China Prepares for Protesters

What to do with the protesters and troublemakers during the Olympics. . .

"Like all Olympic hosts post-Sept. 11, China's security services are concerned about terrorism. Attacks by militant Islamic groups, some of them homegrown, top the list of scenarios the police and the military are preparing for, Chinese and foreign security experts said.

Yet China also faces a plethora of disaffected domestic groups—Tibetans eager to cast off Chinese rule, farmers upset at land confiscations and Falun Gong, a once-popular spiritual movement the government suppressed as a cult. A research institute involved in crisis-planning for the Olympics has looked into possible unrest by unemployed workers, analysts at the think tank said."

I'm conflicted. Like the Chinese, I'd like a benevolent dictator in China.

Now there are almost zero terrorism worries - the lack of civil rights means the government doesn't need a reason to keep someone out of the country. If the government doesn't like the color of your turban, you're not making it out of the airport. There are no "disaffected youth" burning cars or raping and killing inappropriately dressed women. And CAIR representatives would never be handed a visa, let alone a microphone to complain about the mistreatment and social ostracism of its members. No multi-cultural guilt trips. May the best and the brightest win. I like that.

Unfortunately, that is one of the few positives of the system. Taking into account the balance of totalitarianism, I have to defer to capitalism.

China will be tested during the Olympics. I hope they respond with moderation.