How Will China Handle the Spread of "Genocide Olympics"?

As time progresses, The Darfur crisis remains to be one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisises. Hundreds of thousands have died or suffered from war crimes, starvation, and disease. Sudan’s government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these ongoing crimes by denying UN intervention. Today, more people are reaching out to China for diplomatic assistance. A growing number of activists argued that Darfur needs China to forcefully use its power and influence to help end the massive violence by imposing sanctions on trade. However, China continues to show little effort. For the past two years, the Bush Administration accused China of failing to use its power and influence as they refused to cease arms control trade. President Bush argued that China’s leadership is crucial because they have the ability to pressure Khantoum to allow UN peacekeeping operations. Instead, China refrained from being the diplomatic protector, by not voting for the UN Security Council Resolution 1706, which authorized UN peacekeeping operations in Sudan.

In January of 2008, President Hu Jiantou announced that China will remain close ties with Sudan. President Hu Jiantou argued that China needs to acquire foreign oil reserves in order to balance their energy consumption. China has invested billions of dollars in Sudan’s oil industry and is the major weapon supplier. These weapon deliveries include ammunition, tanks, helicopters, fighter aircraft, and antitank mines. The constant exchange of weapons is contributing to the 200,000 lives lost and the 2.5 million people that have been driven from their homes.

Beijing's determination to keep the 2008 Olympic Games from being tainted provoked the U.S. and many nongovernmental organizations to publicize China’s failure to take action. In May of 2007, 108 U.S. House of Representative members sent a warning that the Beijing Olympics could be endangered if China does not modify its trade policies with Sudan. Today, Mia Farrow started a campaign called, “Genocide Olympics,” which aimed to boycott the Beijing Olympics. Initially, Farrow called on corporate sponsors and celebrities to publicly denounce China’s actions in Sudan. Film Director, Steven Spielberg joined the campaign, which is very significant because he is the artistic adviser to China for the Olympic Games. Spielberg sent a rebuttal letter to President Hu Jiantoo, accusing China for being partially responsible for the killings in Darfur and asking the government to bring an end to the human suffering there.