Countless others have also been punished in connection with the Olympics. Ye Guozhu was sentenced to four years in prison for protesting forced evictions related to the Olympics; Yang Chunlin, a former factory worker, has been charged with subverting state security for launching an online petition called "We Want Human Rights, Not the Olympics"; and Liu Jie was sentenced to re-education through labor for protesting land issues. The list goes on.
Li Xiaorong, professor of political philosophy at the University of Maryland, saysthere's been a systematic rounding up of undesirables--the homeless, vagabonds or petitioners--from the streets of the capital, adding that people were being forcibly sent back home, sentenced to re-education camps and detention centers, even confined to mental hospitals. "The government doesn't want these poor and downtrodden coming onto the streets of Beijing in the run-up to the Olympics," says Li. "It wouldn't look good for the image of China as a powerful and wealthy country."
So far, the government is impervious to criticisms.
"Generally speaking, they don't worry too much about international pressure," says Teng Biao, professor of law at the China University of Political Science and Law."The Chinese government feels it's very powerful and its position on the world stage is verystrong."
That was until February 12, when Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg rocked Beijing with his public resignation as an artistic adviser to the Olympics. Spielberg expressed disappointment that China had not done more to halt the violence in the western Sudanese region of Darfur. China provides weapons to Sudan and accounts for two-thirds of its oil exports, and critics expect it to exert influence over the Khartoum government. Spielberg may have hoped to change policy on Darfur by working within the system, but progress did not materialize.
When asked to comment on Spielberg's announcement, US President George Bush told the BBC that he intended to attend the Olympics."I have a little different platform than Steven Spielberg, so I get to talk to President Hu Jintao,"" Bush boasted."I do remind him that he can do more to relieve the suffering in Darfur."
Many human-rights activists argue, however, that quiet diplomacy has no impact on China.
Human Rights Watch's Bequelin says that beginning in 2006, the government went after every major human-rights activist, ticking off a half dozen names. He blames the international community for remaining"passive, silent and complicit" in the face of this campaign.
"All they do is raise these issues privately," he says. "But this is nonsense. At such a low level there is no impact. The only thing that has a strong impact is when you speakout."
Human-rights workers say that attendance of world leaders at the Olympics undermines the possibility of effecting change in China."The Games are going ahead, and these leaders have accepted invitations to come without making any conditions for improving humanrights," says Li.
Public world pressure is spiraling, however, and Communist Party leadership is no doubt beginning to worry.
In January, Prince Charles, an ardent supporter of the Dalai Lama, announced that he would not attend the Olympics.
Also on February 12, nine Nobel Peace laureates, including South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Elie Wiesel, joined other celebrities in sending a joint letter to Hu, urging him to do something to halt the bloodshed inDafur.
Spielberg's resignation sent a flurry of news reports focused on China's role in Dafur and the human-rights situation at home.
Dream for Darfur, backed by actress Mia Farrow, announced on February 14 that it would pressure 19 companies associated with the games, including Coca-Cola,McDonald's, Visa, Panasonic and Adidas, to highlight their "moral obligation" regardingChina's role in Sudan. There's also talk of a call for turning off TV sets while advertisers sell their products during the games. Billions of dollars of business ride on the global broadcast of the Olympics.
There's speculation that music producer Quincy Jones, who is writing the theme song for the Olympics, could be the next high-profile figure to abandon the games. A spokesman told a British newspaper that the reports were"speculation," but conceded that Jones was "keeping an eye on the situation."
Celebrity pressures aside, the Communist Party can expect a wide range of interest groups to launch actions over the next few months: supporters of a free Tibet, house Christians, Falun Gong adherents, political dissidents, death-penalty opponents, anti-abortionists and environmentalists--just to name a few.
Teng says he doesn't favor a boycott of the Olympics, arguing it might result in a severe government backlash against opponents."But if foreign countries don't give China pressure on human rights," he says, "the Olympics will bring no good to China atall."
The year 2008 promises to be the most politicized Olympics in recent memory andit's taking place in the internet age where information zips around the globe with a push of a send button. The party machine will find itself hard-pressed to deal with the deluge of criticism that itcan't manipulate.
By seeking global acceptance of the wealth and power of the one-party state through the glitzy Olympics, China may be discovering the cost. Policy changes and liberalization required to win theworld's approval could weaken its iron grip on power. And that's something China is not willing to negotiate.