The Chinese don't give a toss do they? Maybe the games should be taken off them for this. Mind you if they were all held in Athens where they should be held every 4 years then we wouldn't have problems with stupid logo's, stadia and now 1.5million homeless people.

Considering the air quality around Beijing, do you think the athletes will be able to breathe long enough to finish a race?

2# good point. Em they'll probably die getting half way around the track.lol

"WANG Baoguan burned himself to death while being forcibly evicted from his Beijing home"

How awful.

#1 Skirvy. Given the Chinese government's record on human rights abuses, as well as its occupation of Tibet and the genocide of the Tibetan people, there is no way they should have been allowed to host the Olympics in the first place.

Their treatment of their own people shows what little regard they have for human rights. Admittedly they are not as bad as Mao Tse Tung who managed to kill off at least 40 million of his own people, but it is only a question of scale.

Hi Guga, how are things?

China had been holding off executions of prisoners prior to competing for the 2000 games, to look good in the IOC's eyes. After they lost to Sydney, China indulged in a blood bath to catch up on delayed executions.

One million plus homeless sounds about par for the course for the Communist party.

Guga yes you are correct, The Chinese have probably the worst human rights record under the sun. They should never be allowed to hold any sort of world wide event until there country is fully democratic and there is no Human Rights problem. The thing is the money that the Chinese have in Western Economies means they have alot of leverage over the international comunities. The Western World basically turns a blind eye to any abuse's of civil liberties or human rights as long as the Chinese keep there money where it counts!

The Olympics should be held in Athens every time, would save alot of grief and hassle.

8. Skirvy

Agreed

Whenever China is mentioned in a western newspaper or a magazine, the chances are that the tone is negative.
Yes, there are corruptions here, low efficiency, red tape, increased emissions of CO2……… But, are these problems limited to China only?
What you people fail to see, or do not want to see, is the fast growth of economy (around an annual growth of 7-10% in the last 10 years) and the subsequent changes in living standards and people’s mentality: more people in remote areas have access to education; shelter, clothing, a full stomach are not major concerns anymore to an increasing number of people, irrigation projects, breakthroughs in increasing rice harvest, governments on all levels take measures to curb emissions and fight corruptions, more and more people can afford overseas pleasure trips and sending their kids to study in US or UK…………….
If you have been here and voice your opinion based on your personal experience, fine. We like to be told of the problems and be given constructive advice.
If what you say here is based on hearsay (1.5 million people displaced or evicted from their homes… that would make Tony Blair laugh), you can shut up!
As to the air quality during the Beijing Olympics, we are confident it will be greatly improved. We now worry more about the temperature which may be higher than what many athletes are used to. That is why the date for the Games has been postponed for 2 weeks.
If sportsmen from your country hesitate to come to China next year, as “they'll probably die getting half way around the track”, have them watch live broadcast in hostels on the Shetland islands. Don’t forget to turn on the treadmill. The air there, is less polluted, or, is it?

#10, so are you trying to say China doesn't excute folk on a regular basis and that it has no human rights problem? or that it is not still a communist country?

We all know China's growth it is happening at an alarming rate! Not in a bad way of course China should be growing its economy, its cities ect... and I'm sure it will be no bad thing if China become the worlds biggest superpower, actually they probably already are America would run out of bullets before China ran out of people!!! But it is a very isolated country in parts, you have a problem with the lack of woman aswell there I see!!

The increased growth of the Chinese economy couldn't have something to do with the investment by western nations? Could this also have something to do with the low efficiency?
I do notice however, that Weidong Chen does not deny any of the charges in the report. They are just striking back to take attention away from them.

#11, "excute folk on a regular basis ", do you mean death sentences? this is a highly contraversial issue even in many developed and "democratic" countries. and religion makes it even more so.
if your have a saying "an eye for an eye", there is nothing wrong if some people believe in "a life for a life". if felonies are committed "on regular basis", why can't be death sentences carried in the same way?
if you know better, you should have been informed that the progress in the judicial system. years ago, people could be sentenced or excuted on "counterrevolutionary" charges. but that was histroy.
if you do not agree with death penalties in any country, fine.
if you believe innocent people are killed because the government doesn't like what they say or way they do, or what they believe in, you are wrong!

#10--Weiding Chen....is this true?

www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/64769.html

One and a half million persons displaced is almost certainly ka-ka, as any civil engineer could attest.

The fact that the "by the numbers" area of this report is completely unsourced suggests to me that this is an article written by the reporter while she was working from home with an ouchy fibroid.

