Studies / Reports: March 2008 Archives

By Bill Powell | TIME Magazine
March 17, 2008

It is still nearly five months before the Olympic torch is to be lit in Beijing, officially starting the 29th summer Olympics. But, diplomats in the Chinese capital believe that a high level game of chicken has already begun, one that has now turned deadly -- first, in Lhasa, the capital of what China calls the Tibet Autonomous Region, and now elsewhere, according to Tibetan exiles and human rights groups.

Yesterday, in China's Sichuan province, at least eight bodies were brought to a Buddhist monastery in Aba prefecture, allegedly shot dead by Chinese riot control police, according to an eyewitness account quoted by Radio Free Asia. The escalating confrontation in and around Tibet is a nightmare for China's top leadership, but one, some diplomats believe, that could not have taken anyone in the central government completely by surprise. It pits the leadership in Beijing against its domestic opponents -- who include not only Tibetan dissidents, but also separatist groups in the heavily Muslim region of Xinjiang, as well as human rights and political activists throughout the country.

Each side understood that the months leading up to the Games would be "extremely sensitive," as one diplomat put it. The government knew "from day one," another diplomat told TIME, that "a successful bid for the games would bring an unprecedented -- and in some cases very harsh -- spotlight" on China and how it is governed. On the other side, everyone from human rights activists to independence seeking dissidents in Tibet and Xinjiang -- "splittists" in the Chinese vernacular -- knew they would have an opportunity to push their agendas while the world was watching. "Thought the specific trigger for this in Tibet is still unclear, that it intensified so quickly is probably not just an accident," the senior diplomat says.

According to this view, it was never hard to imagine a scenario in which some group -- and maybe several -- would push things, try "to probe and see whether they could test limits." The critical issue, now front and center, diplomats say, is just how far angry Tibetan activists will push -- and how harshly the Chinese government will push back.

How extensive the violence has been thus far is not at all clear. Tibetan exile groups claimed on Sunday that 80 people were killed in Lhasa on Mar. 13 and 14. Those claims are as yet unconfirmed by any independent reporting and Beijing says just 10 "innocent" people were killed in Lhasa. It denies any deaths elsewhere. The Dalai Lama surely stoked Beijing's anger on Sunday by claiming, from the headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile, when he accused China of "cultural genocide" against Tibetans and by declining to urge his followers in Tibet to surrender to authorities there by midnight tonight, as Beijing had demanded.

Thus, the dilemma for the Chinese leadership is clear. "They need to get this under control, but to do so without a lot of brutality," the diplomat says. The reason for that is clear enough: the memory of Tiananmen Square, undeniably, now hangs in the background as the crisis in Tibet unfolds in this, the year of China's grand coming out party. The scale of the unrest in the Tibet Autonomous Region -- as well as the threat they pose to the Communist Party leadership -- doesn't compare to the massive political demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989, which were brutally put down by Chinese military troops. But the issue, at bottom, was the same: how to respond? And here, China may well understand that 1989 was a long time ago. Beijing in those days could literally pull the plug on CNN and Dan Rather and then thumb its nose at the rest of the world. "It couldn't do that today even if it wanted to, and I don't think it does," the senior diplomat says.

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By David Eimer | Telegraph (United Kingdom)
March 2, 2008

Performance-enhancing drugs banned in Olympic sport are being produced and sold in large quantities in China, close to the sites where the Games will be staged this summer.

Human growth hormone (HGH), regarded as the drug of choice for athletes, poses the greatest threat to the Beijing Games being drug-free because it is difficult to detect unless tested for within 24 hours of being taken.

Despite an attempt by the Chinese government to restrict its unlicensed manufacture, and a complete ban on its export, it took The Sunday Telegraph a little over a day to buy a week's supply - and then to find another company willing to dispatch much larger quantities to Britain.

China is the world's biggest manufacturer and supplier of anabolic steroids such as Stanozolol, and of HGH, which increases muscle growth, burns off body fat quickly and speeds up the healing of injuries.

Last year, Marion Jones, the American former Olympic gold medallist, became the most high-profile athlete to admit to injecting HGH when she pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about her drug-taking activities.

Others, including a Chinese swimmer and her coach, caught red-handed at Sydney Airport in 1998, have been discovered with the drug in their possession. With the Olympics approaching, China's role as a major producer of HGH is under increased scrutiny.

"Any country that is seen to be producing designer steroids and other substances that enhance performance is a concern," said Andy Parkinson, of UK Sport's drug-free unit. "We don't want the worldwide trafficking of these substances."

In November, China's own food and drug watchdog, the SFDA, promised to stop export of the drugs, which are legal in China.

However, last week The Sunday Telegraph contacted MaMaCF Imp & Exp Co Ltd, which until recently operated from an office in a housing development called Olympic Gardens, near the site of the Olympic village in Beijing. The clampdown forced it to relocate late last year to Qingdao, a port in eastern China's Shandong province - the venue for the Olympic sailing regatta.

A company representative named Mr Sun said it was still in the business of supplying HGH to buyers around the world, despite the SFDA's ban. "It's no problem to send samples, or even big quantities to the UK by courier," he said. "We've done it many times. We have lots of clients in the UK and USA."

The hormone is a controlled drug in Britain and its import is restricted. But Mr Sun said: "You don't need to worry. UK customs aren't strict at all. We describe these items on the customs form as healthcare products. If they get seized, we'll refund you."

Mr Sun offered to sell his company's HGH at 140 yuan (£9.90) per vial, each vial containing enough for five doses.

"I'll give you a cheaper price when you place a big order," he said.

Like many HGH suppliers in China, MaMaCF sells a counterfeit version of Jintropin, the most popular HGH product in China.

"I guarantee it is good quality. If you don't believe me, just try a sample," Mr Sun said.

He had no qualms about supplying a drug that athletes could use to cheat in the Beijing Olympics.

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