Yahoo! Sports carried the story today of Joey Cheek, a former gold medalist speedskater Joey Cheek, whose visa to attend the Olympics in Beijing has been revoked, likely for his outspoken condemnation of human rights violations in the Darfur region of Sudan (and by extension, China's complicity through support of the Sudanese government and its affiliated militias).
China revokes visa of gold medalist, Darfur activist Cheek
Chinese officials don't need a reason to revoke anyone's visa but, in their eyes, they had plenty of reasons to snatch Cheek's. He is the founder of Team Darfur, a group of 70 athletes whose goal it is to raise global awareness of the human-rights violations taking part in the Darfur region of Sudan. China's military, economic and diplomatic ties to Sudan have been well-publicized in the lead-up to the Games.
It's sad that we have to inject politics into an event that is supposed to bring the world together. But no such gathering of the world's nations is worthwhile, no matter whether the intent is sporting competition or a diplomatic dialogue, if the people who attend it are muzzled by the hosts. Surely one prerequisite for being an Olympic host should be not persecuting, attacking or imprisoning those who express love, pride and support in their own nation or their brothers in spirit, be they in Tibet or Darfur. Allowing this kind of expression is the mark of any nation that has reached a sufficient level of maturity to govern itself and stand proud amongst its fellow nations. If you cannot allow this kind of peaceful expression, don't insist on being included in the community of nations who respect the rest of the world.
Chris Chase writes,
With the Games getting closer (just two days away now), the world seemed ready to forget about all the Chinese issues in order to focus on the Games themselves. Unfortunately, China's actions make that impossible. In a time when we should be wondering who will light the Olympic cauldron, whether Michael Phelps can break an all-time record and how Liu Xiang will react to the pressure of 1.3 billion of his countrymen hanging on his every step, we're instead left to discuss the Chinese government's reluctance to allow any dissension in their country, despite repeated promises that they'd clean up their act when the Olympics came to town.