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REQUIRED IMAGE

REQUIRED IMAGE

In The Media

Evaluating the Olympics

China used the Beijing Olympics as a showcase for its new found economic clout and ascendancy as a leading member of the international community. Although the resounding success of the Games has bolstered China's authoritarian regime and shielded it from the scrutiny it deserves on human rights issues, China deserves praise for embracing the world.

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By Douglas H. Paal
Published on Aug 26, 2008
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The Asia Program in Washington studies disruptive security, governance, and technological risks that threaten peace, growth, and opportunity in the Asia-Pacific region, including a focus on China, Japan, and the Korean peninsula.

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Source: C-SPAN's Washington Journal

China used the Beijing Olympics as a showcase for its new found economic clout and ascendancy as a leading member of the international community. Douglas Paal explained on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal that President Bush gave legitimacy to China’s regime by attending the Games; an important gesture that should be repaidd with greater cooperation on the challenges the U.S. faces in places like Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and North Korea.

Although the resounding success of the Games has bolstered China's authoritarian regime and shielded it from the scrutiny it deserves on human rights issues, China deserves praise for embracing the world. Paal noted that there is an important contrast between the way that the Chinese announced their resurgence to the international community -- by hosting a successful Games -- and the way that the Russians did so-- by invading a sovereign country and annexing territory. Pressuring China for more reforms through sanctions has proven an ineffective strategy. A more successful approach is for the U.S. to push forward with the current strategic economic dialogue.

Watch the Interview.

About the Author

Douglas H. Paal

Distinguished Fellow, Asia Program

Paal previously served as vice chairman of JPMorgan Chase International and as unofficial U.S. representative to Taiwan as director of the American Institute in Taiwan.

    Recent Work

  • Paper
    America’s Future in a Dynamic Asia

      Douglas H. Paal

  • Q&A
    U.S.-China Relations at the Forty-Year Mark
      • +1

      Douglas H. Paal, Tong Zhao, Chen Qi, …

Douglas H. Paal
Distinguished Fellow, Asia Program
Douglas H. Paal
Political ReformDemocracyEconomyMilitaryChina

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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