Writing on Slate, Anne Applebaum presents a compelling argument that the west should boycott Beijing. As she points out, sporting boycotts have been effective in the past (particularly against South Africa) and there is a long history of politics at the Olympics (Mexico City, anyone?). But more importantly, she points out the truth that everyone wants to deny: that the Beijing Olympics are not just about sport. Like the 1936 Berlin Olympics, they are being hosted as a giant act of political propaganda, with the aim of improving China's standing on the world stage, and announcing its arrival as a global superpower. And every national team which attends, every athlete which competes there, is helping that purpose.
What the west needs to make clear is that countries which deny political freedom and murder their own citizens will never be accepted as members of the international community, no matter how rich and powerful they are. If China wants that status, if it wants respect as well as fear, it will need to clean up its act. Sadly, our politicians are likely to be too spineless to make that argument - so we will have to do it for them.
