Can the Olympics Knock Down the Great Firewall?

The issue of the internet and China is - naturally! - a hot topic in the blogosphere. Bob, blogger for Beijing Olympics blog, has been hoping to tackle this for some time, and so was pleased to see the IOC raise the issue this week (via BBC):

“Inspectors from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said China was obliged under its Games contract to provide journalists with web access.

The IOC’s Kevan Gosper said there was concern that the web had been blocked during recent unrest in Tibet. He said this could not happen during the Games.

The Great Firewall: The Chinese government has a very effective system of blocking websites, censoring content and enforcing self-censorship by internet companies. These methods allow the CCP to effectively road-block the information superhighway. This is the Great Firewall.

China’s effort to Re-Educate, or brainwash dissidents has a short term effect on the victims. As in George Orwell’s 1984, there will be those to play the game to survive. But, given opportunity, they will recover their true identity and resist.

The term “Re-Education” sends shivers. The Chinese need to stop this non-sense and move into the 21st century. The world needs to boycott the Olympics so that China knows without a doubt that what it is doing in Tibet is not acceptable.

China warned on Saturday it would step up a controversial “re-education” campaign for Tibetans after a fresh protest showed a huge security crackdown had failed to extinguish nearly one month of unrest.

Beijing’s behavior in Tibet is repulsive; this century has no place for cultural genocide. An effort to take Tibet out of the Tibetan people and to replace it with the Han culture, and not even true Han but rather neutered, sanitized, secularized post Mao Han culture.

The jailing of prominent Chinese dissident Hu Jia on Thursday for subversion added to concerns around the world that the human rights situation in China was getting worse instead of better ahead of the Games.

Through the controversy and headlines, there may a larger reason to embrace. Dissent brings change. World opinion applies pressure. The IOC will not condone censorship to protect the integrity of CCP propaganda. This may finally be the long awaited tear in the Chinese Cloak of Disinformation. Reeducation by any other name is still Brainwashing. North Korea made that concept famous in the 1950s and 1960s. Humans cannot remain robots forever. Preventing human beings from exploring and expanding their own minds, is like caging a wild animal the releasing them into the jungle without the tools to survive. A large segment of Chinese appear ready to break out of their cage. The Olympics may be their key.

HOUGHTON — In a lecture Monday evening, journalist Mark Seddon covered a wide swath of American foreign policy.

Early on, the diplomatic correspondent for Al Jazeera English and former editor of the London Tribune pointed out the irony he perceives among certain elements in American politics that look forward to a future of the United States being an imperial power.

“I think the people who have talked about America as an empire and look at it as a good thing don’t understand America’s history,” he said, remarking that it was in breaking away from the imperialism of his home country, Great Britain, that the United States became a nation.

In his lecture titled “The Clash of Civilizations: Will the 21st Century Really Be America’s Century?,” Seddon said it is only within the latter portion of the last century that American primacy emerged in the world.

He said while the United States might not have to give up power in the 21st Century, the country may need to get used to the idea of sharing it as other powers emerge.

“I think in many ways this will be America’s century, but it will also be the century of India, China and Europe,” Seddon said.

The combination of politics, global threats and environmental meltdown will require sharing global resources. Common ground must be found, for world powers to be effective addressing the coming decades. Together, the global community can make survival possible. This is a monumental task that requires forward thinking leaders and a lot of re-education. World leaders must make lifestyle changes possible for their populations. World economies are intertwined and should be cared for as different parts of the same body. Results of the coming elections in the US and many major countries will determine if future survival of our species.