The gold medal for censorship and appeasement goes to the British Olympic Association

Faceless Bureaucrat

Unbelievable! - so much for the Games offering an opportunity to bring pressure to bear on the Chinese regime to put its house in order. Your suggestion is a wise one, let our athletes speak-out collectively and see what the whimpering, simpering ODA does then - do I sense a campaign in the wind?.....

Branka

Athletes who are lucky enough to go to the Olympic games will be going in order to compete. Sportsmen and women are not politicians so why should they be expected to give their personal views? Why is there always such a desire to politicise the Olympic games? This is an opportunity for sportsmen/women to compete against the best from the rest of the world. Those who have such strong views and wish to air them should stay at home.

Fergus Pickering

Sportsmen and women are not politicians but they are people. Of course they do not HAVE to give their views. Perhaps they don't care. Perhaps they approve of dictatorship as a form of government. But if they don't then they should be allowed to say what they like. Don't you think, Branka? No, obviously you don't.

Nicholas Millman

Branka, we shouldn't even be sending a team in the first place and I'm disgusted that we are. When it comes to the PRC Brown's ability to re-point his moral compass in the interests of business opportunity is repulsive but no doubt there are many aspects of this oppressive, censoring, single party state that are attractive to him.

mike

They are athletes, and I will watch to see them compete as athletes. If they're not happy with the conditions placed upon them, then they should do the honourable thing and refuse to go. They train all their lives for this event, and the laptop heroes of this blog want them to give it all up to make an empty gesture of defiance. The gesture will be praised and forgotten within the week. However I would say to those that feel strongly about this matter, go over this year for your hols. and make a gesture yourselves, we who post will salute you.

Lee Pefley

I understand the Labour Party is mooting all-black candidate lists in the belief, apparently, that each physiological niche group ought be represented proportionately. And yet I see no similar movement on behalf of the Lithuanian-British, Jutes, Scotch-Koreans, etc. etc. And besides, aren't these (Labour)the same people who say race doesn't really exist anyway? Were I going to China, I wouldn't waste time ciriticizing that regime while Britain offers such opportunities for comment.

Herbert Thornton

At least the athletes have a choice - if they don't like the conditions China wants its guests to accept, they can elect not to go.

In Canada, exercising free speech of the wrong sort can - after the fact - end up with your being hauled before a so-called Human Rights Tribunal where politically correct bureaucrats mete out punishments with scarcely any more formalities than a traffic warden imposing a summary traffic offence fine.

Faceless Bureaucrat

Did I say ODA? - I meant BOA, of course - apologies, rather too much Claret over the Sunday roast...

Steve, Yorkshire

As the International Olympic Committee is already one of the world's largest politically undemocratic, bureaucratic and pervasive organisations I don't see why there is not remit for athletes to be political as well.

We all know how sensitive China is about maintaining face and shying away from criticism, so I regard the Olympics as an ideal opportunity to force a few in the CCP to blush and have to answer a few questions about their human rights, their relationship with Burma, environment etc... For those who see the Olympics as a 'purely sporting affair' you are incredibly naive...