A Letter to Pitt News |
Dear Editor, The Pitt News published an article on April 8, 2008, titled “Boycott Beijing.” After reading, the members of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) at University of Pittsburgh felt offended that the author took an unfair and uneducated stance in favoring and encouraging the boycotting of the upcoming Olympics in China. As a result, we would like to make a complaint to Pitt News. First and foremost, we strongly believe that it is unfair and somewhat imprudent to try to taint any sporting event with unrelated issues such as politics. With the Olympics being the grandest of all such events, injecting a sensitive political issue into this spectacle is extremely unjustifiable. As NBA star Dirk Nowitzki stated: Sport itself is non-political and there are athletes that work for the Olympics for four years. There is no reason for these guys now, not to participate. (http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008/04/18/dirk-nowitzki-not-a-fan-of-boycotting-olympics/#comments) The Olympic Games are rare celebratory occasions that bring the world’s best athletes together to compete on an international stage. The purpose is not only to compete for athletic supremacy, but to also present a fantastic exhibit for fans around the world to enjoy. Therefore, the participation of any extraneous elements that can potentially strain this objective should be either prevented or minimized. Unfortunately, this article tried to do the exact opposite, which is clearly unwarranted. The article’s calling for a boycott seemed to be invoked by the recent events in Tibet. The content led us to believe that the author is not very knowledgeable with the background of Tibet. This is somewhat stunning since it is actually quite easy to learn about Tibet from reliable and neutral sources online. To save you some time, we have provided an internet link below to a presentation made by Chris Nebe, a western expert, regarding Tibetan history, culture, and politics. Chris Nebe is the creator of the multi-award-winning Mysterious China series, which is a collection of documentaries on China’s cultural heritage. Our hope is that this video will give the author, as well as perhaps others, a better understanding of Tibet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsoc4-QnplY In conclusion, CSSA hope that the staff of Pitt News can understand and appreciate our position. The Olympics is a most sacred event that brings the world together. Antagonizing this tradition would be truly tragic since that would only serve to divide people and countries instead of allowing them to set aside their differences to come together. We believe that Pitt News, being a respected source of public opinion, influence, and news, certainly should not participate in discouraging the participation of the Games. Therefore, we are very disappointed and offended by the fact that the article mentioned above was published in the paper. We strongly feel that Pitt News must take responsibility for its actions. Consequently, we would also like to request for an apology from the Pitt News, and implore the staff of Pitt News to avoid publishing such articles in the future. Thank you very much for your time and attention. Sincerely, The Chinese Students and Scholars Association P.S. – Here is another informal, yet very informative video that sheds more light on Tibet. |