Should Canada boycott the Beijing Olympics because of China's political and human rights stances?

Question

Yahoo! Canada Answers Staff note: This is the real General Lewis MacKenzie.

Catch Lewis MacKenzie on the CBC's geneaology program Who Do You Think You Are? (http://www.cbc.ca/whodoyouthinkyouare/?.ca) on Thursday, November 15, where he will be researching his roots. His mission to investigate his ancestry unearthed famous sea captains, a scandalous family secret and an ancestor who eschewed family tradition to become a soldier.

General Lewis MacKenzie is a proud supporter of the International Community for the Relief of Starvation and Suffering (www.icross.ie/index.aspx).

Answer 1

I believe Canada, and all nations, should boycott the Beijing Olympics. China has a terrible track record regarding human rights. Further, China repeatedly has blocked UN motions to intervene (in a meaningful way) in the Darfur genocide. China is a major supporter of the Sudanese government and is heavily invested in the oil fields of Sudan. As long as China sits on the UN Security Council, no meaningful action will be taken to stop the Darfur genocide.
If the "Genocide Olympics" are allowed to happen, billions of dollars will make their way into the Chinese economy.
I understand that, in an ideal world, sports & politics would not be inter-connected. This, however, is not an ideal world. Countries can send a strong message to China by refusing to send athletes to the Beijing Olympics.
For too long, the Chinese government has been able to abuse its own people. Western nations turn a blind eye to the treatment of the Chinese people by their own rulers -- all in the name of bigger profit margins for our largest corporations. And don't even get me started on China's environmental policies. That is just one more reason to boycott the upcoming Games.
What is being allowed to happen in Darfur is reprehensible. China is a major player in that genocide. As the rest of the world turns a blind eye to the slaughter of thousands of innocents, we should be asking ourselves what we as individuals & a nation are doing to make the world a better place for ALL its inhabitants. Boycotting the Beijing Olympics sends a clear message that we do not support the Chinese government's policies re: human rights, the environment & their support of Sudanese government.

Answer 2

Hell, no!
We haven't cut any ties with China, so why ruin the dreams of our athletes? Boycotts should be in the diplomatic and economic realm, not the Olympic games.
It is nothing but hypocrisy to have full diplomatic relations, have a huge volume of trade, and then propose a boycott of the Olympics? That's absurd.
Boycotting the Beijing games would be wrong and hypocritical, just as boycotting the Moscow 1980 games was wrong and hypocritical. Why doesn't the Canadian government say 'f-off' when the Chinese made belligerent grunts and threats about the Dalai Lama's visit to Ottawa? Why doesn't the government take a stand for the rights of workers in Chinese sweatshops? Or for Tibetan independence? An Olympic boycott doesn't address these issues in the slightest.
Lastly why boycott only the Beijing and the Moscow 1980 Olympics? This is a very one-sided view of global human rights. You should then boycott half of all the games, if an equal standard is applied. Other answers have well addressed the fact that there are a litany of human rights abusers in the world.

Answer 3

The keywords here are political and human rights stances.Since we are a democratic nation,we should act democratically in whatever we do.The athletes are not our children to be told what to do,whether they like it or not.Let them decide for themselves.Put it into a vote.
Being Canadian means we have rights and responsibilities.The right to do what we want and be responsible for it.If an athlete feels very strongly against China and refuses to go,then,there is no point ordering the athlete to go.This is not democracy.If an athlete wants to go but not allowed to go because Canada wants to boycott,then,this athlete's right has been curtailed.The decision is already made for him/her so where is democracy?We say they are bad but how can we show our own political and human right stances when we don't even live by them?Are we so good to say they are bad?Some will say yes,some,no but it all boils down to the individual and how that individual views it personally and not what we,as a group say and they must follow our orders.That becomes an order to which some will object.Then where are our own human rights and political ideolgy leading us?
Put it into a vote for the athletes ONLY and let them decide.It is only pride and politics that muddle up the issue.Simple is that.

Answer 4

I believe Canada, and all nations, should boycott the Beijing Olympics. China has a terrible track record regarding human rights. Further, China repeatedly has blocked UN motions to intervene (in a meaningful way) in the Darfur genocide. China is a major supporter of the Sudanese government and is heavily invested in the oil fields of Sudan. As long as China sits on the UN Security Council, no meaningful action will be taken to stop the Darfur genocide.
If the "Genocide Olympics" are allowed to happen, billions of dollars will make their way into the Chinese economy.
I understand that, in an ideal world, sports & politics would not be inter-connected. This, however, is not an ideal world. Countries can send a strong message to China by refusing to send athletes to the Beijing Olympics.
For too long, the Chinese government has been able to abuse its own people. Western nations turn a blind eye to the treatment of the Chinese people by their own rulers -- all in the name of bigger profit margins for our largest corporations. And don't even get me started on Chi

Answer 5

That will never happen, because that will cripple the Canadian Economy. Plus, the Chinese will only impose restrictions on Canadian Exports to China. I don't disagree that the Chinese abuse Human Rights. But I could never understand why China was even considered and chosen for the 2008 Summer Olympics, by the IOC with their well known record of Human Rights abuses. The IOC is not a respectable organization. They award the games to whoever greases them the best. Politically speaking, China is a disgusting country and who knows what under handed tactics they used to win the games. God only knows how many poor people they have worked to death building the venues that are to be used during the games. Not to mention the people that have been put out of their homes with no where to go if they lived on land that the govt wanted for a venue. Actually, they probably just killed those people. There have been many cases of workers commiting suicide because they were not paid for working for months on stadiums and so on. And of course this is still the same govt that slaughtered thousands of students in Tiannemen square.

