China, Olympics, and human rights…oh my!

Ricky Reilly might be gone, but the back page of Sports Illustrated is still pumping out some worthwhile pieces. S.L. Price wrote one about the Olympic committee granting China this year’s summer Olympics with the hopes that China would work on its human rights. But they haven’t. The Olympics are here and the international community and the Olympic committee are turning a blind-eye.

Here’s an excerpt:

China? In the seven years since being awarded the Games it has emerged as an economic superpower — potent enough to welcome the Olympics even as it freely flouts the Olympic spirit. Why should China keep its vow on human rights? No country will boycott the Games, and no sponsor will pull out of them, if it means losing a foothold in the market of the future.

I think about everything in terms of the family I met in China – Li, Zhoun, and their son Lin Xin. China is growing, but the wealth isn’t being shared. Even if it was, would it really matter? Lin Xin’s parents might make more money than the workers I met in Bangladesh, but the Bangladeshi’s have a better chance of standing up for their rights. And it’s hard to put a price on that.

 
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