> Behalf Of Dean Forster
snipped Russell's good post
> >
>
> 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.
Which is also, of course, why China routinely blocks Western news sites,
including recently the Melbourne Age and Sydney Morning Herald, because
otherwise local Chinese get to see something other than the official party
line.
The build up to the Olympics should catalyse a lot of positive change in
China, particularly in personal freedoms. Hasn't got off to a particularly
good start, with quite a few camera crews hassled when filming the reaction
to the announcement in Tienanmen Square, plus the 50 year celebratory
monument being built in Tibet.
>I would have thought China would
> decline having games held there.
China has fought for many years to get the Games. They lost by only one vote
to Sydney for last year's games, don't forget. The Olympics carry far too
much prestige for them to recognise the reality of all that Western interest
and coverage they are going to get. But I don't think they've really thought
it through. They probably think they can do a 1980s Moscow.
I agree with Russell and Dean that the best way is to engage China. The
Olympics in Beijing could be like the 1988 Seoul Olympics, which must be one
of the reasons why South Korea has made such huge advances in political
freedom in the last decade. Whether the change happens to China before the
Olympics or afterwards, I really think it must change. There are too many
people starting to make a lot of money in China - something that will
increase a lot - for the current restrictions to continue much longer. And
there will be too many Westerners around the place for even the Chinese
Communist party to control.
>Heck, I figure they
> knocked down our surveillance plane to purposefully
> chill relations with the US and her allies.
No, they didn't read the "Watch for turning EP3s" danger signs.
Brett
>
