"We're not naive, nor blind," Rogge said. "We knew there would be criticism."
"I believe these games have opened up the country," he said. "On one hand, people will understand China better with all its challenges. They will remain critical on many issues, that is their right. On the other hand, the Chinese definitely have experienced that they cannot live in splendid isolation."
Taken from the Associated Press
Pitchin' In
12 years ago
3 comments:
The IOC and the Chinese government set up 'Protest Pens' where protestors would be corraled while the protested.
There were no protests.
People who applied to protest in the protest pens were arrested and jailed.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/peter_foster/blog/2008/08/20/the_ioc_plays_appeaser_in_beijing
Certainly not without their controversy, these Games. That is for certain.
But I just thought that Rogge articulated, far more elegantly than I could, why it was important for China to host the games in the first place.
Agreed.
Post a Comment