Note that she has only made one phone call to get a single quote, and written the rest from a report that she accessed on the InterWeb.

Sorry, sorry stuff.

Sorry folks, I should have said not referenced, not unsourced. THen again, what's the difference?

#12, are you hinting that the rise in living stangdards for many Chinese should be attributed to the investment by west nations? If there are deals, they are for mutual befefits. Otherwise, you have a problem: letting your government and enterprises put money into a country where innocent people are "excuted on regular basis". What kind of a country are you living in?

Also, what are the charges? the headline of the report "Beijing Games make millions homeless"? you don't believe that s***, do you? any other charges?
The air will be so dirty that athletes will die?
"occupation of Tibet and the genocide of the Tibetan people"?
"a blood bath to catch up on delayed executions"?
Yes, I do deny all these charges.
I believe things are improving here and the general public benefit from the improvements. If you find that doubtful, come to visit my country.
I have been to yours twice. in 1987 and in 1992. I believe your country has also changed a lot, mostly for the better.

#10 & 17-Chen-China will probably be the world superpower soon, which means the media stories will be greatly distorted and one sided and the criticism will flow.

Since the Chinese have chosen communism they will make it work. They think long term and will take over any bits of the planet that are any use to them. The West are deluded, they think money is magic. Realists know it represents goods and services. As Aberdeen is the only functioning city in the UK I'm prepared to sell it to them. Dundee would be more difficult. We will put on the Pictish-Polynesian games for them in 2012 as a counter initiative to the London Olympics. As London is far too hot and muggy in the summer for athletics and freezing clammy in the winter.

Chinese have worked many forms of Government in past times. Nothing is written in stone except the Great Wall and Aberdeen.

Let me get started.

First of all, the current Communist Mafia Government of China is a complete disgrace and has totally sold out the Chinese people.

It is not the fact that the Chinese have any more or less of a tendency to be better or worse people than anyone else in the same circumstances, it is the fact though that the Chinese Communist Mafia government has set things up to maximise the benefit to party members and the cadres and cronies, while at the same time precluding the rise in starure of the 'masses' of China.

In other words, the very foundation of the Chinese Communist party was to advance the general and specific principals of International Socialism while at the same time permanently ridding China of all external colonial influences. However, in doing so, and as things have eveolved and have been made to evolve, the Commumist Mafia has established itself as the new 'Emperor' of China, functioning through regional warlords (party functionaries), so that is a real sense nothing has changed for the 'masses'.

The 'masses' are still viewed as an expendable workforce, entitled to almost nothing, being oppresed not only by their new masters, the Communists and theor cronies, but also now being impacted by international market forces that they have no hope of influencing to their benefit.

In addition, given the Chinese Communist government's propensity to attempt to control every aspect of life, I would say that in any real and measurable sense China today comes no where even close to any standard that should permit the Olymics to be held there.

As a matter of fact, holding the Olympics in China is the same as holding them in Germany prior to WW2.

The IOC should reconsider the decision to place these upcoming Olympics in China. They should cancel the Olympics and even postpone them until another suitable venue can be found.

Simply put, China, in its current state should have no claim to hosting the Olympics.

20 conan i remember you saying the exact same about america

What many people fail to understand is the way in which human rights are perceived by ordinary Chinese.

The Chinese attitude towards human rights should be seen in the context of Chinese relations with the West: imperialism.

‘To those who have experienced colonial rule and interventions under such beautiful slogans as ‘humanity’ and ‘civilisation’, the term ‘human rights’ looks like nothing more than another beautiful slogan by which great powers rationalise their interventionist policies'

Chinese leaders believe that Westerners are arrogant in believing that their social experiences and political ideals represent the end of history and that they have nothing to learn from non-Western societies. Proponents of international human rights regimes fail to account for differing cultural contexts and value systems. Asian values are more acceptable to the Chinese because they have roots
in their own culture.

To many Chinese, human rights are much better than they were before. For example, the official view of the Cultural Revolution is that it was ‘one of the most terrible violations of human rights since World War II’.

The Chinese see human rights criticism from the West as hypocrisy, citing colonialism, the holocaust and slavery in the West. Moreover, a number of human rights issues have not even been resolved in developed Western countries. Examples include the death penalty and abortion. More recently, China has noted the decline in the human rights of United States citizens since the attacks on the World Trade centre in 2001.

