Mirror

China falls short on Olympic promises, critics say


NEW YORK (CNN) -- It's a historic event taking place on an international stage that's been seven years and $40 billion in the making.

Opening ceremonies last week of the 2008 Olympic Summer Games were lauded as the most spectacular in history, with pyrotechnics blasting from the top of Beijing, China's National Stadium and a synchronized fireworks display firing off across the capital.

What has been mostly absent from Beijing, however, are protests. Although a unified China is the image that country's government is eager to portray, many human rights groups allege that China has orchestrated a massive cover-up.

Beyond human rights, questions remain about whether China has kept its promises to the world to improve in two other major areas of reform: freedom of the press and pollution cleanup.

Human rights

"In the run up to the Olympics, it seems that Chinese authorities are so obsessed with projecting an image of 'stability' and 'harmony' ... that they have really come down quite hard on human right's activists and lawyers," said Sam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific director for Amnesty International.

In its report "The People's Republic of China: The Olympics Countdown -- Broken Promises," Amnesty International details what it calls a systematic persecution of dissident voices in Beijing and throughout China.

"The Chinese authorities have used the Olympics and the cleanup before the Olympics as an excuse to maintain and extend a draconian detention system that they had called re-education through labor," Zarifi said. "What that really means is that they're punished through forced labor to be taught a lesson ... and thousands of people who have ordinary complaints or demand reforms of the Chinese government have instead been rounded up."

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"The Chinese authorities have used the Olympics and the cleanup before the Olympics as an excuse to maintain and extend a draconian detention system that they had called re-education through labor," Zarifi said.

"What that really means is that they're punished through forced labor to be taught a lesson ...


The U.S. government would never exploit prisoners for labor (sarcasm). The U.S. media turns its hypocritical back and a blind eye to problems on U.S. soil but covers issues that are exactly the same overseas. Same with the government. Most of our tax dollars are being shipped overseas. Both entities just can't serve the people. Too corrupt and have too many interests... too much money is at stake. Someone needs to shove a big giant ass fucking mirror into the face of this nation.

All I have to say to the writer is that 1.2 billion people a fifth of the world's population is a force no matter how polluted their city or how many human rights violations (Why are they Human Rights abroad and Civil Rights here at "home"?). The media is so manipulative. Oh so intelligent they are. It's language.

Sorry to distract from the games but are you watching Mike Phelps? Just unbelievable! That 4x100 relay was insane! Lazak saved Team USA. At the time of that 4x100 relay Mike Phelps had 8 gold medals combined in two Olympics. Right now he has 11. Big ups to Mike Phelps more medals than anyone in Olympic history. He's about to win the combined team medal count by himself. Sorry China.