporaries. They knew that
the only way to make a positive change in China is to
become close to them, to infect them with Western
culture and ideas of democracy and freedom in the only
real way possible. I would have thought China would
decline having games held there. Heck, I figure they
knocked down our surveillance plane to purposefully
chill relations with the US and her allies.
dean
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