I haven't had much time to watch the Olympics. I catch a little of the broadcasts late at night. I miss the simpler Olympics that I remember watching as a kid, but I still try to extract the kernel of authenticity from the hyper-hyped corporate entity it's become. I seem to recall that back when Beijing was awarded the games for 2008, much of the rationale involved the expectation that it would open up the Chinese to reform, and force them to turn from their totalitarian ways.
Well, that was then. There's been nary a word, from what I've seen, on the reality of political life in China. As much I have thrilled to the accomplishments of Phelps and Bolt, I can't get past the big reality here: this Olympics represents the ultimate marriage of global corporate power and the Chinese totalitarian-capitalist regime.
And here's the poignantly modest face of dissent. Lead feature right now in the New York Times.
BEIJING — Two elderly Chinese women have been sentenced to a year of "re-education through labor" after they repeatedly sought a permit to demonstrate in one of the official Olympic protest areas, according to family members and human rights advocates.
The women, Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Xiuying, 77, had made five visits to the police this month in an effort to get permission to protest what they contended was inadequate compensation for the demolition of their homes in Beijing
The story goes on to explain.... Officals cited them for "disturbing the public order." The two women returned to their homes, but were warned that they could be taken to a detention center at any time. No further information forthcoming from the "Public Security Bureau." The larger picture: 77 others had put in applications to demonstrate in the government-designated "protest zones" (!!!!!). All had been withdrawn or denied. The applicants have been detained, silenced, removed. The two ladies in question have been trying for years to recieve adequate compensation for the demolition of their former homes.
"I feel very sad and angry because we’re only asking for the basic right of living and it’s been six years, but nobody will do anything to help them," Mr. Li said.
He said that he and Ms. Wang’s daughter tried to apply for their own protest permit on Tuesday but that the police would not even give them the necessary forms. ...
Although it is unlikely that women as old as Ms. Wu and Ms. Wang would be forced into hard labor, many of those sentenced to laojiao often toil in agricultural or factory work and are forced to confess their transgressions.
Beyond the lights and cameras and parties and celebrations a vast reality is hiding in plain sight. The world's greatest spectacle has been organized by an all-powerful state that brooks not even the most pathetically modest challenge to its rule. No one wants to see it or talk about it. No one wants to ruin the party. I love a good party. But I love freedom more.