Protests related on the 2008 Summer Olympics

Pro-Tibet protests

While no state has indicated they will boycott the 2008 games, some groups have initiated independent campaigns to do so and other notable groups have called for protests. It has been reported that Chinese intelligence services were collecting information on people and groups who may plot demonstrations during the Olympics. Groups in several countries have staged protests during the Olympic torch relay including protesters in London, Paris, San Francisco, and Istanbul. In addition to monitoring NGOs that are concerned with domestic Chinese issues, the Chinese intelligence is also monitoring possible terrorism-related activities and anti-American demonstrations. On April 25, 2008, Interpol warned that the games could be subject to potentially violent disruption from protesters.

Calls for sustained pressure and possible boycotts of the Olympics have come from former French presidential candidate François Bayrou, author and Sudan scholar Eric Reeves and the The Washington Post editorial board. Filmmaker Steven Spielberg, founder of the Los Angeles' University of Southern California's Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, sent a letter to Hu Jintao on April 2, 2007 to discuss and possibly end China's involvement in the conflict. In February 2008, Spielberg announced he was stepping down from his role as an artistic advisor in protest of the Chinese government's refusal to pressure Sudan to stop the "continuing human suffering" in the Darfur region. He noted: "Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these on-going crimes, but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more." Additionally, a group of 106 lawmakers in the United States have circulated a letter calling for the US to boycott the coming Olympics because of China's support of the Sudanese regime and the forced relocation of 300,000 Chinese poor to make room for the games. Congresswoman Maxine Waters introduced a similar resolution in early August 2007.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) will require that before leaving for China, British Olympic team members sign an agreement, stating that they "are not to comment on any politically sensitive issues." However, BOA spokesman Graham Newsom stated that the BOA didn't intend to censor athletes, and referred to a rule in the International Olympic Committee charter which states, "No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas."

In March 2008, Taiwanese President-elect Ma Ying-jeou stated that the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee could boycott the Games "if China continues to suppress Tibetan people and if the situation in Tibet continues to worsen". However, Taiwan will be attending the Games.

On April 5, French newspaper Le Monde quoted a French minister as stating that the attendance of president Sarkozy at the opening ceremony is "conditional". Three conditions were set: "an end to violence against the population and the release of political prisoners, light to be shed on the events in Tibet and the opening of dialogue with the Dalai Lama." However, Minister Rama Yade said that Le Monde misquoted her as listing conditions, and that the word "conditions" was never used. BBC News wrote that while Sarkozy was opposed to a full boycott, he would "not close the door to any possibility" as far as his own attendance is concerned.

Masahisa Tsujitani, a Japanese craftsman who makes shots used by many Olympic athletes, announced April 14 he refuses to allow his wares to be used at the 2008 Olympics to protest against China's treatment of protesters in Tibet.

Tibet

Pro-Tibetan independence groups, such as Students for a Free Tibet, have initiated a campaign to protest the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. The group plans to protest for Tibetan independence and objects to the Chinese government's use of the Tibetan antelope (chiru) as one of its five mascots. The Tibetan People's Movement has also demanded representation of Tibet with its own national flag. Hollywood actor Richard Gere in his position as the chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet called for the boycott of the games to put pressure on China to make Tibet independent. There have also been plans by Tibetans to hold their own version of the Olympics in May at the headquarters of Tibetan government-in-exile, because Tibet does not get representation.

The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders has advocated a boycott expressing concerns over violations of free speech and human rights in China. It hopes that international pressure and petition can effect the release of prisoners of conscience, and hold China to promises made to the IOC, regarding improvements in human rights.

Reporters Without Borders journalists interrupted the speech of China organizing committee chief during the Olympic torch lighting ceremony in Greece March 24, 2008. Three of them breached a cordon of 1,000 police at the ancient Olympia stadium and ran behind Liu Qi, head of the Beijing Games committee, as he made a speech. One protestor tried to snatch the microphone as another unrolled a black flag showing the Olympic rings as handcuffs. The trio, from a French human rights group, were dragged away by police.

Nearly 50 Tibetan exiles in India began a global torch relay March 25, 2008 with a symbolic "Olympic" flame that ended in Tibet on August 8, 2008, the day of the Summer Games' opening ceremonies in Beijing. Some Ethnic Tibetans have been banned from working in Beijing during the duration of the Games, for fear that they may participate in anti-government protests.

Free Tibet banner The 140 sq. ft. banner which read "ONE WORLD ONE DREAM FREE TIBET"

On August 6, 2008, 4 protesters, 2 of each said to be American and British, climbed a light pole and unfurled a pro-Tibet banner near the Beijing National Stadium. The 4 were quickly arrested and asked to leave the country.

On August 13, eight protesters who tried to hang a "Free Tibet" banner were arrested by Chinese authorities. John Ray, an ITV journalist who tried to cover the event was also detained for 20 minutes; according to the reporter and witnesses, police stamped on his hands.

China's involvement in Darfur

Protests against China's role in the Darfur conflict.

Activists working to address the ongoing violence in Darfur, Sudan, have called for pressure to be exerted on China because of their financial and diplomatic support for Omar al-Bashir, who is responsible for the Sudanese government's proxy militias. These advocates, which include actress Mia Farrow, NBA athlete Ira Newble, and Sudan researcher Eric Reeves, have organized a global advocacy campaign called Olympic Dream for Darfur. Some have begun to refer to the Beijing Olympics as the "Genocide Olympics" as noted in The China Post as a way of connecting Beijing's close political and economic ties to the Sudanese regime. The Chinese government, in turn, has denounced the activists for "politicising" the Olympics and outlined its plans to help the Sudanese economy.

China's involvement in Burma

Since China has close economic and military ties with Burma, it is seen as a major lever against the repressive regime in Burma. Many have also criticized China's opposition of sanctions against Burma's military rulers, who used force against anti-government protesters in 2007. The Olympics are considered a way to motivate China to take a firm stance against human rights violations in Burma.

On September 28, 2007, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu urged China to intervene in the ongoing protests in Myanmar. Tutu said that if China did not take a stance against the military rulers in Burma, he would "join a campaign to boycott the Beijing Olympics".

Chinese counter-protests

The condemnation of China by Western countries has caused a surge of nationalism and anti-foreigner sentiment in China, with the risk that violence will be directed at foreign visitors to the Olympics. French goods have been threatened with a boycott for the French government's handling of the torch relay through Paris, with flag burning protests outside the French supermarket chain Carrefour. A number of death threats have been received against foreign journalists in China, for what some Chinese see as the biased reporting on Tibet by the Western Media. Time magazine suggests current patriotic protests could erupt into anti-government protests, as with the 1919 May Fourth Movement. Media reports that the attitudes of regular citizens towards foreigners in China have noticeably worsened. A poll found that 80% of Chinese respondents thought that foreign media sources conveyed a biased view of China. In late April Chinese Internet censors, who had previously permitted posts critical of foreigners, began blocking words such as "Carrefour", in what was seen as an attempt to calm tensions before the games. Foreigners in Beijing reported more regular checks of their identification and work permits, while travel agents in Hong Kong reported that multiple-entry business visas for the mainland, commonly used by foreign businesspeople who lack work visas, were no longer being issued, apparently in an attempt to prevent the entry of foreign activists.

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Nicolae Sfetcu