The Star

April 09, 2008 Edition 2

It seems as though the Olympic torch will be dogged by protest and controversy as it is carried around the world on its journey to the opening ceremony at the 2008 Games in Beijing, China.

Protesters in France managed to snuff out the flame of the torch on a number of occasions in what French President Nicholas Sarkozy called a "sad spectacle".

Sad it certainly was; because if the aim of the protesters was to induce the Chinese government to alter its stance on Tibet, it would have achieved very little. Indeed, the comments emanating from Beijing indicate that the authorities have been angered more than anything else.

We are not for a moment suggesting that the Chinese crackdown in Tibet recently is not serious. But what we do question is whether continued protests of this nature are not counter-productive.

The reality is that the Olympic Games, long held up as a symbol of unity for humankind, will force the Chinese authorities to open up their country, and allow in more outside influences.

And, with the eyes of the world upon it, the Beijing government would be bound to act with more restraint, not only in Tibet, but in dealing with those within its own borders that it considers to be dissidents.

China, it must be acknowledged, has already made tremendous progress from being an impoverished, centrally-controlled Communist state to an increasingly wealthy, outgoing country driven by market forces. Within the last decade, more than 140-million of its citizens have been hoisted up out of the rut of poverty. How many other countries can claim anything like that?

Its economy is the fastest-growing in the world and it is already regarded as a financial superpower whose influence across the globe is growing daily.

The old ways of China, repression, control, blind obedience, are already well on their way into the dustbin of history.

This process is irreversible and what China needs more than protests is encouragement, engagement and dialogue. And hopefully, the Olympic flame will light a brighter future.