The Olympic Games: “A celebration of human achievement”. China has one of the worst human rights abuse records in the world. When the International Olympic Committee delegation was in Beijing recently, a young woman, Shan Chenfeng, urged the IOC to use China's bid to press for improvements in human rights.
She was sentenced to two years in a labour camp for this “crime”.
The UK Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee recently suggested that, given the serious crackdown on those who speak out against the Chinese Government over the past two years, it would be highly inappropriate for Beijing to be awarded the 2008 Olympic games.
Obviously I would like to see the UK host the Olympics, but ultimately I'm not concerned which country hosts the games, as long as it isn't China. That would be a disgrace to the ideal of the Olympics, not to mention turning a blind eye to the human rights abuses which are standard practice there.
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