I would like to stress that I am not trying to extol the virtues of Asian values over human rights. As many scholars show, there are good grounds for relativist arguments, just as there is ample evidence that human rights are often abused by authoritarian governments in the name of ‘Asian Values’.

The point I am trying to make is that the problem is not so much about human rights themselves

#22 Saza I am boycotting the English olympics, I'm not buying any more lottery tickets.

Where's old Dragonhead today? This is right up his street!
(He hasn't been jailed for chit-chatting on here has he?)

So this is what bloggers do all day...

sazza, I'm sorry but Human Rights are Human Rights. I have been to China and witnessed the brutality of the Han against their Tibetan neighbours. The chinese word for Tibetan man is interchangable with Tibetan Dog. China is a brutal regime, pure and simple and to make excuses for their brutality is racism in itself.
Lets remember the victims of Tianamen Square and the many thopusands of Tibetan monks and nuns, Falon Gong devotees, Uighars and others who are routinely tortured in China every day.
The Olympic movement should hang it's head in shame

"WANG Baoguan burned himself to death" ...... twa*!! What good did that do?
How many of the displaced actually live/lived in 'proper' housing, with a landlord, running water, a lavy, electricity ....... perhaps the Government will give then a better place to stir-fry?

Yok fhe merciless flays Conon the barbarian:

-- the current Communist Mafia Government of China is a complete disgrace and has totally sold out the Chinese people

As anyone can join the Party, it's not Mafia. One can rise in it's ranks and even critizise it if you're brave and well armed with facts. The Party takes white collar crime seriously unlike the West where the criminals award themselves more salary and bonuses, by peerages etc. The Comminists have built dams, power stations, water supplies, industrial estates and even HOUSES for workers. It sits on a useful pile of petrodollars. Whereas the Bush family, for certs, are a little Mafia.

-- the very foundation of the Chinese Communist party was to advance the general and specific principals of International Socialism

The foundation of the Party was to fight a war and win it for the Chinese people.

-- The 'masses' are still viewed as an expendable workforce, entitled to almost nothing, being oppresed not only by their new masters, the Communists and theor cronies, but also now being impacted by international market forces that they have no hope of influencing to their benefit.

Are you taking about Dundee? Or England?

-- In addition, government's propensity to attempt to control every aspect of life

Like the unlamented Jack McConnel?

Does China have a camera on every street corner and highway?

-- As a matter of fact, holding the Olympics in China is the same as holding them in Germany prior to WW2

I see you never learned any geography at School, Conan. Or history.

-- That would be a crime of Olympic proportions.

JP Morgan wasn't Chinese, though. Tell us more about the ill-fated "Titanic".

The games must go on..In the true spirit of human oppression the IOC are supporting China.

At FIFA we have Blatter supporting a South African government who is the most corrupt democracy on the planet within the most violent society in the history of humankind.

Dragonhead,

What utter tosh.

Look, many bad things happened all over the world in past history. China now uses these historical events as some bizarre justification to deny human rights, pillage tibet, and deny freedom of speech in 2007.

Thugs and murderers are not almost a protected species in the UK (which is quite a silly comment, anyway). I'ts just that being a civilised DEMOCRACY, we decided long ago that the death penalty wasn't a good idea. And before you whinge to me about America (which the Chinese usually cite), I actually object to state sanctioned murder anywhere in the world. China probably kills more of its own citizens than anybody else does (and then sells their body tissues).

I hope and trust that China will eventually grow into a civilised stable industrial powerhouse democracy. Until then it really should not be hosting the olympics

Dragonhead,

In your post you mentioned that only criminals are treated poorly and executed.

I wonder if you've heard of a gentleman by the name of Hua Huiqi, or perhaps Wang Weiliang, Cai Zhuohua, Gong Shengliang, Kim Kyung Il, or the ladies Mengyu Tang, Sun Minghua, Li Ying, or the thousands (at least) of other CHRISTians in your country who are imprisoned, tortured, and sometimes killed.

What are their horrificl dangerous crimes? Meeting in a church that is not an "official" state church, or perhaps sharing the Gospel to a minor. Hmmmmmmmm, I wonder what is so dangerous about people worshiping JESUS?

One does not hear about CHRISTians committing suicide bombings on the evening news.
There might be the occasional wacko (who really is not a true CHRISTian) that decides to take out an abortion Dr., or once in a long while there are folks that decide to be "Koreshtians" instead of CHRISTians, but I'm not speaking of those people.

