Dousing the Olympic torch
Protesters are absolutely right to disrupt the torch relay leading up to the Beijing Summer Olympics, said the Madison, Wisc., Capital Times. China shouldn't get to use the Games as a "fig leaf" to hide its human rights abuses. True, but putting
What happened
The Olympic torch arrived in San Francisco so that runners could carry it through the city after crowds protesting China’s human rights record in Paris and London forced organizers to douse the flame twice—a rare occurence. China accused Tibetan separatists of violating the spirit of the Olympics by disrupting the ceremonial relay leading up to the Summer Games in Beijing. The International Olympic Committee is for the first time considering cutting short the relay that proceeds the Games, or changing the flame’s route to avoid protests. (The New York Times, free registration)
What the commentators said
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“Three cheers for the protesters!” said the Madison, Wisc., Capital Times in an editorial. “They refused to allow China to use the Olympics as a fig leaf to cover the shame of its human rights abuses.” And their attempt to douse the torch with water as it passed through Paris “was absolutely appropriate.”
It was absolutely wrong to treat people as rioters for standing up for human rights, said Jean D’Ormesson in France’s Le Figaro, but putting out the torch accomplishes nothing. The damage was done the moment Beijing was awarded the 2008 Olympics. “The only way to get out of this situation now with as little damage as possible” is to put sports above politics and let the Games proceed, but to move forward with the “firm resolution” to commit with all our force to help “the cause of the Tibetans and human rights” outside of the context of the Olympics.
“Judging by the elaborate preparations by protesters” for the San Francisco leg of the relay, said Aileen McCabe in the Montreal Gazette, “the worst is yet to come for the symbolic flame.” In fact, China will probably continue to be embarrassed until May 5, when the flame arrives in China and the “authoritarian government has the ability to guarantee a triumphant passage through most parts of its far-flung territory.” Until mid-June, when the torch arrives in Tibet. Then, “even with a massive security presence, Beijing may be hard pressed to maintain the harmony envisioned in its Olympic slogan: One World, One Dream.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
The lab-made meat that 'could kill the EU'
Under The Radar Concerned at 'unintended consequences for farming' some farmers are 'turning rabid' over the rise of cultured meat
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Magazine solutions - August 2, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 2, 2024
By The Week Staff Published
-
Magazine printables - August 2, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 2, 2024
By The Week Staff Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published