Answer 6

I think that the answer is no. Of course, China has been the target for human rights in the media for a while, but every country has a dark side, and unfortunately, China's in the spotlight. I recently visited China during the summer for a couple of months, and i did not witness any artrocities or anything out of the ordinary. Of course, the traveller's eyes are partially blinded by the short visit, but nothing horrible really happened.

In Lhasa (Tibet), aside from there being an unusual amount of soldiers/police and security checkpoints, i did not notice anything wrong. The soldiers were not aggresive, but quite friendly. I believe that China is cleaning up its act after taking so much international attention.

If there was a boycott, i think that the athletes would have the choice whether to or not, as its their event. They're the ones choosing to represent Canada, and if we back out on them, then it shows that we don't respect our own country. if anything, let them make the choice, to show that we support them, that we support ourselves.

Answer 7

Actually, when it come to the Olympics, politics has always been closely tied.... I'm thinking of the Berlin Olympics during the Nazi regime, the murder of atheletes from Isreal, the USSR boycotting the LA olympics, and South Africa being boycotted during the apartheid years... and not being an Olympic history expert I know there are many more.

The Olympics celebrate more than sports, as it states every time during the running of the event. It's about humanity coming together in a peaceful way. So it about our society... which is basically political.

This is my issue. The Chinese have commited some terrible crimes - past and present. My particular beef with China is their treatment and masacre of the Tibetian people. People are dying and suffering under their current government.... in a very real way. I thought it was awful when they were awarded the Olympics when other worthy cities were bidding that same year. No matter what your position, it sends a message. I personally believe the message is negative and leads the world to assume that what the Chinese are doing is fine in the world's eye.

I believe however that this has to be the personal choice of the athelete. How much do you treasure your rights and freedoms? How much does it matter to you that others enjoy those same rights and freedoms? I personally try to boycott as many Chinese products as possible (which is difficult) because my answer to those questions happen to lead me there. It's not a global statement, like boycotting the Olympics, but at least I know that I am doing what is right to me.

I guess that is the most we can ask. Treating others like you would want to be treated, it's an old idea.... but the best one out there!!

Answer 8

This is one of the most absurd and retarded idea I have heard. China might have a government with some issues about human rights, but compare them to the most powerful "democracy" in the world and China looks like an innocent child. Besides Tibet they haven't turned whole countries upside-down to further their own interests like another superpower has done throughout its entire existence. In fact this other "democracy" doesn't even know how to run their economy in the black without being at war against some other entity all the time. I think this is an excellent opportunity for China to showcase themselves to the rest of the world. Just because some world wide bully doesnt like the olympics being held in China, primarily because it doesnt serve their interests is no reason to boycott the Beijing Olympics.

The olympics is not a time to talk crap about politics. It is a time for nations to throw politics out the window, unite, and let the athletes shine.

Answer 9

The only way that the Beijing Olympics should be boycotted is if there is a direct threat to their well being. The Olympics is athletics and not politics.
Athletes have trained their entire lives to compete and the government should not take this away. If Canada does boycott the Beijing Olympics, will the government pay the athletes that were selected a wage for their time and effort? HELL NO
Let them compete

Answer 10

Being Canadian means we have rights and responsibilities.The right to do what we want and be responsible for it.If an athlete feels very strongly against China and refuses to go,then,there is no point ordering the athlete to go.This is not democracy.If an athlete wants to go but not allowed to go because Canada wants to boycott,then,this athlete's right has been curtailed.The decision is already made for him/her so where is democracy?We say they are bad but how can we show our own political and human right stances when we don't even live by them?Are we so good to say they are bad?Some will say yes,some,no but it all boils down to the individual and how that individual views it personally and not what we,as a group say and they must follow our orders.That becomes an order to which some will object.Then where are our own human rights and political ideolgy leading us?

Answer 11

Boycotting the Beijing games would be wrong and hypocritical, just as boycotting the Moscow 1980 games was wrong and hypocritical. Why doesn't the Canadian government say 'f-off' when the Chinese made belligerent grunts and threats about the Dalai Lama's visit to Ottawa? Why doesn't the government take a stand for the rights of workers in Chinese sweatshops? Or for Tibetan independence? An Olympic boycott doesn't address these issues in the slightest.