Olympic games

Chinese web-users planned to boycott Carrefour from May 1st. But after having firstly added fuel to the fire, the Beijing authorities have finally decided to put a stop to the campaign, with an impressive police effort. See the report.

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Chinese web-users angered by disruptions during the Olympic torch's tour through Paris last week are organising a campaign to boycott Carrefour starting May 1st, according to Reuters. Our Observer in China has sent us images of a mini-protest in front of a Carrefour store in Beijing. The police intervened in the affair, but only by asking the protesters to move on. Read more...

UPDATE (18 APRIL 08 10am): Protests against Carrefour have sprung up all over China and the demonstrators have extended their crusade to several other French companies including Luis Vuitton, Sephora and Dior. New pictures at the bottom of the post...

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The Olympic flame had to be put out for half an hour during its tour around Paris because of havoc caused by mainly pro-Tibetan protesters. ChinaWolf, who set up a YouTube channel to "defend the Chinese reputation", explains to us why he thinks the protests were unacceptable. Read more...

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A Chinese blogger reacts to the announcement of Steven Spielberg on Tuesday that he’s abandoning his post as an artistic advisor for the Olympic Games in protest against China’s policy concerning the Sudan and the conflict in Darfur. Read more…

UPDATE (10.30am, 18.Feb. 08): Since this article was posted our regional editor has informed us that the author has become concerned about his security. We have therefore removed the post.

 

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A pair of political activists from Shenzhen (south China) are using the Olympic Games to protest against the authorities despite a crackdown on free speech in the run up to the event. Li Tie and Zou Tao publish newsletters and organise protests, and have even prepared for their seemingly inevitable capture by the police. On Chinese New Year's Eve (6 Feb.) they organised a peaceful protest in Shenzhen City. The pair displayed banners reading ‘2008, looking forward to the Olympic Games and, even more so, a democratic China'. Read more...

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The famous blogger and defender of human rights Hu Jia was arrested on Dec. 27 for criticising the organisers of the Olympic Games. Specifically, he compared the Beijing Olympic Games to those organised by Nazi Germany in 1936. Hu Jia, 34, has been under house arrest since May last year. Accused of 'inciting subversion of state power', a criminal charge usually used against political dissidents, he risks more than ten years in prison. His wife Zeng Zinyan, also a blogger, is now unable to leave the house and is denied access to the telephone or internet. The couple have a baby of hardly more than one month old. Zhang, our regional editor for China, says that with eight months to go until the Olympics, the government is already tightening up on online comment. Read more...

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Material compiled by Zhang, our regional editor for China.

The Olympic Games will open in Beijing Aug. 8, 2008. For the Chinese authorities and the public, this is more than just a sporting event. In 2001, when the International Olympic Committee selected China to host the games, it was greeted by genuine and overwhelming jubilation across the country. But six years later, there are subdued, but persistent rumblings of discontent. Beijing residents have faced evictions to make way for Olympic construction or by businesses intent on impressing foreigners. The city's Olympic face-lift has left a lot of people homeless. Bloggers are wondering whether the games are good for the people, or for the ‘People's Party,' as the Communist Party is called. Read more...

Post your questions to contributing bloggers: Wang Xiaofeng, Doubleleaf Chen and Zhebao Pavilion.

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