Richard MichaelOlympic Tragedy: The Dark Underbelly of Beijing
August 9th 2008 13:31
Although I'm not one to watch many of the ridiculous and sometimes boring events featured in the Olympics, I am a sucker for international competition and so find myself watching every two years when the world comes together to compete. However, this year I find myself reluctant to support the games because of the moral ineptitude of the host country and the many dangers that Beijing harbors.
My doubts were only confirmed this morning when I found out that last night an American couple was attacked at one of most popular tourist sites in Beijing. The assailant, a 47 year old Chinese man, attacked the two Americans with a knife, killing one and injuring the other and their tour guide.
Afterwards the obviously disturbed man committed suicide by leaping from the second story of the site, the 13th century drum tower which is located only a mere five miles from the Olympic stadium. As if this wasn't tragic enough, the two Americans were relatives of a U.S. volleyball coach. Neither the identities of the victims or the identity of the coach have been revealed.
One may overlook this tragic event as an isolated incident; however there are many other issues that the international community should be furious about. The Chinese government instituted a variety of cruel and unusual policies leading up to the games.
These include herding most of the homeless population out of Beijing, and even erecting walls around the poor neighborhoods of the city to make it more visually appealing. Moreover, the government also censors and controls the media and even the internet. This is all set against the backdrop of the blind and ruthless force the Chinese employ to control those who support Tibet.
If this weren't enough the polluted air in Beijing is so bad that a handful of athletes refused to compete in some or all events because of the terrible quality of the air. One only has to view a picture of the Olympic campus to get an idea of how thick the poisonous smog can be in Beijing.
The Chinese have spent close to a trillion dollars on Olympic preparations which include building the massive national stadium, cleaning up the air of Beijing (they spent 20 billion on this alone) and the massive security forces which apparently were unable to protect an American couple at one of Beijing's most popular tourists sites. While they've spent all this money to improve their international reputation; their brutal methods and the fact that much of the country still wallows in rural poverty, reveals that they're more medieval than modern.
My doubts were only confirmed this morning when I found out that last night an American couple was attacked at one of most popular tourist sites in Beijing. The assailant, a 47 year old Chinese man, attacked the two Americans with a knife, killing one and injuring the other and their tour guide.
Afterwards the obviously disturbed man committed suicide by leaping from the second story of the site, the 13th century drum tower which is located only a mere five miles from the Olympic stadium. As if this wasn't tragic enough, the two Americans were relatives of a U.S. volleyball coach. Neither the identities of the victims or the identity of the coach have been revealed.
The site of the crime, the ancient drum tower.
One may overlook this tragic event as an isolated incident; however there are many other issues that the international community should be furious about. The Chinese government instituted a variety of cruel and unusual policies leading up to the games.
These include herding most of the homeless population out of Beijing, and even erecting walls around the poor neighborhoods of the city to make it more visually appealing. Moreover, the government also censors and controls the media and even the internet. This is all set against the backdrop of the blind and ruthless force the Chinese employ to control those who support Tibet.
If this weren't enough the polluted air in Beijing is so bad that a handful of athletes refused to compete in some or all events because of the terrible quality of the air. One only has to view a picture of the Olympic campus to get an idea of how thick the poisonous smog can be in Beijing.
thats not fog folks...
The Chinese have spent close to a trillion dollars on Olympic preparations which include building the massive national stadium, cleaning up the air of Beijing (they spent 20 billion on this alone) and the massive security forces which apparently were unable to protect an American couple at one of Beijing's most popular tourists sites. While they've spent all this money to improve their international reputation; their brutal methods and the fact that much of the country still wallows in rural poverty, reveals that they're more medieval than modern.
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