CHINA:China's Olympic coverage on state broadcaster CCTV yesterday evening focused on athletes preparing for the games in August and neither the TV channel, which boasts one billion viewers, nor any other domestic media, gave any space to Steven Spielberg's decision to quit as artistic adviser to the 2008 games over China's inaction on Darfur.
There was a deafening silence too from Beijing's Olympic organisers who met last night to discuss the US director's decision. The initial reserve from Olympic organisers showed China is keen to limit any negative fallout, and sources close to the organisers stressed that it was Spielberg's personal decision to step down.
The absence of a report on his decision, which tarnishes the reputation of the Beijing games, underlines the lack of free speech and media freedom in China that many of the human rights groups are trying to make ahead of the Olympics.
There is a view among ordinary people that Beijing has no monopoly on selling weapons to, and buying oil from, corrupt, evil regimes. They are quick to reject critical voices from the US, pointing to the Iraq war, detention without trial at Guantánamo and the practice of rendition, as examples of how the US has lost the moral imperative in international affairs and should not be interfering in China's business.
Not everyone backs the Olympics in China, but the vast majority of people are fiercely proud at what they see as a massive global celebration to mark their emergence on to the world stage.
Beijing has issued many warnings against politicising the Olympics, and statements in coming days are sure to reiterate this view.
Steven Spielberg is not an especially well-known figure in China, and his decision to take part in organising the games probably did more to boost his profile in China than the entire Indiana Jones canon. Chinese director Zhang Yimou, who is orchestrating the opening and closing ceremonies, is the real celebrity among the organisers, followed by Taiwanese director Ang Lee, who is acting as a consultant.
While local media were silent, there were online reactions to foreign media reports of Spielberg's decision. "I'm angry! Why connect sports and art with politics? Reality, democracy, human rights . . . what do they look like? Don't bother with Sudan and China. Are you perfect, America? Do you have right to criticise other countries?" wrote a webizen whose name was given as "A man awake".
Another webizen whose name was given as Alex said the Olympics were for the whole world.
"Mr Spielberg did not understand the essence of the Olympic spirit. I didn't get what his conscience has to do with the success or failure of the China Olympics.
"If the Chinese government has made mistakes in its Sudan policies, self-criticism is necessary. But this should not be mangled with the Olympics."
The decision was widely welcomed by rights groups. "Repression in China is on the rise, and Olympic sponsors, governments, or world leaders - especially those planning to attend the games - can't pretend otherwise," said Human Rights Watch spokeswoman Minky Worden.
"These influential players should be prepared to show the steps they are taking to address the worsening rights climate in China, or they risk being tarnished by a human rights debacle," she said.
A statement from the Chinese embassy in Washington said that activists who link atrocities in the Darfur region in Sudan with the Beijing Olympics are being "unreasonable, irresponsible and unfair".
"As the Darfur issue is neither an internal issue of China, nor is it caused by China, it is completely unreasonable, irresponsible and unfair for certain organisations and individuals to link the two as one," the statement said.
Chinese embassy spokesman Wang Baodong said efforts to link the conflict in Darfur "contravenes the universally recognised principle of non-politicisation of sports, and runs counter to the Olympic spirit".
China had played a constructive role in diplomacy to resolve the Darfur conflict, the embassy said.
John Downes adds:
The decision by Spielberg to withdraw from his role in the Olympic Games was warmly welcomed by Irish aid agency Goal yesterday. Its chief executive, John O'Shea, said the international community should follow his example and called on the Irish Government to threaten to withdraw the Irish team from the games unless China permits the deployment of an international force in Darfur.
"It is abundantly clear that China is preventing the deployment of the UN force. And this is resulting in horrendous misery for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people," he said.