Is politicizing the Olympic games contrary to the Olympic spirit?

After the international media outrage about the restricted internet access and the spying on internet usage by the Chinese government the IOC could convince China to unblock (parts) of the Internet. According to the Chinese government, websites like amnesty international have been blocked to prevent journalists to inject political subjects into reports about the Olympic games. (in fact, this is the first time this website is accessible from Beijing)

In an interview with foreign reporters, Chinese President Hu Jintao has said efforts to politicize next week’s Beijing Games would not work and were contrary to the Olympic spirit.

It runs counter to the Olympic spirit and also to the shared aspirations of the people of the world.

The latest rail by Chinese people against the Great Firewall shows that the only aspirations this is contrary to are those of the Chinese government.

We also hope you will provide objective reports of what you see here.

Translation: Do not report about things you don`t see.

Considering that China tries to hide parts of Beijing behind walls, it appears that the interpretation of the term “objective reports” can be quite subjective.

I don’t think politicizing the Olympic Games will do any good to address these issues.

While telling us not to inject political subjects, the Olympic games were used by the Chinese government for propaganda right from the start.