Should the U.S. boycott the Summer Olympics in China?
Should the United States boycott the Summer Olympics in China later this year? What's the point of boycotts in general?
reason.tv's Dan Hayes hit the mean, sunny streets of Washington outside of reason's D.C. headquarters and took the pulse of residents in the nation's capital. Approximately three minutes.
Travis | April 11, 2008, 8:42pm | #
No the U.S. should not boycott the Olympics because of China's human rights violations. The USA is currently fighting a questionable war in Iraq & holding enemy combatants in Cuba without trial. Who are we to judge the chinese for their sins. The whole point of the Olympics was for all the nations of the world to put aside their differences & come together in a peaceful atheletic competion.
Brad | April 12, 2008, 12:18am | #
I don't really understand why there is any support at all for a boycott. Obviously, we're getting alot of anti-Chinese propaganda in our nation's media, but that is largely due to the fact that China refuses to be our puppet. Our country does the same thing with Iran (our president even goes so far as to criticize Iran for doing things that his base, the Religious Right, advocates such as discriminating against women and gays). If the government wants to criticize the governments of other countries for bad things they do, it should stop doing bad things itself. Even then, boycotting the Olympics would be idiotic. Why not just go to China and win a bunch of gold metals instead (we've got a decent chance of sweeping baseball, basketball, and soccer this year)?
Daniel Reeves | April 12, 2008, 7:42am | #
Travis:
Most Americans are against the war.
scott clark | April 12, 2008, 3:20pm | #
The US gov does not have, or it least it shouldn't have, the authority to stop private US citizens from going to china to play sports.
People can boycott the olympics, the govt should be hands off.
Jorgen | April 12, 2008, 5:38pm | #
I like the idea of having the president refuse to attend the opening ceremonies unless there is some movement on Tibet and/or Sudan, but we've got to avoid seriously insulting the Chinese people.
Thor | April 12, 2008, 6:36pm | #
Brad:
I think you have to be very optimistic to say that you have a decent chance of winning soccer. I would not bet on it.
Stefan | April 12, 2008, 6:49pm | #
The IOC is based on the policy of separation of sports and politics. If the US is to boycott the opening ceremony of the Olympics or the whole Olympics over human rights violations, then China has the moral right to boycott the US over its violations of human rights in Iraq and Guantanamo, to name two examples.
If you say most Americans are against the war, you can also say most Chinese would be against the situation with Tibet, and they nor we do not really know what is going on there. Refusing the opening ceremonies would already be a big insult to the Chinese. Chinese AMericans are also protesting against the boycott demonstrations in SF, with right.
Lance | April 12, 2008, 7:25pm | #
"Travis | April 11, 2008, 8:42pm | #
No the U.S. should not boycott the Olympics because of China's human rights violations. The USA is currently fighting a questionable war in Iraq & holding enemy combatants in Cuba without trial. Who are we to judge the chinese for their sins."
What a bunch of moral equivalency NONSENSE. If you don't like something, you're allowed to say so. The actions of our country don't have to be right in line with your own views, so if you (or "we" as Americans) have a problem with something China is doing, there's no problem with standing up and say so regardless of what we're doing right now. Grow a spine.
Jack Mahoney | April 13, 2008, 10:05am | #
President Bush should boycott the opening ceremony.
The leaders of Poland, France, Germany and the Czech republic are boycotting for good reason. The Chinese government must be held accountable for violating the basic human rights of its people.
It is not just the Tibet situation. The Peasants of China are treated as second class citizens, with a system analogous to the passbook system in apartheid South Africa for the rural chinese.
Citrine | April 13, 2008, 11:12am | #
The whole thing is overly-politicized. If anything we should use the opportunity to start a meaningful dialogue, boycotting now will only escalate tensions.
Colby | April 13, 2008, 3:20pm | #
Absolutely, positively NO! A US boycott only hurts the athletes. Leave the war and the politics behind and let the athletes compete.
The Libertarian Guy | April 13, 2008, 6:30pm | #
"we've got to avoid seriously insulting the Chinese people"
Why?
Jane | April 14, 2008, 12:54am | #
The Libertarian Guy | April 13, 2008, 6:30pm | #
"we've got to avoid seriously insulting the Chinese people"
Why?
Then what's the point of insulting without clarifying your reason?
John | April 14, 2008, 10:05pm | #
It doesn't make much sense to prove your love of freedom by forbidding your citizens from competing in a sporting event. Why doesn't President Bush personally refuse to attend the ceremonies, publicly urge athletes not to compete, and demonstrate the meaning of freedom by allowing the athletes to choose for themselves?
