The news is out that China is cracking down on Tibet, and there are reports that between 30 and "hundreds of people" have been arrested and killed as protesters and dissidents. Now, protesters around the world are calling upon nations to boycott the Olympics being held in Beijing. The USA is caught between a policy of engagement - and the fact that China has a significant trade surplus - and the desire to support the peaceful protests in Tibet.
In Sydney, protesters scaled a wall surrounding China's consulate and removed the Chinese national flag and tried to replace it with a Tibetan flag. Four people were arrested when police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd after a plain clothes officer had been attacked.What do our readers think? Should America boycott the games over these violations of human rights? Or would such a move be counterproductive... or simply none of our business?
Tibet's government-in-exile urged the United Nations to intervene to end what it called "urgent human rights violations" by China in the region.