IOC agrees to Internet blocking at the Olympic Games

Posted by Kendall Harmon

he Chinese government confirmed Wednesday what journalists arriving at the lavishly outfitted media center here had suspected: Contrary to previous assurances by Olympic and government officials, the Internet would be censored during the upcoming games.

Since the Olympic Village press center opened Friday, reporters have been unable to access scores of Web pages - politically sensitive ones that discuss Tibetan succession, Taiwanese independence, the violent crackdown of the protests in Tiananmen Square and the sites of Amnesty International, Radio Free Asia and several Hong Kong newspapers known for their freewheeling political discourse.

On Wednesday - two weeks after its most recent proclamation of an uncensored Internet during the Summer Games - the International Olympic Committee quietly agreed to some of the limitations, according to Kevan Gosper, chairman of the IOC press commission, Reuters reported.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Blogging & the Internet • Sports • * International News & Commentary • Asia • China

4 Comments
Posted July 31, 2008 at 5:34 am [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. AnglicanFirst wrote:

Those who think that experimenting with socialism while maintaining individual freedoms might be an interesting thing to ‘try’ should look closely at what is and has been happening in Communist China.

In Communist China, what we consider to be non-negotiable individual freedoms are granted and taken away at the whim of the single political party running the country.

Repression of religion, particularly Christianity, has been the normative situation for sixty years.

Also, particular Chinese socialist ‘efficiencies’ are notable.  People executed for “economic crimes,” yes, economic crimes, have had their body parts harvested immediately at the time of their murder by officials of the socialist state.  A chilling modern form of socialist redistribution of resources from those who don’t need them anymore to those who need them.

The list of atrocities in mainland China goes on and on.

July 31, 6:45 am | [comment link]
2. Br. Michael wrote:

In Communist China, what we consider to be non-negotiable individual freedoms are granted and taken away at the whim of the single political party running the country. 

This statement is at the heart of the very concept of “rights”.  The founders viewed rights as something coming form a source higher than government.  That being the case government did not grant rights it could only recognize them and be prohibited from encroching on those pre-existant rights.  At least this is the theory of rights in the United States Constitution.  Now this does not always work well in practice because the Federal and State governments have the raw power to encroach on thies rights, but as least the ligitimacy is lacking.

If on the other hand “right” are granted by government then they are not really “rights”, but privileges and those privileges can be taken away or suspended by their creator, the government.  In this case the government has both the raw power and the lititimacy.

Setting the Olympics in China was dumb.

July 31, 7:14 am | [comment link]
3. BlueOntario wrote:

“Follow the money.”

July 31, 1:27 pm | [comment link]
4. Harvey wrote:

Yes Br Michaels; setting the Olympic Games in China was dumb.  What is amazing to me that somehow the original 10 city-states in Greece were able to stop warring with one another every four years and participated in the Olympic games.  Help me onn this one somebody-please!!

August 1, 2:18 pm | [comment link]
Registered members must log in to comment.



Next entry (above): Bishop Tom Wright: The Bible and Tomorrow’s World

Previous entry (below): Reflections upon the Lambeth Conference 2008 Second Draft

Return to blog homepage

Return to Mobile view (headlines)