Events | 2008.03.31
Inside Lines: IOC drifting on a show boat to China
Sir Steve Redgrave is not alone in admitting some concern that holding the Olympics in Beijing may have been a mistake. "In hindsight I would have liked to see more political changes in the country before allowing them to have the Games," he says. Olympic insiders admit that similar unease is now being felt privately among elements of the International Olympic Committee in view of recent events, especially last week\'s jailing of a dissident for proclaiming that human rights are more important than the Games. The idea of a boycott rightly remains a non-starter and Britain dare not even hint at joining a political snub of the opening ceremony for fear of reprisals by the Chinese at London 2012. And while Games sponsors are worried about the effect of Torch Run protests over Tibet and Darfur, their greater concern is upsetting the Chinese government, who still ban the BBC website and have yet to indicate Beijing will prove the promised catalyst for change. You cannot escape the feeling that Beijing has got us on a show boat to China, and we are being taken along for the ride.
For more information, please visit
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/gener[...]oat-to-china-802550.html?r=RSS
