By Jennifer Haskell
After what seemed like an eternity of anticipation, the 2008 Beijing Olympics finally began with an eye-catching opening ceremony that showcased China's large population and Zhang Yimou's cinematography skills. While issues such as pollution, censorship, and human rights had dominated the media leading up to the event, once the games began, much of the news coverage shifted focus to the athletes and the race to win the most gold medals.
However, one issue of heated controversy leading up to the games was the drastic security measures taken by Beijing in preparation for the Games. The Chinese government cited real threats as the rationale for such measures, while the Western media dismissed such assertions, labeling the measures as draconian and even said they resembled techniques used during the Mao era. Was the high level of security justified? Or did the Chinese authorities overreact? It is obvious that China has a much broader definition of "security threat" than Western countries, and regulations – such as not allowing banners into Olympic arenas – appear to explicitly target potential political protesters. Still, events both before and after the opening ceremony have demonstrated that risks of both real and imagined security threats exist and must be dealt with. Critics may not like China's strict regulations on protesting (one must have a permit to protest, even in specific protest zones), but despite many challenges, Beijing has proven rather adept at handling security challenges and making sure they do not disrupt the Games.
Olympic Protests
Chief among the imagined security threats was Joey Cheek, a gold-medal-winning-speed skater who also helped to start the group Team Darfur, which advocates on behalf of victims of genocide. China revoked his visa, leading not only to further criticism of the host country's human rights situation and its involvement in Sudan but also commentary on the absurdity of the measures taken by Beijing to ensure a protest-free Olympics. Similarly, local dissidents have been put under house arrest to guarantee that they do not disrupt the games.
While Beijing has not granted permits for protests in the designated zones, protesters have managed to get around stepped up security. Protests have included the hanging of "Free Tibet" banners on lampposts near the national stadium and one staged by Students for a Free Tibet members who managed to bypass the especially stringent measures in Tiananmen Square. The Chinese government is deporting foreign protesters, as they are in violation of domestic law but has generally shown restraint in dealing with incidents, even paying for dinner and flights home for some. Local protests have been kept under control by the monitoring of dissidents, though a small group of Qianmen homeowners did manage to march near Tiananmen. So far, Beijing has handled the small protests to its Olympics rather well, making sure that they do not disrupt the Games or incur excessive attention and criticism from the West.
Olympic Violence
Beijing has long claimed that the largest threat to security during the Games comes from Islamic separatist groups from Xinjiang, which have been responsible for bus bombings in the past and with whom the Chinese government has long been fighting. The West doesn't doubt the reality of the threat from such groups – the US even has the East Turkestan Islamic Movement on its list of terrorist organizations – but because of little transparency on the Chinese side, many suspect that fighting terrorism remains an excuse for abusing the human rights of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang. The first proof of the possibility of terrorist attacks occurred on July 21 in Kunming, when two bus bombs killed two and injured many others. Although Beijing asserts that the attacks were not engineered by terrorist organizations, they certainly made clear that security, especially during the Olympics, remains a concern in China.
Since then, Islamic separatist groups have proven their intention to disrupt the Games, though they have so far launched their attacks only in Xinjiang, not in Beijing. The first particularly jarring attack occurred on August 4, when militants attacked and killed 16 border police in Kashgar, Xinjiang. This incident was followed up by a series of bomb attacks, also in Xinjiang, and a third attack killed 3 security officers near Kashgar. These attacks certainly represent an increase in violence in China's westernmost province or at least an increase in reporting of violent attacks.
Then on August 10, a man from Hangzhou stabbed American Todd Bachman to death, the father-in-law of the US men's volleyball coach, and also injured his wife and their Chinese tour guide while they were visiting the drum tower. The attacker then killed himself by jumping off the tower. Especially since violent attacks on foreigners are a rare occurrence, this one garnered much international media attention, but it appeared to be an isolated incident carried out by a man who "acted out of despair." Furthermore, American tourists in Beijing still view the city as safe, demonstrating the freak nature of the stabbing and that people have acknowledged it would have been nearly impossible to prevent.
Now that the Olympics have started, events have proven that Beijing was correct to worry about security, although it is impossible to tell whether Chinese measures were too paranoid or appropriate to deal with such threats. In terms of political protests, Beijing probably did not need to be so concerned. The city has dealt with such disturbances well, calling into question pre-Olympic moves such as curtailing visas and even revoking Joey Cheek's, which only served to attract more criticism from abroad. Still, attacks in Xinjiang and on American tourists have demonstrated that security risks are real, though they may come in forms not anticipated by the authorities. On the whole, Beijing has certainly demonstrated to the world that they have what it takes – both in security and otherwise – to host a successful Olympics.
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