Originally published on the CGS blog on August 26, 2008.
The whole world turned its eye on Beijing this August in what many were led to believe would be a celebration of the triumph of the human spirit. This summer’s Olympics were certainly host to an array of extraordinary athletic achievements. Even I, not at all an avid sports fan, found myself taken in by the spectacle, and particularly by’standout athletes like American swimmer Michael Phelps, who has made his country more than proud.
But as the Olympic flame blew out on Sunday many began to look back on the 2008 Beijing Olympics and wonder what legacy it will leave in its wake. Sadly, the athletic accomplishments of many will be overshadowed by the fact that these Games were little about sports and more about politics, greed, and deception as the international community complicity gave credence to a hostile regime that is fundamentally undemocratic and steeped in human rights abuses and atrocities. The motto for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics was, ironically, “One World, One Dream”, chosen out of 210,000 submissions submitted worldwide. Unfortunately, this ‘dream’ is far from realizable for many of the world’s poorest and oppressed and the Olympic host country, far from fostering this dream, continues to exacerbate global inequality with each passing year. We, here are at Citizens for Global Solutions, are primarily concerned with China’s position on two critical issues: Darfur and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
China has garnered sharp criticism from the international community at large for the role it has played in exacerbating genocide in Darfur. China is Sudan’s closest economic, military, and political partner and, as such, is the national government best positioned to pressure Sudan to end government-backed violence in Darfur. However, not only has China failed to use its relationship with Sudan as leverage to help end a large-scale humanitarian crisis, the Chinese government has aided and abetted Sudan’s Khartoum government in a number of ways with devastating consequences, including violating the UN arms embargo by supplying weaponry to Sudan’s government in Khartoum and investing heavily in Sudan, particularly in Sudanese oil, and thus effectively bankrolling the ongoing genocide. For more information on China’s involvement in Darfur click here.
China’s complicity in fueling the Darfur genocide is closely linked to its position on the ICC. Although very active in the process of drafting the Rome Statute in the late 90s, the Chinese government has failed to live up to its earliest promises. The Beijing government has consistently taken steps that seek to undermine the effectiveness of the ICC. These measures have included: Publicly expressing disapproval over a number of ICC indictments, most recently that of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, architect of the ongoing Darfur genocide and attempting to use its position in the UN Security Council as political leverage to stall or nullify the work of the ICC. For more information on China’s engagement with the ICC click here.
Members of Citizens for Global Solutions can make a vital difference by informing themselves and others of China’s policies on Darfur and the ICC via our website, writing op-ed articles for their local newspaper, and continuing to hold their congressmen accountable by encouraging them to address how the US can put pressure on China to reform their policies towards Darfur and the ICC. Also, find out how your congressman stacks up on China and Darfur issues by checking out our 2008 Congressional Report Card. The 2008 Beijing Olympics will most likely go down in history as a curious exercise in mass delusion in which the international community symbolically threw its support behind a dangerous and hostile regime in the name of celebrating a common dream, but it can also serve as a clarion call for many to act. For if this is truly ‘one world’ we all have a moral imperative to act in the face of oppression and injustice.
