China and Sudan - Can Americans do anything about it?

In our class discussions, we rarely discuss international issues outside the War in Iraq. So, I'd like to focus this blog on an incredibly pertinent international humanitarian crisis: the War in Darfur. Particularly, I'd like to discuss the role of future Olympic host, China, in the crisis. As the U.N. begins to take some decisive action toward the genocide and mass displacement of Darfurian civilians, China in fact seems to be in a position to place immense pressure on the Khartoum government to end its atrocious behavior. As the largest purchaser of Sudanese oil (70% of Sudanese oil exports go in China), a large donor to Sudanese government infrastructure projects, and a major arms dealer with the regime, China is in a unique position to pressure the al-Bashir government to end this horrible humanitarian crisis that has displaced 2.5 million people and has left over 400,000 dead. China, however, has come up short in any meaningful attempts at pressuring Sudan for peace.

Until mid-2007, as a UN Security Council member, China effectively acted as a stop-block for nearly all U.N. attempts to intervene, however modest they were. Though they may have approved the recent UN troop deployment, the country is coming up horribly short in its actions when compared to what it could do.

As citizens of a different country, but members of a global church, we are in an interesting position. I think politically, there is very little we could effectively do to spur China to proper action. However, these are children of God that are suffering these catastrophic injustices, and in that regard I do think we must act in such a manner that seeks to affirm and uphold the justice of their lives.

However, the 2008 Summer Olympic Games has given the entire world to have an effective voice in pressuring the Chinese government to action. Specifically, would a boycott of the games – be it either a national boycott or an individual decision not to watch them – be a necessary action for the sake of justice. For an event that idealizes world peace and cooperation, if we were to watch them would we be supporting China’s gross human rights record?

This is a question that has been grappling me for some time now, and I thought it particularly relevant to the course – do we have a moral obligation to boycott the Olympics? An individual boycott may not be particularly affective, but, then again, as Mother Teresa says, we are not necessarily called to be successful, only faithful.