Comments on: Flag Flap: Fans Ejected for Tibet Protest

By: My Offside Favorites of 2007 - Champions League - The Offside - Soccer News and Opinion from leagues around the world

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 19:01:19 +0000

[...] Freedom of expression? Not in America. [...]

By: chuck

chuck — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 20:21:52 +0000

Instead of playing this game in China, where you can get kicked out of a game for waving a flag, they should have played this game in the United States, so people would be free to wave a flag if they wanted.

By: Lucas

Lucas — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 23:14:27 +0000

Maybe instead of throwing them out of the stadium the people at Real Salt Lake should have run over the protesters with tanks or just machine gunned them in their seats? I mean, they’re cowtowing to the Chinese to begin with, why not go all the way?

Here’s what I wrote to the RSL officials (tfitz@realsaltlake.com, astafne@realsaltlake.com, tnelson@realsaltlake.com, schecketts@realsaltlake.com, dstack@realsaltlake.com)

“If what I have read is true, that you threw fans out of your stadium because they were waving Tibetan and Taiwanese flags, then you are the worst kind of scum and an embarrassment to the MLS, to the American people, and to this country and everything it stands for.”

By: Ian

Ian — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:33:29 +0000

Both good points – I just think sports events are, on the whole, more positive for the way we deal with countries like this than negative. I agree with both of you, though, that we have allowed China to have their way internationally while not being strong enough in our disagreements with them.

By: wsc

wsc — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 15:13:15 +0000

ian – don’t get me wrong, i think the way american diplomacy is carried out in the middle east is terribly misguided. i’m not saying we should shut china out, but rather that our transactions with them need not be free of disapproval of their policies. the u.s. government has been completely silent for decades on tibet (and other human rights issues) just to keep trade arrangements open, how are they supposed to even know that we disagree? (unless we don’t. that’s a sad thought.)

By: Tenzin

Tenzin — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 05:32:23 +0000

I am Tibetan American and strongly believe in the principles on which this nation is founded on. Some of the protesters have experienced Chinese brutality first hand in Tibet. The heavy handedness by the security is quite surprising. I do not think America have to appease China this much. Ian you are right. We all dream of China to be a civilized nation that respects human rights. But lets face it, it is still a wolf in sheep cloth. China is still a communist country that does not respect human rights to its own citizen much less Tibetans, Uighurs and inner mongolians. It has been more than two decades since we have implemented a proactive policy of appeasement and containment vis-a-vis China. But the giant has eaten up all the carrots and our stick has not impacted them at all. Instead we now have more than 230 billion dollar trade deficit with China. It has been nearly doubling every year for the last 4 years. (refer: yaleglobal.yale.edu/about/pdfs/UStrade.pdf).The irony of it all is that US economy has now become directly susceptible to a communist country. Talk about national security. If only the stick had been more robust…..

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 23:10:32 +0000

wsc – The one point that I would disagree with is your stance that sporting competition permits ongoing governmental abuse of power. We have seen over and over again that the way to successfully spread ideas of democracy is through cooperation and dialogue. Isolating those countries we disagree with is a profoundly wrong-headed way of dealing with them. It’s the same technique we’re currently using in Iraq – we disagree with Iran and Syria, and so we are ignoring the fact that we also have some goals in common with them. Personally, I would love to see the Iranian national football team tour the US, just as I enjoyed seeing the Chinese come to visit. When we isolate them and refuse to deal with them until they change their minds, we take ourselves, and the values we claim to stand for, out of the equation. That’s not how you make positive change.

That being said, I think throwing them out was, indeed, a little much.

By: wsc

wsc — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 21:21:01 +0000

chicago, remember that this is america, “land of the free,” but there are plenty of people here who aren’t aware of the political situation in tibet. bringing the flags isn’t an attack on the chinese national soccer team, it’s an attempt to make people think of how “our” (the government’s) relationships with the chinese government (including partaking in sporting events, no matter how fun or beneficial) silently permit the situation in tibet to continue. what other venue would you suggest, seeing as how friendlies against the chinese national team are thus an inherently political activity?

By: frost

frost — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:17:18 +0000

Funny — for a while I thought it was mandatory that each and every Volvo automobile must have a “free Tibet” bumper sticker or be severely chastised…

By: chicago millonario

chicago millonario — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:30:14 +0000

I wasn’t aware that the Chinese national football invaded Tibet.

Seems rather silly to use that venue as a means to protest. The players are there to play and we should let them, and any comments regarding their governments policies should be done at the appropriate time and place. I agree it’s dumb to be asked to leave, but it’s also kinda lame to bring a flag there to being with. Just my opinion.