The Inquirer

Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Opinion

China should have never been chosen to host of the 2008 Olympic Games.

The Chinese government embodies the spirit of the ancient games about as much as Adolf Hitler and his government when Germany hosted them in 1936.

In many ways, China is comparable to Hitler's Germany.

It has interfered in other countries' political situations, supported genocide and, has imprisoned political dissidents without trial and then executed them.

China is supporting the governments of Sudan and Burma monetarily and with weapons, according to news reports, such as the story, "China, Burma, Sudan: Convincing Argument," in The New Republic Online.

The situation in Darfur is being called "the first genocide of the century," with women being raped, children starving, hundreds of thousands dead and hundreds more dying daily.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, China currently imprisons "at least" 29 journalists, more than any other country on earth, generally on vague charges like "subversion," a charge handed down for writing anything thought to be critical of the government.

In their bid for the Olympics the Chinese government said, "There will be no restrictions on media reporting and movement of journalists up to and including the Olympic Games."

This has not been the case.

During the demonstrations in Tibet in March, the government expelled journalists from the region, and prevented journalists from entering, except those working for the state-owned media.

When they were allowed to return it was on government buses and along heavily policed routes. The only stops were planned by the government and journalists did not have the freedom to stray from the group.

China has not lived up to its promises, lies to its own people, and feeds propaganda to the world. It does not deserve the honor of hosting the Olympic Games.

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