I'm wondering what is wrong w/peaceful, hardworking folks deciding to gather together to worship their LORD, who, in HIS Word, tells them to love their neighbor, to work hard, and to share.

All of the supposed positive aspects of Communism are actually taught in the Bible. The reason that communism always turns into such a horrible, dictatorial mess is that people want to embrace the ideology w/o the GOD who created it.

My husband is 1/2 Chinese (from Taiwan), I respect the Chinese people as a whole, and the contributions that the Chinese people have brought to the world. I also know that our U.S government is far from perfect (the hurricane Katrina situation was a good example of some of the ineptitude that happens here).

However, for you to sit back and act like your government does not have human rights issues is about as ignorant as me saying that the U.S.A does not have nuclear weapons.

Have a blessed day, I will continue to pray for you

Good morning Mrs. JCsown, #32 - just wondering about your husband ..... 1/2 Chinese ..... which half, top or bottom? Have a blessed day.

Yes, 5000 Bhuddist monks "disappeared" when Chinese troops smashed through Tibet, destroying shrines and priceless artefacts. Yes, thousands of activists "disappeared" after Tianenmen Square. Yes, China forcibly suppresses religious beliefs. Yes, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas signed massive deals for aircraft shortly after Tianenmen Sq, and currently Western motor car companies only care about the profits they make in China. As long as "Western" companies reap profits from Chinese investment, the "West" cannot take the moral high ground. But as an independent human being, I certainly CAN! And as a average person, I find China's civil rights record repulsive, in fact loathsome. Just as I find the behaviour of many other governments to be equally loathsome, "Western" or not. Two wrongs don't make a right, Mr Weidong Chen!

As for the death penalty: In South Africa the govt keeps unrepentant multiple murderers alive with good food and proper healthcare, while AIDS orphans struggle in child-headed households, and the homeless suffer without adequate shelter, food, and proper clothing. In Northern Zululand I saw starving children desperately in need of food and healthcare. A life sentence is a luxury that only stinking rich countries can afford for callous murderers, elsewhere summary execution allows money to be diverted to those who really need it. In other words it is wholly immoral NOT to apply the death penalty to the worst category of murderers in a developing country. Even now, China's GNP/capita is extremely low. It should retain the death penalty, but be careful about its application.

No to Glasgow for the Commonwealth games. How many people were evicted when they built the M8?

No to Glasgow anyway.

-- One does not hear about CHRISTians committing suicide bombings on the evening news.

But we KNOW about Christians dropping carpet bombs, blowing up reservoirs, power stations, sewage works;killing children, beating up civilians and abusing prisoners. We know about Christians awarding themselves huge money bonuses to half-heartedly repair the damage.

And do you know that Christians get routinely persecuted both by Jews and Muslims in the Middle East?

#10, I would tell you to go to hell but I see you are living there already.

Tiananmen Square.
Capital punishment for crimes not limited to murder.
Harvesting organs from executed criminals, sold to the wealthy at American Hospital in Beijing.
Forced convict labor, including from political prisoners.
Imprisonment of Catholics.
Repeated examples of the exportation of antifreeze for glycol, resulting in deaths from cough syrup, toothpaste, etc.
Domestic internet spying and internet access blockage: what are you afraid of?
Wealth in the cities, barely subsistence in the country.

I worked for a multinational when PRC took over Hong Kong and Macao. We received an order shortly thereafter for cell phone surveillance systems.

Sorry, I don't give tourism money to repressive sh*tholes, so I won't be visiting soon. I have a German friend who did so though. She said the people were unbathed and fantastically rude. Of course, that is why your government is now giving you "politeness lessons" in preparation for your Olympic visitors.

People should recall that the Olympics were played in Nazi Germany, so no surprise they are in the PRC. For the pollution in Beijing alone, they should not be played there.

Conan, my husband likes to say that his 'good' side is his Chinese side-------it's not a top half/bottom half situation. ;-)

Yok Finney,
Do you honestly think that the soldiers who acted horrifically w/the P.O.Ws were CHRISTian? CHRISTians following GOD's Word do not act in that way..............................

On the flip side, Communists following the ways of Mao Tse Tung, believe that CHRISTianity (along with any religion) is 'dangerous', and should be eliminated, person by person if necessary.

Also, I am very aware of CHRISTians being persecuted by Muslims and Jews alike----there are even some Hindus and Buddhists who join in the "fun" . We are promised, in the Bible, that we will suffer persecution. Does that mean that we cannot speak up about it when it happens, or when a country tries to sweep it under the rug?