To Game or Not to Game

I have been thinking for a while if I should talk about it; what should I say? how should I say it? I admit that I am not educated enough to comment on the Tibet issue. Political issues are always complicated, longer the history, more complicated it gets. Tibet has been part of the Chinese map for a long time, much longer than Northern Ireland is part of the UK, longer than North America was 'discovered' from the Natives people. I am not trying to say who is right or who is wrong. I am just saying sometimes reality is not as black and white as it seems because there are often many sides of the same story.

There are hundreds and thousands of Pro-Olympic game demonstrators in London and Paris during the torch run. You probably didn't get to see much of it. It is probably because according to the western world, showing one side of the story is also part of the freedom and democracy. Most of these demonstrators are Chinese living over seas. We know there is not much human rights in China, the whole China, not just Tibet. We as Chinese were there when Tiananman Square event happened. We know what our government is. We want freedom, human rights and all those beautiful things of mankind as much as everyone else if not more. You may ask then why they were there supporting the torch and the game? I think I have an idea.

You see most of the Free Tibet demonstrators are westerners. Most of them have never been to Tibet. Most of them probably have no idea where Tibet is, let alone the culture or history of Tibet or China for that matter. That's fine. You don't have to lose a loved one to hate war. The problem is they never bother to distinguish bewteen Chinese government and China as a country and its people. Unlike you people from the free world, we never get to vote. If you check out those Free Tibet online BBS, you will see some of them plainly hate China as a country and Chinese people. To a degree you might think Chinese killed their parents. It gets really personal now. If you find that hard to imagine, try to picture a huge crow people you have never met screaming on top of their lungs 'Shame on Canada', 'Shame on Canadian'. Yeah it feels like that. Kind of like this:



It feels like it is the whole world against us, which is nothing new anyways. Couple of hundred years ago, eight nations army marched into Forbidden City. They brought opium, and when they left they took millions pounds of gold and silver as well as Macao and Hong Kong. How is the shame actually on us?! We didn't go to other countries to start wars. We didn't set up colonies all over the world and exploit everyone to the bone. We didn't turn human into slaves. How is the shame actually on us? How are the people who did all those and still are doing it suddenly the model citizens of the world?!

The Olympic game doesn't belong to China. We don't own the game. I believe we all know the meaning of the Olympic torch. When it is forced to be put out, the shame is not just on China. Meanwhile we have set up this great show in Beijing. The door is open and everyone is more than welcome to join us. Most of those countries screaming boycott went to the 1936 Olympic Game in Germany. If you think it's better to party with the Nazis, it is better you just stay home.

At last certainly not the least, I would like to wish with all my heart that the Tibet issue would be solved peacefully someday, and may human rights, democracy, freedom and peace shine on everyone.