The Campaign Olympics

As it was expected, the president of the IOC turned down the idea of boycotting the Summer 2008 Olympics in the aftermath of China’s crackdown on Tibet. Yet, the recent unrest is unavoidably adding more fuel to the escalating controversy that has been surrounding the Olympics since they were awarded to Beijing on July 13 2001.
 
In parallel to the international spotlight which focuses on China as August draws near, Kerry Brown’s latest openDemocracy article Beijing’s political tightrope-walk,” traces the domestic challenges the country’s leaders’ face in the path to this summer’s great event. He argues that the games are moulding into a big test for China’s leadership, which has to balance international criticism and domestic growth expectations.
 
The modern Olympics – being a unique global platform – offer a pulpit that can reach a worldwide audience. Their history has been punctuated with politics and controversy as states, corporations and campaigners view the games as a propaganda vehicle, aimed at promoting their interests and agendas. China’s case cannot be an exception. On the contrary, due to the country’s particular international role, these games are expected to be the most controversial in recent history. This is the ‘moment in the sun’ both Beijing and China’s critics have been waiting for and the opportunity is too important to let pass.
 
Opposite China’s intentions to showcase its emergence as a modern nation, stands a series of campaigns mainly targeting the country’s human rights, geopolitical and environmental policies. Political groups and activists with grievances over Tibet, Taiwan and Burma have initiated campaigns against the games. Reporters Without Borders has been organising online protests to denounce China’s internet censorship. China’s poor environmental record has also been under heavy attack; Ethiopian world marathon record holder Haile Gebrselassie said recently that he would skip the long-distance running event because of Beijing’s poor air quality.
 
Yet, there is one campaign that seems to get more headway than any other; the Dream for Darfur campaign, making use of the catchy phrase “genocide olympics”, accuses China of enabling the Sudanese government to continue the conflict in Darfur. William Moss, from his popular China blog Imagethief, explains the reasons for the PR success of this campaign: “First, the campaigners have a brilliant slogan. The genocide Olympics. It sticks in the head and it conjures up the worst possible set of associations. It fits on a T-shirt (which you can order), and it is evocative and emotive at a visceral level. Second, in a classic PR strategy, the advocates have marshaled what we in the biz call "a chorus of voices". One angry person heaving around an incendiary phrase does not necessarily make for PR disaster. An expanding group of celebrities, politicians, activists and editorial writers heaving that phrase around does. Over time they will imprint "the genocide Olympics" on the public consciousness.”
 
By comparing Steven Spielberg to Hitler's own cinematic propagandist Leni Riefenstahl, Moss argues that the campaigners “drew a direct and highly visual line from 2008 to 1936, right through Mr. Spielberg's chest, and turbocharged the genocide concept.” Last February Spielberg resigned as the Beijing Olympic adviser.
 
So, in the run-up to the Olympics, politics seems to be leading the race. Yet, this is not the sole reason for the immense international interest these games generate. China still appears as a great enigma to many western eyes. Its mystery, its vastness and – let us not forget – its remarkable culture, will not only allure the distant observers but also the thousands of journalists and fans who will deluge the country over the summer and might want to delve into non-sports aspects of this unknown territory. How this is going to affect the progress of the above-mentioned campaigns is yet to be found, as China is very famous for its resistance.
 
See also:
- China’s response to the pressures building around the games; in particular, its new initiatives on Sudan and the environment.
 
- Ian Bremmer’s analysis assesses the risks the Olympics hold for China.
 
- Li Datong’s openDemocracy article: “Beijing's Olympics, China's politics.”
 
- Will any countries boycott the Olympics? market on openDemocracy Inkling Markets. Free to join, why not start trading today?