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China's New Olympic Rules

FRIDAY JUNE 6 2008 9:00 PM

Submitted by Coyotemike. Edited By FearTheReaper.

TAGS: China, Olympics, human rights

Ahh, the Olympics: the traditions; the majesty; the competitive spirit; the graceful athleticism and the...the political restrictions?

That's right. China, not satisfied with infringing on their own citizens' rights to protest against the government, or cracking down on claims of independence of different areas, now they have released a list of rules for foreign visitors coming for the Games. These include:

No printed material that is critical of China

No rallies or demonstrations

Olympic Tickets do not necessarily mean an entry visa will be issued

No smuggling in Opium

(since there's no history of opium in China)

Do not insult the Chinese flag or other national Chinese symbols

No religious or political banners

Some of these make sense, like the rules of what to do if you get food poisoning, and I'm sure that plenty of host countries have refused entry visas to some people who had Olympic tickets. But some of these count as suppression of what are considered basic human rights.

�A person�s ability to express his or her opinion is a basic human right and as such does not need to have a specific clause in the Olympic Charter because its place is implicit,� said Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, at a meeting in Beijing in April.

It should be noted that Olympic rules have, for over 50 years, included a ban on political, religious, and racial propaganda on Olympic sites, but that is more about suspending political differences and descriminations than China's version:

The advisory issued by the Beijing Organizing Committee includes a ban on bringing into China �anything detrimental to China�s politics, economy, culture or moral standards, including printed material, film negatives, photos, records, movies, tape recordings, videotapes, optical discs and other items.�

China was supposed to, as part of their winning bid in 2001, improve their human rights records.

We're still waiting.

56 Comments

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SockPuppet

I'm lost

July 2006

JUN 08, 2008 04:14 PM

IDGAS said:
Ah, China the land of low cost manufacturing, the forgotten rural masses, and a huge income disparity.

I forget where I heard it, but I'm certain that somewhere I heard that China has brought 200 million people out of poverty in the last 20 years. Any idea where that number might have come from?

Coyotemike

Kearney, NE

May 2006

JUN 08, 2008 04:15 PM

SockPuppet said:

Ascanius said:

RedBstrd said:

coyotemike said:

No smuggling in Opium

(since there's no history of opium in China)

Context.

Thanks for mentioning that. I was about to point out that finding fault in the Chinese government for cracking down on opium smuggling because China has a history of opium use is the historical equivalent of finding fault in Sierra Leone for cracking down on human trafficking because they have a history of slavery. WTF?

I added that particular rule for two reasons. One, it was brought up specifically in the original article and in the laws. And, two, for the slight historical irony. Sorry to all who got butthurt.

IDGAS

Jackson Heights, NY

March 2004

JUN 09, 2008 10:22 AM

SockPuppet said:

IDGAS said:
Ah, China the land of low cost manufacturing, the forgotten rural masses, and a huge income disparity.

I forget where I heard it, but I'm certain that somewhere I heard that China has brought 200 million people out of poverty in the last 20 years. Any idea where that number might have come from?

The current population from the CIA factbook is 1,330,044,605 (July 2008 est.) so even if the lifted 200mm and lets give them the other 100,044,605 as also not being in poverty then they still have 1 billion poor people.

China over the last several years has had major and violent protests in rural area. The causes are corruption, substandard health care, and other related issues.

Ascanius

South Royalton, VT

October 2006

JUN 09, 2008 10:27 AM

coyotemike said:

SockPuppet said:

Ascanius said:

RedBstrd said:

coyotemike said:

No smuggling in Opium

(since there's no history of opium in China)

Context.

I added that particular rule for two reasons. One, it was brought up specifically in the original article and in the laws. And, two, for the slight historical irony. Sorry to all who got butthurt.

Not butthurt, just judging you for your flagrant lack of historical knowledge about a subject you wrote a news piece about (that being, of course, China, not opium use in China specifically.)

Coyotemike

Kearney, NE

May 2006

JUN 09, 2008 11:29 AM

Ascanius said:

coyotemike said:

SockPuppet said:

Ascanius said:

RedBstrd said:

coyotemike said:

No smuggling in Opium

(since there's no history of opium in China)

Context.

I added that particular rule for two reasons. One, it was brought up specifically in the original article and in the laws. And, two, for the slight historical irony. Sorry to all who got butthurt.

Not butthurt, just judging you for your flagrant lack of historical knowledge about a subject you wrote a news piece about (that being, of course, China, not opium use in China specifically.)

Judging me? Based on what isn't even an error but a statement that there is a long history of opium use in China?

Opium was also well known in Chinese antiquity. One 10th century poem celebrates how the opium poppy can be made into a drink "fit for Buddha". Ancient peoples either ate parts of the flower or converted them into liquids to drink. But by the 7th century, the Turkish and Islamic cultures of western Asia had discovered that the most powerful medicinal effects could be obtained by igniting and smoking the poppy's congealed juices; and the habit spread.

Source

Coyotemike

Kearney, NE

May 2006

JUN 09, 2008 11:35 AM

RedBstrd said:

Ascanius said:

RedBstrd said:

coyotemike said:

No smuggling in Opium

(since there's no history of opium in China)

Context.

You're welcome. I should be clear, though, that I think we have plenty of legitimate grounds for criticizing the current Chinese government. I just don't think that their opposition to opium is one of these legitimate criticisms.

All I did was find it amusing that, given the history of Opium connected to China, they specified that particular drug instead of a blanket ban on all illegal narcotics.

RedBstrd

Pomona, CA

April 2004

JUN 09, 2008 11:57 AM

coyotemike said:

RedBstrd said:

Ascanius said:

RedBstrd said:

coyotemike said:

No smuggling in Opium

(since there's no history of opium in China)

Context.

All I did was find it amusing that, given the history of Opium connected to China, they specified that particular drug instead of a blanket ban on all illegal narcotics.

I doubt that irony is the factor at work here. Without looking into it, I would guess that the Chinese government specifically chose to highlight a historical sore-point to drum up nationalism in the context of their embarrassment over the Olympic torch issue.

Mr_Mocata

United Kingdom

OLD SKOOL

JUN 09, 2008 01:00 PM

Big_McLargehuge said:
If you finish 1st in any event while high on Opium, then fair play to you.

Mr_Mocata

United Kingdom

OLD SKOOL

JUN 09, 2008 01:05 PM

RedBstrd said:

coyotemike said:

No smuggling in Opium

(since there's no history of opium in China)

Context.

Ha! You beat me to it. I was just about to make a sarcastic joke along the lines of, "Blimey! Come the 2012 Olympics, I hope no one mentions Britain's opium smuggling past!!" (I mean it is a bit rich, considering that we went to war with China to force them to let us sell them opium).