Beijing Olympics a disaster?

Perhaps this question will be met with criticism, cocked eyebrows or even applause and laughter. Either way I must know: of all the places in the world, why Beijing? Why not London? Or Canada, or even Australia? Yes, it's in China and yes, everyone should go to China at least once in their lives, but to host the Olympics there, leaving the athletes with no choice but to breathe in the toxic, polluted air, is mind boggling.

In an effort to clean up their image prior to the Olympics, Beijing has ordered thousands of polluting factories in and around the city to relocate or shut down in order to ease smog levels. Drivers are only allowed to drive on the road three times during that week. Beggars on street corners are being moved to their home provinces or to out-of-town camps.

While Beijing has done much to "clean-up," it continues to strive for perfection and will do so at the expense of 500,000 cats. Yes, cats.

A recent Fox News report, said thousands of cats, some abandoned by their owners, were dumped into death camps after their owners were told that they carry deadly diseases, such as SARS. As a result, the poor creatures are being crammed into cages and sent by truck to the outskirts of the city.

Religious freedom in China is not necessarily freedom, but tolerance for a set of chosen religions, such as Buddhism, Islam, Taoism, Protestanism and Chinese Catholicism. Leaders of these religions are hand picked by the Chinese Communist Party. While the CCP does allow these five religions to be practiced, they must be practiced with the understanding that the CCP remains the supreme authority. Other religions must be practiced in secret.

China worship

As China has grown prosperous over the years, the CCP has looked to a new god, the god of wealth and money. These are ideas that Tibet refuses to acknowledge.

The CCP has taken it upon themselves to stick their nose in Tibet's religious practices and therefore set forth outrage from Tibet. Beijing has announced that the CCP is the only authority to approve reincarnations and has declared itself the "real Buddha for Tibetans," said Zhang Qingli, party secretary of the Tibetan Autonomo us Region in a speech last year, according to the Asia Times.

The International Olympic Committee chose Beijing in order to give China a chance to show the world what it has to offer. Beijing promised to respect human rights until the end of the games. Beijing's actions prior to the set date for the games have shown otherwise.

Many protestors in Paris, London and San Francisco took to the streets in an effort to take the torch away and put it out, showing the world that having Beijing host this most coveted world event, is a poor decision on behalf of the IOC. As a result, demonstrators have placed those carrying the torch at risk. Security measures have included beefing up the police watch and re-routing the torch run at the last minute. Demonstrators in Salt Lake City faced off against supporters from Tibet and China in The Global Human Rights Torch Relay demonstration.

But even with this slight silver lining ahead, the fact still remains that the Olympics are being held in Beijing, that Beijing is killing off thousands of cats, ditching beggars to the outskirts where they will not be seen, and that religious freedoms will continue to be questioned in Tibet.

If that's not enough, it was said that while clean up of the pollution in Beijing has started, it won't be enough and will affect athletes once the Olympics begin on Aug. 8. Though the athletes will likely not be harmed, they will be exposed to the elements and their performance might be hindered. Some may even resort to wearing masks during their competition. That's a pretty picture. Let's get a close-up on the U.S. 1,600-meter relay team as they pass the baton off to each other, muttering "stick" underneath their masks.

All this chaos aside, there is some good news: Tanzania was not met with protest and the torch relay went smoothly. In Muscat, Oman, the torch was handed off smoothly and met without protest. And the torch was handed off without a hitch in Islamabad, Pakistan, where the route was also changed. Buddhists called for a peaceful hand off in Kuala Lumpur. In Beijing, support for the Olympics can be seen on every souvenir coffee mug and in every gift shop. At least Beijing will be thriving with economic prosperity, thanks to visiting athletes and their fans.

Alex may be reached at prospector@utep.edu