When the Olympics were about to be given to Beijing most of the free world were leery about the games going to a one party dictatorship. They remembered the Moscow Olympics of 1980, which were boycotted by the free world after the USSR invaded Afghanistan, which was then followed by the Soviets refusing to go to Los Angeles in 1984 in retaliation. There were two Olympics that were considered badly crippled by political protest.
The mantra was that by bringing Red China into the sports fold, the free world would cause the communist beast to mellow. This was of course opposite to the arguement used on apartheit South Africa when the free world starved it economically and through trade. When this point was raised to Federal Liberal leader Stephane Dion, he said that it would make no sense to oppose (Red) China if Canada is alone. Some weeks later he argued another issue by saying that it didn't matter what other countries think, Canada should stand by itself if it is right.
The reason for Red China being allowed to host the Olympics, to get it to ease up on human rights abuses, has backfired. If anything, human rights abuses have become worse.
Non Chinese reidents have not had their visas renewed. Thousands of non Chinese, working in China have had to leave suddenly in the past year.
Instructions to athletes competing in the games have had been told not to bring Bibles to the Olympics.
A recent investigation by two Canadians, a former parliamentarian and Secretary of Pan-Asian Affairs, David Kilgour and a Human Rights Investigator/Lawyer David Matas ddiscovered that the Red Chinese have been harvesting body parts which are then sold to those that need them. The victims have been Falun Gong practitioners, a peaceful group that practice a Tai Chi type of exercise regimen.
Christians, who number 120,000,000 in Red China worship their religion underground on the most part, unless they submit to the government's control. This system of control hasn't become more relaxed.
In the recent period an aide to British PM Gordon Brown, visiting Red China had his Blackberry, mini computers, stolen. Other have had their laptops compromised. United States top counter intelligence official Joel Brenner suggests visitors to Red China be very concerned about securing the information in their laptops, advises them to take a smaller travel laptops with minimal information onboard.
For the Olympics, Red China has needed to reduce automobile traffic to bring down polution, so that athletes may do their sport. Still there is doubt that sport can be perfomed safely. Even though this is not necessarily human rights abuse, it will be once the olympics and the smog returns to Beijing.
So the system of appeasement doesnt work, and now Red China does most of our manufacturing, it still hasn't improved on its human rights and 250,000 of our highly paid labour is out of work, according to New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton.
How did we get into this kind of a fix?