As violence in Tibet and Darfur and calls for a boycott of the upcoming Beijing Olympics opening ceremony continue, student groups have taken different positions, or none at all, on the issue.
Increasing violence in Tibet and continuing violence in Darfur have raised concerns that China has not lived up to the human rights standard of an Olympic host. Many, including members of Congress, have urged President Bush not to attend the games' opening ceremony in August. The House of Representatives passed a resolution officially asking him not to attend, though it is non-binding. Many European heads of state have already declared they will not attend the opening ceremony of the games.
Last week, even the International Olympic Committee, the organization that selected Beijing to host the games, took the rare step of criticizing China's human rights record, the New York Times reported Friday.
Among students who have expressed support for a boycott are those concerned with the violence in Darfur.
"It's overly simplistic to say the Olympics are just a sporting event," said Scott Warren '09, president of the Darfur Action Network, Brown's chapter of STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, both of which he founded. Warren added that a boycott of the opening ceremony has the potential to make a powerful statement, especially since the leaders of England, France and Germany have already pledged not to attend.
However, Warren said a boycott of the games themselves would be irresponsible. "A complete boycott is unfair to the athletes," Warren said.
The Chinese Students Association, among other groups, has no official opinion on whether the Olympics should be boycotted to protest the country's human rights record, citing its identity as a cultural rather than political group. "CSA's members all come from different backgrounds and have different viewpoints," CSA President Julia Chiang '09 said. "It would not be fair to generalize and give you one stance on the issue."
Still, it held an event April 4 where students could sign a flag that will be hung in the Beijing Olympic stadium this summer.
Chiang said the event was well-received. People were excited and surprised that the flag was actually going to be displayed at the Olympics this summer, she said.
Chiang said the only negative reception to the event was a single student promoting a boycott of the Olympics on the Facebook event for the flag signing.
Putzer Hung '10, publicity chair for the Brown Taiwan Society, also felt his group should not take a political stance.
"The people in the group all have different views on the subject, and I don't think I have the right to speak for the entire organization," he wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
"The Brown Taiwan Society is purely a cultural organization and we do not take any political stands," he added.
Hung said he personally doesn't support an Olympic boycott. "I don't think it would actually accomplish anything," he said.
Boycotting the Olympics could be taken as an attack not on the Chinese government, but on the people who have expressed a great deal of genuine excitement about the upcoming games, said Visiting Assistant Professor of History John Delury, a specialist on modern China.
The International Olympic Committee decided it was time for China to get a chance to host the event, Delury said. "The world community knew what they were getting into."
Delury added that the situation hasn't gotten worse since China won the bid for the Olympics.
From the perspective of Chinese citizens, he said, the main significance of the Olympic Games is a moment in which China plays host to the world.
"Putting ourselves in their shoes, there's a legitimate concern of being let down," Delury said.
