Protesters in support of a free Tibet march down the Embarcadero before the arrival of the Olympic torch Wednesday, April 9, 2008 in San Francisco.(The Press Democrat, John Burgess/Associated Press)
Feature
'Journey of Harmony' backfires on China
Itchy fingers black out images of Olympic torch relay protests
Last Updated Thurs., April 10, 2008
By Bernice Chan, CBC Sports
In the first few days of the Beijing Olympic torch relay, China did its best to avoid reporting on the disruptions that began the moment Greek officials handed the sacred flame to Beijing Olympic President Liu Qi.
A protester unfurled a flag covered with the image of handcuffs linked, evoking the Olympic rings, but the Chinese on the mainland never saw it. Instead, images cut immediately to the global odyssey the torch would take and replays of the lighting ceremony.
But now the Chinese can't hide the anger the "Journey of Harmony" has created.
Usually when there is news on foreign media TV outlets the central government doesn't like, it's blacked out. There are people sitting in front of the TV with their finger on the button, ready to prevent people in China from seeing things related to Tianamen Square in1989, or in this case the Dalai Lama.
Torch protests on hotel TV
However, last night two friends of mine who are staying at a five-star hotel in Beijing told me they watched the BBC news at seven o'clock in the morning and nothing was blacked out. They could see the protests in Paris and the torch being extinguished at least five times. They even saw images of protesters on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco with the banner "Free Tibet".
They concluded that perhaps the censor staff hadn't reported to work yet, as things were different an hour later.
But the censoring seems haphazard, as if those people who exercise control are unsure of what should be blacked out.
Meanwhile, the Chinese state media continues to ramp up its condemnation of the Dalai Lama. The government still blames "the wolf in monk's robes" for instigating the March 14 riots in Lhasa, but it has yet to reveal any solid evidence to sway worldwide public opinion.
Taking another tack, the state media are referring to Chinese torchbearers who were "attacked" by protesters during the relay as "heroes".
Wheelchair athlete attacked
One is Jin Jing, a wheelchair athlete who did part of the relay in Paris along the Seine River. In an interview with a Chinese website, she said several people tried to "steal" the torch from her, even pulled her hair and injured her chin in the process. She is pictured cradling the extinguished torch. Many Chinese "netizens" - yes there are people here who have a social life on the web - have praised her for her bravery.
It seems China can't understand why people are coming out in droves to disrupt what is intended to be a joyous event celebrating sportsmanship and humanity. Instead, determined protesters are trying to get at the torch and chanting "Free Tibet" along the route.
For many people outside of China, the torch has symbolized the most populous country in the world. And they are taking out all their anger on this inhuman object, a symbol of everything they think is wrong with China - Tibet, Darfur, and Burma to name a few.
As the protests ramp up, the rhetoric ringing louder and more defiant, the harder it will be to resolve the issue of Tibet. The two sides are as polarized as ever, and it seems no one wants to back down yet to have a dialogue instead of diatribes.
From the beginning all the Chinese wanted to do was to celebrate their country's arrival on the world stage. It has waited seven years to show everyone a country that has lifted millions of people out of poverty in one generation thanks to its double-digit economic growth. It was eager to unveil the new look of Beijing, from the gleaming skyscrapers to the world-class venues.
But now all that is marred by an event that will continue for another 120 days. And that's only until the start of the Olympic Games.
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