Nicholas Kristof of the The International Herold Tribune tried to register a protest for the Beijing Olympics and made a video about the procedure. He talks about the difficulty of his endeavor and comes to the conclusion that there was no actual process for allowing protests (as mirrored in the Economist excerpt below) but then goes on to talk about Freedom in China today and about how China has made real progress in given its people more freedom - allowing them to move more freely, marry more easily, switch jobs, and generally live their lives more like they want to. This is not to ignore many of the very real issues it still very much faces but an important thing to be aware of and keep in mind. Nothing new here but an interesting video nonetheless.
The Economist on the
lack of protests:
For all the good cheer generated by the gold medals, the party is clearly nervous of the slightest challenge to its authority. Having named three Beijing parks where protests would be allowed during the Olympics, the police turned down all of at least 77 applications for permission to hold demonstrations. Among those who applied were two women in their 70s who wanted to complain about inadequate compensation for being relocated from their homes. The authorities responded to their request by sentencing both to a year in labour camp, though the sentences are suspended as long as they behave well.
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