Who will fly the Tibetan Flag at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing?

[Radical Activist]

It is illegal to display the Tibetan flag in China. No doubt, China will do its best to turn the 2008 Olympics into a massive propaganda campaign to whitewash its record of abusing basic human and civil rights. That campaign will be backed by US corporations who benefit from the exploitation of cheap labor in China.

Perhaps nothing reveals the lie of a reformed China more than its treatment of Tibet. There's one thing I want to see at the 2008 games: athletes from around the world proudly displaying the flag of Tibet during the opening ceremony.

I know the Olympic games are supposed to be non-political, but the oppression and attempted elimination of entire culture is beyond a political issue. Displaying the Olympic flag would continue the proud tradition of those who did not salute the Nazi flag during the Berlin games and Tommie Smith and John Carlos who raised their fists on the medal stand in '68.

The Free Tibet website has a page about the Beijing games:
http://www.freetibet.org/campaigns/olympics/index.html

I hope Olympic athletes show more conscience than the US corporations and IOC who are willing to look the other way at torture, murder and oppression by the Chinese government in Tibet.

[JI7]

1. i would think they would have made sure China would allow it

during the games before deciding on whehther they should host. but you never know these days with the way they run these things now.

[Radical Activist]

3. If it isn't allowed I hope that

some athletes will be brave enough to do so against the rules.

[AllegroRondo]

2. I doubt it

the IOC caved to China's demand that Taiwan not be allowed to compete under the name Taiwan - they are called "Chinese Taipei" during the Olympics.

[tritsofme]

5. MLB is going to do the same thing

in the "World Baseball Classic" IIRC.

[Odin2005]

12. Taiwan used "Republic of China" durin the Turin opening ceremonies, IIRC.

which is thier official name.

[htuttle]

4. Any idea when was the last time Tibet fielded an Olympic team?

I failed to find any record of Tibet competing in the Olympics when I went googling for it. They do field a soccer team in the "non-represented people's" version of the World Cup, but nothing to do with the Olympics.

:shrug:

[Radical Activist]

6. I doubt they have a team. That's not the point.

Athletes from OTHER nations should fly the Tibetan flag as a show of their support for the Tibetan people and China's horrible policies in Tibet.

[Lefty48197]

7. Great idea. Any athlete "with balls" will display the Tibet flag.

Long live the Dali Lama!

The murderous regime that runs China can fry in hell. I think displaying photos of the guy standing in front of the tank in Tiananmen Square would be appropriate too. Fuck the murderous dictators of China.

[kenny blankenship]

10. It makes a great tattoo.

[kenny blankenship]

8. Here's what I'd like to see--athletes holding up this image :

HAVE YOU SEEN ME?
My name is Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. I was last seen being abducted, along with my family, by the Chinese government. That was eleven years ago and now I would be 17, if still alive.

This boy was named the 11th Panchen Lama by the leader of the Tibetan Buddhist faith. Because of the controversy caused by his predecessor, the 10th Panchen Lama, as an advocate for the Tibetan people, the Chinese government "disappeared" this boy and his family in 1995. Since then, the Chinese government in Beijing has attempted as part of their brutal subjugation of Tibet, to subvert the religious heritage of the people of Tibet by foisting a falsely chosen successor, the choice of officially atheist non-Tibetan Communist Party apparatchiks in Beijing, upon the Tibetan people in place of the rightful 11th Panchen Lama.

[Radical Activist]

9. Good one

That would be powerful.

[Radical Activist]

11. kick

[Odin2005]

13. China should of never gotten the '08 Olympics.

Only democracies that observe human rights should be allowed the honor of hosting the games.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. I've been surprised to find in talking to Chinese emigres, even those who

hate the Chinese government, that they don't accept the idea of Tibetan independence. They talk about how horrible the Cultural Revolution was and how corrupt and repressive the current government is, but they insist that Tibet is part of China and that the old Tibetan government was horrible.

:shrug:

I suspect that a demonstration with Tibetan flags would not only anger the Chinese government but also puzzle the average Chinese spectator.

[Radical Activist]

15. It probably would do both of those things

Perhaps it might cause the average Chinese spectator to wonder what the issue is, since most are probably only hearing a version of events approved by the government.

The oppression occurring in Tibet is hardly limited to what happened during the cultural revolution. There are also demands short of complete independence that could and should be met.