The killings in Tibet, which led to massive protests in major world cities during the Olympic torch relay, only confirmed China's unflattering record as a repressive state that will crush dissent at any cost.
China's repressive communist regime had wanted to use the Olympics to showcase what it pompously described as the "face of a modern and peaceful world power." But instead of the Olympics turning out to be China's finest hour, the games have become a public relations disaster that will haunt the communist regime in the years and decades ahead. The world is no longer talking about the games, but about the brutal suppression of human rights--particularly in Tibet and Xinjiang.
The otherwise reticent Jacques Rogge, the International Olympic Committee president, could not hide his irritation when, in the course of a press conference in Beijing, he reminded the China's government to honor its "moral engagement" to improve human rights and allow the news media greater access in the country before the Olympic Games open.
World leaders acknowledge that it had been naive to take China's communist regime at its word that it would improve the human rights' situation in the country. Prior to the games, Beijing had done nothing to improve the situation, which in fact has worsened with the killings in Tibet.
Not surprisingly, heads of government in Britain, France, Germany and other European countries plan to express their dismay over China's dismal human rights record by staying away from the Olympics' opening ceremony. U.S. President George W. Bush faces increasing domestic pressure, including from his own party, not to attend the ceremony but has said he will do so because of his love of sports. The conspicuous absence of the world's political creme-de-la-creme at the ceremony will show China in poor light--as a pariah state that the civilized world chooses to steer clear of.
The Olympic Games have become a major public relations disaster for China that wants to clean up the mess as quickly as possible. Indeed, it will need the help of influential PR agencies, including lobbyists in major countries, to help overcome this unexpected crisis that has shaken the Chinese Communist Party.
Aside from a badly mauled image of a repressive state, China now also faces a major credibility problem. The PRC announced that it had foiled a plan by "Eastern Turkestan" terrorists from Xinjiang to kidnap foreign politicians, media representatives, athletes and even spectators during the games. Authorities in China claimed they had arrested 35 people and seized explosives and other materials belonging to a jihadist group in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, whose Muslim Uighur population fiercely opposes Han Chinese rule.
While such news is understandably of concern to world leaders, some of whom will be in Beijing to attend the games, comments by Western observers suggest they are not entirely convinced of the veracity of China's announcement, considering that past announcements of similar plots were not accompanied by supporting evidence. China's credibility could suffer unless it provides irrefutable evidence of such alleged plots uncovered.
China's state-controlled media has also been casting innuendos about the Dalai Lama--a highly respected and revered figure whose teachings are firmly entrenched in the Gandhian philosophy of non-violence--having links with Islamist terror organizations. This view, which even China's diaspora overseas found hard to swallow, was immediately rejected and scoffed at by the entire world.
Such absurd and baseless accusations can only further erode China's already low credibility. Even if international spin doctors are able to provide some cosmetic touchups to China's badly scarred image, the loss of credibility in the eyes of the world is a serious matter which no amount of PR gloss can help cover up. China's only way out of the mess is to hold dialogue with the Dalai Lama and work out a modus vivendi on Tibet acceptable to all sides. The Dalai Lama has repeatedly said that he is not seeking independence but greater autonomy and tolerance of the Buddhist teachings and traditions, and equal opportunities for Tibetans who feel discriminated against under Han Chinese domination.
The Olympic fiasco will also, invariably, cause PRC politicians and officials responsible for the intelligence failure in Tibet to be held accountable. Heads will roll, particularly of those who failed to foresee the coming of such disruption. Indeed, many experts do not rule out calls in the future asking for replacement of--and accountability from--China's President Hu Jintao, who served in Tibet as a ruthless party chief and crushed dissent in 1989.
--Manik Mehta is a free-lance writer based in New York.
Copyright 2008 by Manik Mehta
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