I am somewhat disappointed that they would let a communist country who has such severe civil rights violations host the Olympics
I wished they were more democratic and capitalistic at the same time.
my view:
having lived in china and spent a lot of time there over the last 4 years, and the fact that i employ a number of chinese, i can say that regardless of whether of whether the world or china wants to call itself communist, china is not communist. (anyone who knows what communism is, will know that it's something of an ideal that we humans are not capable of achieving.)
yes human rights violations in china are severe, but then they are a 'developing country' and if we look at britain or the us or any other country as it 'developed' naturally, they also have a long history of severe human rights violations, a much longer than history than that of mao's china, but they were allowed to develop all the same, and at a much slower pace than china. that's not to say it's right, but i think the chinese government know what's best for their people, they just have their own way of going about achieving it, like every other country did.
it's funny that people think democracy is the only environment where capitalism flourishes... maybe that's how it's meant to be, but in china, anyone can earn as much as they want, pay tax, and save as much as they want, they can buy houses, cars, and have the same financial freedoms as we do, in that if they can afford it, they can buy it. (that is why it is not communist)
the main difference for the average mainland chinese person is that their movements are controlled, and restricted, and that people from one province are not free to travel to another without permission. birth of children is also controlled, because if it isn't, the place will be over populated and they will die.
...i have seen some of the most harrowing things in china, humans deformed from birth, beyond the point where you can even call them humans, god knows how those things survived, but on the same street where they are on the floor crawling, there are ferrari's, bentleys, rolls royce, and all manner of luxury cars, that is what is in your face, the massive line between rich and poor.
random thought: if hitler could host the olympics, why can't china?
it's kindness that softens, and if the world turns on china, china would just harden, and could just as easily turn on the world, and that doesn't get anyone anywhere. i think as a country, china may well turn out to be a new model, and i dare say at some point it will drop the title 'communist' altogether, and become 'socialist' or something else, but i think it would be a cold day in hell before they take on board the ideology of 'democracy' and i think it would be a shame if they did so, because, with all due respect, you do not see china interfering in everyone elses shit, everywhere, and trying to rule or police everything, they just want to develop their own country as they see fit, and though there will be casualties, i think it is their right. i think the rest of the world fears them because of that.
i also think it's not a bad thing to have one just government (yes, one 'just' government) than to vote for various injust ones, i've never voted and never will, because i am not interested in choosing the lesser of a bunch of evils, i would rather be under one ruler, where i always knew where i stood, instead of pretending like my vote makes a difference to my day to day life, when it doesn't. with one government, policy changes rarely and in a controlled manner, and the overall gameplan may be 100 years, but it will be carried out under control.
it's fair to say that when china is fully developed and stable, i may eat my words and it may become fully democratic, but it will still be a cold day in hell! what gives me pause for thought though, is if it did begin to happen now it would destabilize the whole of asia, and the world. can you imagine a complete political revolution in a country that supplies billions of tonnes of everything to every country in the world? it would be a mess.
...and to say it isn't their right to run things their way, is like saying that the existence of the us or uk is wrong, because the end didn't justify the means... but most people will all agree that the end did justify the means. the end hasn't come in china's development, and we won't know if the means are justified until it does.
re: the other point someone made about media coverage. i doubt that it will be any different to any other olympics, i dare say it will be one of the biggest shows in the history of the olympics, because when the worlds second biggest buying power has a point to prove, it proves it with pride. putting a man in space was one such thing that shocked everyone.
a little known fact: an american member of jwd actually coaches the chinese olympic bodybuilding team. i won't name names, but i believe he is over in beijing now coaching them.
if i'm in china when the olympics are on, i will go.
