Article,
Jim Yardley on the Olympics and politics
Imagethief (Blog), (14. August 7:17 AM 20070814)Imagethief is William Moss, a public relations professional and writer working in China since 2004. The opinions in this blog are his own, not those of his agency. For more information see Äbout Imagethief", below..
Abstract
Jim Yardley, of the New York Times and International Herald Tribune,
sums up the situation facing Beijing nicely in a "Letter from China"
column in the IHT:
If anything was evident last week when Beijing staged a one-year
countdown to the 2008 Games, it was that eliminating politics from
the Olympics was about as likely as eliminating medals. Beijing may
have envisioned a public relations opportunity, but so did an array
of advocacy groups that spent the week whipsawing China on human
rights violations, press freedom and Tibet.
If a few stunts were daring - protesters unfurled a "Free Tibet" banner
on the Great Wall - the criticisms were not new. What did change
was the way the Olympics amplified the dissent, even for a nonevent
like the one-year countdown. Media attention intensified merely because
the Olympics were in town.
Äll of these voices are going to become stronger and stronger, not
weaker and weaker, as the Games approach," said John MacAloon, an
Olympic historian who has advised the Beijing Olympic committee on
managing the traditional torch relay. Äll Olympic Games are, of
course, highly politically charged and sensitive in some regions
of the world. How could they not be?"
For about as long as the modern Games have existed, they have served
as a stage for politics as much as sport. Berlin 1936 was Hitler
and Jesse Owens. Helsinki 1952 was the beginning of the Cold War.
Mexico City 1968 was the Black Power salute. The blood of 11 slain
Israeli athletes stained Munich 1972. Moscow 1980 meant boycotts,
as did Los Angeles 1984.
It's worth a read, and reaffirms some of the challenges I've noted
here. One thing noted in this article that I've noted before is that
the Olympics have essentially always been political. Step one in
solving a problem is acknowledging you have one. Once Beijing reconciles
itself to the idea that the Olympics will be politicized, and starts
working out how to manage that as constructively as possible, its
path will become smoother.
Also, unremarked in the PR roundup I did for last week was that another
politician, Maxine Waters of California, has floated the Olympic
boycott idea (joining presidential candidate Bill Richardson). For
what its worth, Imagethief thinks that is a stupendously bad idea
and about as likely as sending a US team composed entirely of poodles.
But ideas like that will gain more visibility in the next year.
Previously (and growing by the week):
Bang! China shoots its own Olympic PR in the foot
Does BOCOG need to raise China's Olympic PR game?
Don't politicize the Olympics? It's much too late for that...
AP: China watching NGOs prior to Olympics
Democratic presidential candidates kick around the Olympic boycott
football
Did the "Genocide Olympics" influence China?
Filed under: China, Public Relations and Media, Olympics
