BEIJING — China intended the Olympic Games to mark its emergence as a global power worthy of international respect. Instead, the games have provoked a harsh crackdown on dissent, evoking memories of protests and boycotts that marred the games during the Cold War.
The recent sentencing of rights activist Hu Jia to 3½ years in prison on the charge of “inciting subversion of state power” again left China’s leaders open to criticism and prompted condemnation from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who called the sentence “deeply disturbing.”
Mr. Hu, who campaigned for better care for AIDS sufferers and greater autonomy for Tibet, had been held under house arrest with his wife and baby daughter for more than 200 days before he was finally tried at the end of last year.
The sentence re-emphasized the fact that the Communist Party, for all its efforts in soft-power diplomacy, rates a rosy reputation a distant second to one for tight security within its own borders.
“The government prizes domestic stability over international image — stability has been its highest priority in recent years and this is still the case,” said Yongnian Zheng, head researcher at Nottingham University’s China Policy Institute.
Human rights groups say suppression of political dissent has increased because of the Olympics, rather than lessened, and they accuse China of failing to honor the pledge to improve its human rights record that it made when awarded the games.
The tightening of controls is designed to ensure that the Olympics go off without a hitch, but it is also why protests from countries already concerned by China’s governance in Tibet are growing louder.
“This is a reflection of the Chinese government’s contradictory policies, and it is its big dilemma,” Mr. Zheng said.
“On one hand, China needs to improve its international image before the Olympics. But on the other, the government is deeply worried about what could go wrong before the event.”
Noisy protests that disrupted the relay of the Olympic torch through Europe and North America in recent days have made image building even more difficult for Beijing.
After the torch had to be carried almost in secret to avert protests in San Francisco earlier this week, it had a relatively peaceful passage through Buenos Aires in Argentina yesterday.
Runners flanked by rows of security carried the torch past thousands of jubilant Argentines, who showered the parade route with confetti in a celebration, the Associated Press reported. No violence was reported from small groups of fenced-off demonstrators protesting China’s human rights record, who exchanged jeers with pro-China demonstrators.
The Chinese government has shown no intention of ceding to international pressure, and regards any concessions it makes on human rights as a display of weakness. But it is not oblivious to how much its image is suffering.
John Kamm, director of the Dui Hua Foundation, a human rights group that campaigns to free political prisoners, points out that the case of Hu Jia was dealt with unusually quickly once it reached the courts.
“One cannot help but suspect that the relevant authorities were reluctant to announce a judgment against Hu too close to the Olympics, where it might cause image problems, preferring instead to send an early warning to other activists not to make trouble,” he said.
Some government departments recognize the need to play the public relations game. In 2006, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) hired Hill & Knowlton to advise it on handling the media. However, not all government officials concern themselves with the art of spin.
“The sentencing of Hu Jia suggests that no matter the importance that BOCOG or even some parts of the central government might place on China’s international reputation, not all of its government bodies are necessarily coordinated or prioritize that issue the same way,” said a Beijing-based public relations executive.
Mr. Zheng believes the government has “a strong willingness to improve its image,” but many officials lack the skills required to do so.
“Many government bureaucrats fail to see how some things are acceptable in China but totally unacceptable in the West. China needs to communicate more with the international community,” he said.
This problem is personified by the Communist Party boss of Tibet, Zhang Qingli. His infamous character assessment of the Dalai Lama — “a wolf in monk’s robes, a devil with a human face but the heart of a beast” — has become a symbol of how little government propaganda has changed since the Cultural Revolution.
Observers say China is paying a high price for not giving full attention to how it is perceived abroad.
With its increased integration with the outside world, China has had to pay more attention to what the rest of the world thinks, the PR executive said.
The concern for China, though, is that it is too late.
“There is no magic cure for their current image problems. It will be a long, hard slog, and much concrete proof will need to be shown,” said the PR executive.
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