Steven Spielberg has decided to withdraw as the artistic advisor to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing stating “my conscience will not allow me to continue with business as usual.” Activists are looking for other corporate sponsors to respond in the same way.
Why? Because of China’s ties to Sudan, whose military conflict has killed between 200 and 400 thousand and displaced over 2.5 million in Darfur. China currently receives oil from Sudan, and in turn sells weapons and aircraft to the Sudanese government. A UN investigation shows that the majority of the weapons used to attack civilians were of Chinese origin (or so I’ve read, I can’t find the actual UN report).
Interestingly enough, China has veto power in the UN Security Council and has used it to oppose sanctions or punitive measures against Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, thus allowing the genocide in Darfur to continue. Again, why?
- Many people believe that is because of China’s dependence on Sudan for its oil (China buys 2/3 of Sudan’s oil, representing about 8% of China’s total oil consumption).
- Some believe Africa is China’s new frontier, suggesting that China may send 300M people to Africa to solve its problems of over-population and pollution(!). China has, indeed, made the largest investment in Africa (the IBIC bought 20% of South Africa’s Standard Bank in Africa).
- Another ideology is China’s non-intervention pillar. It’s not about oil - oil is a fungible commodity; any one barrel can be exchanged for any other barrel, in theory, and China could easily buy its oil elsewhere. Instead, this third ideology suspects China vetoed sanctions against Khartoum because China supports non-intervention into domestic affairs. If you remember the situation in Burma (also a conflict over oil), China reaffirmed its non-intervention foreign policy. It does not want anyone else getting involved in any other country’s domestic civil affairs, perhaps especially its own.
Side note: Google Earth offers images of the crisis in Darfur (via Wired). Wow - the power of the internet amazes me.
