UK = China?

BBC News

International torch relays ahead of the Olympics have been scrapped by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

It follows the controversy that surrounded the Beijing Olympic relay which was dogged by protests as the torch made its way around the world.

The 2008 relay's London leg was hit by several incidents and criticism over China's 'torch police' security staff.

Organisers of the 2012 London Olympics have already said they had no plans to take the torch outside Britain.

Is the IOC still covering themselves for being tricked by the CCP into allowing Beijing to host the Olympics? True, the torch relay is a high-profile event, and all high-profile events will attract protesters and other crazy people. However, the fiasco last year has more to do with China then the actual torch relay. The CCP also hyped the event as some sort of coming-of-age party plus they brought in "volunteer supporters" which made things worse. I highly doubt that there will be the same level of protests against the UK if there was a international torch relay.

"Beijing had planned an international torch relay and we accepted it. We saw in the debrief that the risk was there and the IOC decided not to do it (again).

"I think when the torch relay is inside the host country there is more control."

Mr. Felli is wrong unless what he meant by "control" is an authoritarian government's control over it citizens. Does he really think the UK will have more control over protests during a torch relay in London vs. what happened last year? Hint: Western democracies like the US and UK allow protests. Of course there was more "control" over the torch relay inside China since they pre-emptively lock up potential protesters and restrict access to torch events. I hate these moral-equivalency idiots who pretend that there's no difference between democracies and a communist dictatorship.

==========

The IOC and the CCP are also a bunch of hypocrites. They kept whining last year about the Olympics being a sporting event and to keep politics out of it. The entire torch relay was used by CCP as a huge propaganda event. Also, if they wanted to keep politics out, they would allow Taiwan to participate as Taiwan, ROC, or whatever. This whole "Chinese Taipei" bullshit is just spineless capitulation to the CCP. What did that get them last year in China? Better human rights? Freedom to protest? Uncensored Internet access? Ha!