Summer Olympian

Click here for the Lead Stories

Boycott scorecard update: Canadians “No” on boycott, two individuals hold out

Posted April 18, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Os Davis

Section: Beijing 2008, Culture/History, Socio-Political, Events, Other, Featured Writers, Os Davis

Canada flag
Ottawa-based public opinion research firm Phoenix SPI, upon releasing its most recent numbers, announced that “most Canadians would like to keep politics out of the Olympic Games, and do not want Canada to boycott the Beijing Olympics.” Interestingly enough, however, the question of Tibetan independence drew mixed response from citizens of the Great White North.

This is a sports ‘page, so let’s get to the stats! In a telephone poll of 1,039 Canadian adults undertaken April 8-12, findings included:

• The statement “Politics should not be linked to the Olympic Games” received 13% agreement and 46% strong agreement.

• Just 21% would support a boycott of the Games.

• A whopping 46% believe that “a significant number of countries” will not boycott the Games.

• On Tibet, 49% support Tibetan independence; however, an astonishing 34% had no opinion or were “uncertain” on the issue.

• Some 18% believe that Tibet should not be considered an independent nation and, fascinatingly, 23% of those polled in Quebec agreed.

The SPI results include a 3% margin of error. Full results can be seen here.

••••••

Meanwhile, a couple of key individual figures have announced they’ll be sitting out part of all of the Games in protest.

Germany’s 2004 gold medalist in judo, Yvonne Boenisch, has echoed her prime minister’s sentiments: “I want to send a signal and I will not take part in the opening ceremony,” she said. Boenisch will wear a wristband throughout the Games as a symbol of protest.

From Australia comes a personal boycott laden in, um, surreal reasoning. Dawn Fraser, the legendary swimmer who was Oz’ “larrikin” sweetheart in three Olympic Games, has stated she’ll boycott the Beijing Games “out of disgust for China’s human rights records.”

In a surreal interview published in Down Under media outlets last week (Australia time), after discussing certain treatment of disabled athletes in China, Fraser finally comes out with:

“I don’t choose to go to a country where I’m not respected. Why should I? I prefer to stay in this country.

“It’s their Government. I’m not a racist, I just don’t like the way their government works ... They’re a Communist country. They do what they want to do and they don’t heed advice from anyone else. They used to kill the little babies when they were born if they were deformed.”

Fraser took eight medals, including four golds, in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympic Games.