Zài Jiàn (and good riddance)

MANIFESTO

While the closing ceremony at the Olympics will no doubt allude to the wonderful hosts the Chinese have been for the last two weeks, the world has seen just what a closed and, indeed, paranoiac society the nation is. It seems appropriate that the games end concomitant with an episode having to do with the imprisonment of American protesters.

Reporters Without Borders has condemned the Chinese for

police and their civilian auxiliaries repeatedly prevent[ing] journalists from covering demonstrations or investigating subjects which the government regards as sensitive.

"As we feared, the Beijing Olympic games have been a period conducive to arrests, convictions, censorship, surveillance and harassment of more than 100 journalists, bloggers and dissidents," Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Ménard said.

"This repression will be remembered as one of the defining characteristics of the Beijing games. The International Olympic Committee will have to accept much of responsibility for this failure. We think it is vital that the IOC’s members should draw the necessary conclusions in their choice of a president to succeed Jacques Rogge when his term of office is up in a year’s time."

Australian reporters, too, have seen through the masquerade that China has unsuccessfully tried to foist upon the world.

Meanwhile, all the tough talkers can do is express their disappointment that "China had not used the Olympics 'to demonstrate greater tolerance and openness.'" Ho hum.

By God, the US won the most medals of any nation at the games, and that's what's really important, isn't it? The country certainly doesn't want to delve into any of the icky details of the games when it can shriek "U-S-A! U-S-A!" over the sounds of totalitarianism.