JOE MARLEY | April 15, 2008, 12:19am | #
Wait a second this is Libertarian website isn't it? If you've got a problem with China then: stop buying chinese products, boycott the advertisers on the olympic broadcasts, pull your investments out of chinese companies (many state-owned)...but don't tell our gov't to "disallow" our athletes from competing. Absolutely off the mark! Act like free-market, free-minded people and DO IT YOURSELF!
PS....I'm trying not to buy "Made in China"...is that insane?
peace out!
JB | April 15, 2008, 1:50pm | #
Yes, the U.S. Government has no business being involved with a commercial sporting event. The olympics have become a chance for government, media, and corporations to do a great deal of self promotion. Sort of a soft global fascism. How much does the U.S. government subsidize these events, and how much will NBC make from broadcasting them ?
Lisa | April 15, 2008, 7:47pm | #
scott clark: athletes participate in the olympics as representations of their country, so obviously each country does and should have the authority to decide whether they're represented or not.
That being said, the only thing a boycott would accomplish is in making it easier for our competitors and upsetting for any Americans that don't support it. Anyways, it's a very unlikely occurrence.
Lei | April 16, 2008, 8:31am | #
The trade is bidirectional and Americans should not boycott "made in china" things, which may enrage chinese people especially students who are generally boycott things made in France. Also, boycott to the opening ceremony is so stupid that it disobey the priciples of Olymipic that policy should separate with Olympic.
To sum, chinese peasants are not taken as second-class ones, but we are all equal in any aspect.
Finally, affairs happened in Tibet is not as you heard on CNN ,but only arrest guys who intended break up our nation without hurt them.
All we should do is to survive the friendship between China and US.
Tim Thompson | April 16, 2008, 10:46am | #
Tibet was a serfdom under the Dalai Lama, and his elite monk class left the country taking everything valuable with them when the Chinese came in and reclaimed land that has been under Chinese control for thousands of years. But when the poor tibetans start rioting and burning everything down and killing han Chinese, we want to punish China? How silly. No, we should not boycott the Olympics, nor should we support a so-called "free tibet" where the monks can go back to enslaving people for there own power.
Tim Thompson | April 16, 2008, 10:57am | #
Most products that are made in China actually are only assembled there from parts made in Japan, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. About 70% of the profits of these goods goes to these countries, not China. There is no trade deficit with China, only miscalculations of numbers. Peasents in China are not second class citizens, nor are Tibetans. Minorities in China have more rights than han Chinese, and according to the US state departments report on human rights 2006, only 105 tibetans were imprisoned because of politics. All Chinese citizens are much better off today, and China deserves this Olympics, but if they want another one, they better shape up. Carrots and sticks. To boycott this olympics will simply make it harder to curb China's behavior.
Angry African | April 16, 2008, 11:34pm | #
So the people are in the streets everywhere. London - stiff upper lip protests and Brown decided not to touch the torch. France - pull off a riot and put out that flame like only the French could. San Francisco - hanging off the bridge to stop the hanging. Maybe we should create a special Oh-Limp-Pics for those not-so-free societies to be paraded every four years. It will give us all a chance to show how we feel about injustice around the world. It is obvious that the media will only report on it if there is a sound-bite and a photo opportunity. Maybe something for tyrant to carry the torch of torture every four years. Mm, I think I have an idea… http://angryafrican.net/2008/04/09/oh-limp-pic-games-celebrating-tyrants-everywhere/
Hu | April 20, 2008, 4:05am | #
I read all comments here,I'm glad to hear the peaceful voice from the US citizens.Undoubtly,no reason can stop the steps of Olympic 'cause it belongs to the whole human beings but not just to China.China wants to show herself to the world,why should we deprive her of the rights.I'm a chinese and I know China more than you who are not native.Lei is right.My parents are peasants,they live comfortably.They told me:they have been really experiencing the huge changes in China from 1978.
And besides that,Tibets was,is and will always be part of China.Da Lai should be shame for what he did,he killed so many innocent people,Han and Zang are included.
No doubt that every medias are the tools of their governments,china is,so does USA and esp. French.But I can say,what we know Amerian from the media is objective:freedom and democracy. Since China can do,why can't CNN?!
Luckly,most Americans know the truth:China is friendly and developing peacefully.I believe you can see the most beatiful scenery in China:smile.Welcome to Beijing and wlecome to China!
joe | August 11, 2008, 9:25am | #
It is not in the purview of our Government to make such a decision. For them to do so would illustrate that citizens are the chattel property of government to do with as they wish.
This like most decisions this one lies in the realm of the individual.
Can you find where in the Constitution that we delegated the power to the Fed to prevent citizens from participating in sporting events? --- I didn't think so.
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