Has Chinas role as Olympic host this year encouraged the authorities to improve their human rights record?
No. If anything it seems to have made things worse, as the Chinese government tries to ensure a “harmonious” event. The international human rights watchdog Amnesty International says in a recent report that “the crackdown on peaceful activists has intensified as a direct result of China’s hosting of the Olympic Games. Several of the activists … have been targeted because they have explicitly linked human rights and the Olympics, and have been among the most harshly treated.” The government’s own statistics show that 742 people were arrested for “endangering state security” last year – more than double the 2005 figure, and the highest number since 1999. What chance of a fair trial do you stand in China? Companies with commercial cases before the courts say Chinese judges are becoming more professional and fairer – unless a state-owned business is involved, in which case it can generally expect favorable treatment. In criminal and political cases, however, sentences are decided not by
