Thread: Britain kow tows to China

Britain kow tows to China as athletes are forced to sign no criticism contracts
By ROB DRAPER and DANIEL KING
10th February 2008


British Olympic chiefs are to force athletes to sign a contract promising not to speak out about China's appalling human rights record – or face being banned from travelling to Beijing.

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The controversial clause has been inserted into athletes' contracts for the first time and forbids them from making any political comment about countries staging the Olympic Games.

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Yesterday the British Olympic Association (BOA) confirmed to The Mail on Sunday that any athlete who refuses to sign the agreements will not be allowed to travel to Beijing.

Should a competitor agree to the clause but then speak their mind about China, they will be put on the next plane home.

The clause, in section 4 of the contract, simply states: “[Athletes] are not to comment on any politically sensitive issues.”

It then refers competitors to Section 51 of the International Olympic Committee charter, which “provides for no kind of demonstration, or political, religious or racial propaganda in the Olympic sites, venues or other areas”.

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Lord Alton said: “It is extraordinary to bar athletes from expressing an opinion about China's human-rights record. About the only justification for participating in the Beijing Games is that it offers an opportunity to encourage more awareness about human rights.

“Imposing compulsory vows of silence is an affront to our athletes, and in China it will be viewed as acquiescence.

“Each year 8,000 executions take place in China, political and religious opinion is repressed, journalists are jailed and the internet and overseas broadcasts are heavily censored.

“For our athletes to be told that they may not make any comment makes a mockery of our own country's belief in free speech.”

dailymail.co.uk


so much for the no politics in sports argument , may it rest in peace


full story : Britain kow tows to China as athletes are forced to sign no criticism contracts | the Daily Mail

Originally Posted by Mid

“Each year 8,000 executions take place in China

Last year, I worked for a few months on a Chinese ship and all the crew were northern Chinese.
I got quite friendly with the boss and asked him if it was true that the family of the executed prisoner was charged the equivalent of US$1 for the bullet that was used for the execution?
He said that yes, this was true. Then without a trace of irony, he told me that if they had to use a second bullet, that one was free.

^ It's also true that they parade the doomed man through the streets in the back of an open truck with a placard round his neck before the execution and I've read that (if they are useable) organs are often harvested from executed prisoners & sold on the black market. If that's true I guess they must tissue type & sign the deal prior to death.

Back to the OP: Is Britain the only country agreeing that its athletes must sign this, or are all countries required to?

Originally Posted by sabang

The Olympics are not a political event. The IOC decided to give the 2008 games to Beijing, thats the end of the politics, surely. An athlete is there to try to win his event- what business is it of his to comment on politics? If he doesn't like it, he should excercise his choice and stay away.

I look at it differently:

1) An athlete should be allowed to comment on anything he or she wants to, regardless of where they happen to be competing.

2) If China isn't prepared to accept 1) above, they should not have applied to be host for the Olympic Games.

Originally Posted by The_Ghost_Of_The_Moog

In Ancient Greek times, the Olympics were a time when Sparta, Macedonia, Athens ALL put down their weapons and differences. More than that - it was their sacred duty by Zeus to stop squabbling for those few days.

However, the Olympic Games today have absolutely nothing to do with the ancient Greek games (apart from the name) - it is all commercialism, so if money speaks, why not the athletes as well?

Bring the games back to Greece and limit it to men competing in the original sports like javelin throwing and Roman wrestling (no wind surfing, sailing, football, swimming, cycling, etc). Oh yeah - they also need to compete without clothes.

THEN, and only then could you truly talk of an Olympic spirit.

Today, it is all about money. And politics, of course.

Originally Posted by sabang

The Olympics are not a political event. The IOC decided to give the 2008 games to Beijing, thats the end of the politics, surely. An athlete is there to try to win his event- what business is it of his to comment on politics? If he doesn't like it, he should excercise his choice and stay away.

I agree with this - an athlete is an athlete NOT a politician so what's the problem? Local Chinese cannot speak out against the government so why should foreigners be allowed to do so.

International footballers seem to manage in the diplomacy game so ahtletes can also.

If you have a major problem with Chinese policy then just boycott the games instead of whingeing.


It's up to the Chinese to do what they want in their OWN country.

The modern Olympics has and always will be a venue steeped in politics and nationalism unless the concept is completely revised. The foundation based on athletes representing and competing for their countries needs to be changed if politics is ever to be removed from the equation.

It all starts with the selection of the host country being based on how much the country will spend and to some degree on the countries political acceptability. Once selected, nations start contemplating and in some cases boycotting based on political differences even though their athletes have trained for a lifetime and may have only one chance to compete.

The whole spectacle kicks off with athletes marching into a stadium behind the flag of their nation. It then turns into a contest of which nation has the most medals with the gold medal winners getting to hear their national anthem played for all to enjoy. When all the events are finished and the final medal count is in only one nation will have the most medals and have the privilege of patting themselves on the backs for living in such a nation. The winning athletes then go home to be received in hero fashion equivalent to home coming soldiers who have just saved the world from a fate worse than death even though most countries contribute little to their success. The losing athletes, coaches and Olympic Committees are subjected to scorn and criticism by a populace who perceive the Olympics as some kind of contest which represents the greatness of their nation.

If we want a non-political Olympics it should be all about the excellence of the individual athletes and not about nations. Until that happens, don't for a moment think the Olympics will be anything but Political.