China's Great Leap
The Beijing Games and Olympian Human Rights Challenges
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
With contributions from some of the most well respected and experienced Chinese writers, journalists, and organizers, China’s Great Leap examines the People’s Republic of China as its government and 1.3 billion people prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games. When Beijing first sought the Games, China was still recovering from the upheavals of Maoist rule and adapting to a market revolution. Today, China wants to engage with the outside world—while fully controlling the engagement. How will the new leaders in Beijing manage the Olympic process and the internal and external pressures for reform it creates? China’s Great Leap will illuminate China’s recent history and outline how domestic and international pressures in the context of the Olympics could achieve human rights change. Learn about key areas for human rights reform and how the Olympics could represent a possible great leap forward for the people of China and for the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Worden, Minky. China's Great Leap: The Beijing Games and Olympian Human Rights Challenges. Seven Stories. 2008. 336p. index. pap. POL SCI~Because of its speculative nature, this book is not recommended as an objective resource on Chinese history. However, for its timely content, it is suitable for immediate use in both academic and public libraries. Background: China's recent attempts to clean up its image for the 2008 Olympic Games have ironically led to incidents like lethal police violence against a retarded man and the demolition of Petitioner's Village, a place where Chinese citizens aired grievances with their government. This book collects essays by an international group of 24 journalists, human rights and history experts, and Chinese citizen activists, offering opinions that support or oppose the upcoming games. Kadhir Van Lohuizen even presents a photo essay. The book is divided into four parts: on China's history, human rights, pollution and business practice (together), and politics. All the authors, including editor Worden (media director, Human Rights Watch) and such contributors as Wan Deng, a leading student organizer of the Tiananmen democracy movement, contribute thoughtful suggestions about how to use the games as an opportunity for human rights reform.--April Younglove, Linfield Coll. Lib., Portland, OR.
