Framing a Flaming Issue: The Beijing
Olympic Torch Topic
On the eighth day of the eight month of the year 2008, fireworks
for the XX1X (29th) Olympiad began in the Opening Ceremony at Beijing’s Bird’s
Nest, welcoming 10,500 athletes from 204 countries and a global audience of 1.2
billion (recall: China has 1.3 billion people!). By the end of the event, 43 new
world records and 132 new Olympic records had been set, and China had been
observed on the world stage. But what I’ve been interested in is what preceded
all this activity: The controversies surrounding China as host, western media
perpetuating notions of Tibetan and Taiwanese oppression, Falun Gong
suppression, and human rights violations in general.
Read more about the the torch
or
see the torch design
