Of Olympics and atrocities

Two Chinese ex-patriots wrote a piece in the Washington Post yesterday reminding everyone of China’s horrific human rights record:

Please be aware that the Olympic Games will be held in a country where there are no elections, no freedom of religion, no independent courts, no independent trade unions; where demonstrations and strikes are prohibited; where torture and discrimination are supported by a sophisticated system of secret police; where the government encourages the violation of human rights and dignity, and is not willing to undertake any of its international obligations.

Please consider whether the Olympic Games should coexist with religious persecution[,] labor camps, modern slavery, identity discrimination, secret police and crimes against humanity.

As the Olympic torch makes its way around the world, I’m secretly hoping that someone is successful in extinguishing it because China is one of the worst places to host a ‘celebration of humanity.’ It goes beyond Tibet, it’s a systemic plague that grips China as the laundry list above suggests.

I realize it gets a little boring bouncing the Olympics around from one Western country to another, but do we have to give it to a country that’s stuck in their industrial revolution?

For that and the other reasons above, I will be experiencing a great deal of schadenfreude when China loses face at the Olympics.