All Saints Church – King’s Lynn

I don’t know which is more shameful, the actions of a bully or the actions of those who stand by and allow the brutality and intimidation to happen. 

China is using the ‘smokescreen’ of the Olympic Games to mask their appalling record of human rights abuse and, I think that, everyone who watches the opening ceremony or any of the Games is doing nothing less than giving their consent to oppressive rule, intimidation, torture and murder.  The Chinese Government is no respecter of an individual’s freedom, whether it involves the right of its’ citizens to determine the size of their family, to practice their religion, the right to unregulated education or even what a farmer may grow in his fields – let alone the right to experience another culture or even the control of the words which come out of your own mouth.

The usual ‘smokescreen’ of almost impenetrable smog which normally hangs over the city of Beijing, has been temporarily dissipated, through the closure of industrial plants and power stations and reducing the amount of traffic, in a pathetic gesture to create an atmosphere where the Games may flourish.  Olympic athletes will compete in an impressive Stadium which stands on the rubble of people’s houses, demolished without compensation, and live in accommodation, all of  which has cost a staggering  42 billion dollars – no doubt some of which has been accrued from the sale of Arms to the rebel forces in Darfur.

I cannot understand the stupidity of those who feel that the success of the Olympics is of more importance the valuing of human dignity and human rights.  Every person who attends the games, everyone who views the games on television, every person who supports the games, is supporting Chinese oppression.  Ignoring what China does in the world, is giving one’s assent to any regime which treats people as things, un-important and disposable.

Whilst the Olympic Games may stand ostensibly  for the ‘spirit of competition’, they are being staged in a country which severely punishes any dissent or possible competition or challenge to its authority.  It beggars belief that those who support these games can continue to believe that, in fact,  any athletic competition on a national or global scale makes any contribution to decent living, the pursuit of justice or the establishment of peace in our world.  Let’s face it, even some of those who compete are prepared to take drugs in order to enhance their performance, which is in itself an a form of aggressive competitive behaviour, with their determination to succeed propelling them from potential failure to success at any cost.

The Olympic Games are about being the best in the world and any means will be employed in the achievement of this goal, whilst the power of the intellect will deny that poverty and disease in most, if not all of the world could be eliminated if only a proportion of the money wasted by the hosting countries and competing nations was spent on alleviating the suffering of our brothers and sisters who genuinely have no voice, no power, no influence, and yet have more dignity in their suffering than any individual winning athlete or any proud Chinese official at achieving success in these Games.    

My thought for this week is that everyone should think – China has little or nothing to thank the West for, so they say, except perhaps one thing – our ability to revel in technological achievement and the generation of wealth.  Not one gold medal will save a Tibetan Monk from a beating, a woman from a forced abortion, a Christian minister from imprisonment or a human rights activist from torture – all of which went on before the Games and, I have no doubt,  will continue after the Games.

Six months ago, I sat a dinner with a gentleman who asked me to reconsider my whole opinion of China, as being a credible force in the world with a fast developing economy and the potential to be the world leader in ten years.  Yet, at what cost; a powerful nation without compassion and any inclination to afford human beings a full measure of dignity and respect, is like a bus without brakes.  The problem for us in the West, is that we fail to understand that the terror of that journey is a daily experience for millions of people in China, whilst others watch the drama unfolding, yet seem disinclined and ‘powerless’ to prevent it.  Make no mistake, ‘we see what we want to see, always’, and I will not be persuaded by an argument that my Chinese ‘vision’ is a bit ‘cloudy’.  There is no smog in Beijing, the Chinese have told us there isn’t – if we believe that, then we will believe everything else too.

In the Bible, there is a reference to how God will ‘cast down the mighty and exalt the lowly‘. What it does not say, is how he will achieve it. In the past few days He appears to have managed it, through the action of the Hollywood film-maker Steven Speilberg who has withdrawn as the Artistic Director of the Beijing Olympics in protest at the Chinese Government’s involvement in the conflict in the Sudan.

 In a bold statement, Mr. Speilberg said his conscience would not allow him to continue, stating that, “At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies but doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur”. His reference is to the fact that more than 200,000 people have been murdered and a further 2.5 million have fled because of the conflict between Government forces and the African rebels in the Darfur region of Sudan. China has economic, military and diplomatic links with the Sudanese government and is the main supplier of weapons in the conflict.