Beijing boycott drumbeat more than a trickle

Michael Hedges April 6, 2008

Ah, yes, only the young athletes would suffer by a boycott of the Beijing Olympic games. So goes the oft-repeated trance-like meme from many, mostly those with money on the table. More broadcasters voiced a different view this past week.

CBC Radio Canada Director General Hubert Lacroix added his influential voice to those of other media leaders demanding more from the Chinese authorities. In a letter to the Chinese ambassador to Canada, Li Shumin, released on both CBC’s English and French language websites, Lacroix said, “…all eyes are on China.”  Access in China to CBC websites has been blocked for several months.

"I am writing to request that you make formal and immediate enquiries as to why the sites have been blocked, and that you take steps to ensure that this policy is reversed.”

CBC TV executive vice-president Richard Stursberg made clear that the broadcasters is weighing its options. "We obviously have started to think hard ourselves of what the potential implications of even a small boycott would be,” he said, speaking to the Toronto Sun (April 4). “And inevitably, like everyone else, you think, well, what is the appropriate way to conduct yourself in the face of this behavior by the Chinese. So we'll see."

“I will not go,” said leading France Télévisions sports anchor Bernard Faure, to L’Equipe (April 4). The drumbeat for boycott is loudest in Europe, more so in France. Most base their complaint on Chinese actions against protesters in Tibet.

"Everyone, in their conscience, must decide on their stance," said Faure.

France Télévisions, the French public broadcaster, warned it might not broadcast the opening ceremonies if the Chinese authorities imposed any censorship. French officials, from President Nicolas Sarkozy to Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner to Human Rights Minister Rama Yade, have tacked back and forth.

More direct has been Reporters sans Frontiers (RSF) Secretary General Robert Ménard, who has called for an outright boycott. “The IOC needs to tell the Chinese authorities that they have to respect the commitments they gave in 2001 when China was awarded these games,” he said in a press statement (April 4). The Chinese authorities gave assurances, reportedly, on free press coverage during the Games and their prelude and access to foreign media by Chinese.

During the celebratory launch broadcast of Chinese National Television’s (CCTV) Olympic coverage newscaster Hu Ziwei stunned one and all by seizing the microphone and moment, repeating, “If the Chinese have no humane values to present to the world, what is the purpose of the Olympics after all?" She’s in jail now, and will remain there until the Games (or games) end.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Czech President Vaclav Klaus and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk have made public their intention not to attend what will likely be the most watched event of the Beijing Olympics, the opening ceremony. Several commentators have opined that Eastern Europe’s leaders (Chancellor Merkel hails from old East Germany) are sensitized because of their history to government censorship and crack-downs on political protest. 

A memo from IOC president Jacques Rogge, obtained by RSF, claimed that “…no credible government or organization is supporting the idea of a boycott.”

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, interviewed in Bild, warned China and other Olympic faithful that reality can’t be swept “under the carpet.”

“You can’t just host glamorous events for television while things are going topsy-turvy in your own backyard,” he said.

Broadcasters have covered every Olympic Games since radio-waves were first hurled through the air. More than sixty countries boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics leading to limited coverage in the West. The 1968 Mexico City Olympics was fully covered, including massive protests, the ‘Tlatelolco massacre’ of 500 students by police and military and a ceremonial protest by American athletes. Olympic events were overshadowed by the murder of Israeli team members by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympics, an event nobody wants repeated.

The challenge for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which banks on broadcast rights and sponsorship fees, is convincing their supporters that the Olympic Games are apolitical. History is not on the IOC’s side. The Chinese authorities may hope to keep coverage from Beijing non-political. History is not on their side, either.

Human Rights Watch China expert Nicholas Bequelin noted that broadcasters hold the last card, quoted in Time (April 3). Political leaders will hesitate “…being seen on television dining with Chinese leaders as the dark reality of what's going on trickles out.”