That a country like China can claim the international prestige of hosting the Olympics is pretty ridiculous. I won’t bother getting into their flagrant human rights abuses and censorship borne of a fear of knowledge; that would be redundant. The question sometimes comes up as to whether someone with the same views as me is anti-China or anti-Chinese government. For me, the answer is most certainly the latter. China’s long history and complex culture is one that any country would be proud to have; I have nothing against China or their people. It’s their frightened, power-hungry, abusive government that has to go. Last night I had the privilege to attend a talk at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club here, with a panel consisting of representative of the Chinese government, a former monk and student of the Dalai Lama, a member of the Free Tibet Network, and a journalist with extensive Chinese/Tibet experience. It was entertaining to say the least.

I have a friend who shares similar views as I, but disagrees with protesting the fact that China got the Olympics – he thinks politics should have no place in a contest of physical prowess. It’s a nice thought but one I can’t really share – I mean, in a perfect world, we wouldn’t need locks on our doors and people wouldn’t be judged on their looks, but that’s the way it is. Personally, I’m delighted every time someone protests this run. Seeing the torch bearers jump into vans and watching the planned run-routes be truncated to nearly nothing makes me smile, because I know it’s pissing off the Chinese government something fierce. Like it or not, a country with their track record should not have the privilege, just as a ‘reformed’ child abuser shouldn’t run a daycare. They both had their chance and they both blew it. Game over. Any event that’s supposed to be a celebration of human achievement, yet needs this level of security has clearly been fucked up somewhere along the line.

Shields & cameras.

Shields & cameras.

Anyway, the panel at the FCC last night consisted of Chen De Hai, Counselor at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Bangkok; James Pringle, a veteran foreign correspondent for Reuters, The Times, Newsweek and IHT – he was also one of the first reporters allowed into Tibet in the 80’s and has interviewed the Dalai Lama twice; Tenzin Josh (born Steven Gluck), ordained as a novice monk by the Dalai Lama in 1990; and Pooja Patel, a coordinator with the Free Tibet Network.

The evening got off with a bang, as Counselor Hai showed us a 20-minute news broadcast of the recent Tibet riots, and then launched into a 45-minute history of Tibet that most already knew, wasting valuable time. The moderator, Dominic Faulder, himself a well known journalist, is not one to let others waste his time, so I was surprised that Hai was allowed to speak so long; my friend suggested that it was a condition for their attendance: don’t interrupt us, which sounds plausible. After that was done (with snickers from the audience at several sad attempts at spinning the Chinese versions of the facts), we heard from Josh, who gave a humble, knowledgeable assessment of the situation. He detailed how the Chinese are essentially breeding Tibetan culture out of existence, and said something that I never thought about before. He said that all the news reports showed Chinese shops being burned, Chinese shops being looted. “That’s because there are no Tibetan shops – the Chinese own everything.” Ouch.

Patel, a slight, pretty Indian girl with fierce eyes, gave a nicely written statement detailing that her organization is not anti-Chinese, but rather pro-human rights, and that China should mind its own business. She kept it short and sweet.

My favorite part of the night was Pringle’s speech, a very funny, eloquently restrained attack on China’s hypocrisy, brutality and cowardice that had many in the audience smiling and nodding their heads. I wish I had a copy to post here – it was a tour-de-force performance, a fine example of the power of the written word. You could practically hear Hai’s temples throbbing.

Just out for an afternoon jog.

Just out for an afternoon jog.

After that followed several questions from the audience, most of them well thought out. One woman started ranting about Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 6-year old Panchen Lama that China removed (coughkidnappedcough) from Tibet in 1989, and who hasn’t been seen since. It was a good question, but she came off a bit crazy – once you start screaming at the panel – any panel – you kind of lose credibility. One journalist, in response to Hai’s claims that the Chinese have proof that the Dalai Lama organized the Tibet riots, asked what that proof was. Hai’s English isn’t great, so I didn’t fully understand what he responded with, but it sure didn’t answer the question.

My biggest problem with the whole night was, obviously, with Hai and his delegation. I mean, above and beyond the whole ‘working to defend a mostly-evil empire’ thing, surely a country with China’s resources and obvious intelligence could send someone better than him. He didn’t have an original thought the whole night – even audience questions, obviously not planned out beforehand – were answered with a pre-written statement from the stack of papers he had in front of him. The language he used also served to strip him of any street cred – he sounded like the guy from the (in)famous 1984 commercial – ranting and raving about the might of the people and China’s return to glory; he came off like the crazy Great-Uncle that everyone has. They would have been better served by sending someone who could think on his feet, engage the audience and use language consistent with the decade that we’re living in.

At any rate, it was an interesting night. I’m kind of hoping that the Olympics in Beijing crash and burn, but that’s just my morbid curiosity of wanting to see what would happen next. Judging from the way Counselor Hai handled himself, China could use some egg on its face – it might do it some good.