The Guardian 23 April, 2008
Response grows
to anti-China Olympic coverage
The much-needed response to the China-bashing media coverage of Tibetan separatist protests is growing by the hour. Comments left under online news items on the disruption of the events associated with the carrying of the Olympic torch are now favouring China’s right to hold the games in peace.
In China, demonstrations against the biased coverage of the events in Tibet in the capitalist media have been held in several regional centres. They have also protested the activities of French supermarket chain Carrefour in aiding the Dalai Lama and his supporters’ latest push against the central government.
In Australia, large, peaceful demonstrations by thousands of Chinese students and community members have taken place in Sydney and Melbourne. Around 10,000 supporters of the Games are expected to travel to Canberra to greet the torch on Thursday and voice their opposition to the disruption of Olympic ceremonies. It was expected that supporters of the Tibetan separatists and Falun Gong cult members would try to overshadow the relay with unruly protests. Gatherings in other cities are scheduled to coincide with the April 24 torch relay.
The corporate media is holding to its sensationalist coverage of events with stories of Chinese security officers accompanying the torch being trained to "kill with their bare hands".
As the Games draw nearer and more and more people realise the way in which the Games have been exploited by the anti-China lobby, it is plain that most people are eager for the Olympic spirit of peaceful competition to be upheld.