2008 Olympics: Media puzzled about dealings with China

 
At the European Newspaper Congress in Vienna, the right way to deal with China during the Olympic Games was discussed controversially by various media people. The only point on which there was agreement was that the attention currently focused on the country and the human rights situation should be maintained after the summer. "Reporting must continue after the games", is how Pressetext.ch summarized the tenor of the event. Human rights organizations such as Reporters Without Borders (ROG) emphasized above all the moral approach to the issue of China and the 2008 Olympics. In contrast, Peter Rothenbühler, editor-in-chief of Le Matin, took a pragmatic approach to the topic and warned against transferring political issues to the athletes. On the other hand, he even criticized the IOC as an undemocratic, slightly corrupt organization.
Contrary to the opinion that athletes should be completely removed from political responsibility, Uwe Vorkötter from the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper saw a clear connection between the Olympic Games and politics. "Ten years ago, the Games were awarded to China for political reasons - not least because it was hoped that this would set things in motion in the country."
Elmar Oberhauser, responsible for broadcasting the games at ORF, was of the opinion that Beijing should not have been chosen as the venue in the first place. It was neither about sport nor about human rights, but about money. He also assumed that interest in China, the Tibet conflict and other problems in the region would soon wane again after the Olympics.
Rothenbühler, on the other hand, sees the Games as an opportunity to finally be able to report extensively on China as a whole. In his opinion, the fact that the 2008 Olympics were awarded to Beijing is not a mistake. "China is currently the most exciting world power. If we were to proceed strictly according to human rights criteria, there would be almost nowhere else to award the Games, not even the USA."
For his part, Kelsang Gyaltsen, the Dalai Lama's envoy, hopes that the media will report the facts and shed light on the background. He does not expect any explicit pro-Tibet reporting.