Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00 +0100Wed, 22 Jul 2026 01:50:31 +0200https://english.radio.cz/politics-and-olympic-games-beijing-2008-czechs-discuss-dangers-and-benefits-8089672© 2026 Radio Prague InternationalContrary to the Olympic ideal, politics and economics always come into play well before the games begin in the city that is chosen. With the Olympic Games under way in Athens, the work of a Prague-based pressure-group called Olympic Watch came to my attention. In response to the International Olympic Committee's decision to hold the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, "Olympic Watch" was created by three former Czech dissidents in 2001. Their mission is to monitor the human rights situation in the People's Republic of China. With each Olympiad in the run-up to the Beijing Games they have produced a report on the development of human rights in China. In today's Talking Point we look at some of the issues in the debate from a Czech angle. Petr Kutilek is the executive Secretary of Olympic Watch. He points to parallels with Central and Eastern Europe at the time when communism was collapsing here fifteen years ago.encr@radio.cz (Cesky Rozhlas)webmaster@radio.cz (CRo Webmaster) https://english.radio.cz/sites/default/files/images/4f5197446b1f6808606b2a0aab5e5a67.png?timestamp=1583150525 https://english.radio.cz/politics-and-olympic-games-beijing-2008-czechs-discuss-dangers-and-benefits-8089672 Radio Prague International Radio Prague International radio.prague.int@gmail.com clean 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9