Olympic Rant #20 - Today in Beijing - crackdowns intensify · 17.06.08 by colin newell
If you are a Canadian Olympic athlete, parent, sister or brother of an athlete attending the Olympics – or part of a support team for the Beijing Olympics, you should be real proud that the authorities in Beijing are doing their level best to clean that city up…
Picture above: Police skaters in Beijing maintain law and order with well-oiled skates and cries of I`m gonna get you Sucka!
Example – Two brothers sold DVDs openly from a back room in a state-owned department store. Like almost every other merchant of counterfeit goods, they figured the authorities would offer a blind eye.
They were wrong. One day their DVD-TV Combo was playing a U.S. documentary film about China’s modern history, including scenes of Chinese troops killing student protesters at Tiananmen Square in June, 1989. Ooops.
The police raided the store and hauled away the two brothers for interrogation for playing and displaying a “reactionary“ film. One of the brothers was sentenced to a year in prison. For the other illegal DVD merchants; business as usual.
Lately, human rights are taking a jack-hammering. Security sweeps and police crackdowns are spreading their nets – And not just at dissidents but a new class of rabble: street retailers, minorities, beggars and social advocates. Trouble-makers all. The Beijing politburo must be mind-readers… I for one could not tolerate a retailer or social advocate on my street corner. I say *Shoo!*
Picture above – Bejing cop backs up his eagle-eye with an electronic one… “You looking at me? I think you are looking at me…“
While they were lobbying for the Olympics, Chinese leaders promised that human rights would take an up-tick if they got the Games. Instead of an up-tick, they turned back the clock to a time before freedom… definitely pre-Disco.
So. If you are a Canadian athlete, be proud. Do your part. Work hard. And shake your sinewy fist at street-retailers, beggars, minorities and the like.
Geepers.
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