GOSPEL ACCORDING TO GOSPER

Kevan Gosper just doesn’t get it. Maybe he’s spent too long kow-towing to the Chinese in the country that literally invented the word.  Maybe he finds the totalitarian world of Beijing more to his liking than a democracy where pesky demonstrators around the globe have been taking away the glory from the Olympic Torch.

He’s already scorned them as professional agitators. Forget human rights and places like Tibet. They are mere hiccups on the road to Olympic glory.

Gosper is in the headlines in the lead up to yet another Olympics in his role as Deputy President of the International Olympic Committee.  He supports that bunch of track-suited paramilitary officers, a Chinese goon squad, travelling the world with the torch from Greece to China.

As the Herald Sun describes them today: Torch ‘thugs’ coming. Alongside a photo of the black-belted and black gloved Chinese riot squad usurping the role of British Police during the torch’s troubled run through London. Even the President of the 2012 London Olympics, champion Sebastian Coe, got pushed out of the way by them.

The Brits were naive on that one .In the interests of diplomacy they rolled over for Beijing. While overseas Prime Minister Rudd saw that footage and declared there would be no  Chinese security men operating in  Canberra when the torch gets here.

But that didn’t deter the other Kevan.  He said ‘the security people from China – they call themselves torch protectors –will be there. But they’ll be in a bus behind the event and will only be called upon if there was really serious trouble’.

No they won’t Mr. Gosper. If these goons, many of whom trained by bashing monks in Tibet, if any try to play copper  then they should be arrested.

It’s bad enough that the leader of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, Zhang Rongan,  says the 10,000 Chinese and Chinese-Australians he expects in Canberra will be accompanied  by ‘strong men’ he is arranging to protect them from any pro-Tibet  or Falun Gong forces.

He also, almost flippantly, says he’s not afraid of local Falun Gong groups because Chinese Triad gangs had ‘quietened them down’.

One letter being circulated urging people to go to Canberra says  no Chinese can tolerate being humiliated by ‘the scum of  the Chinese nation’ and  ‘running dogs’.

And a final word on Kevan ‘Do it my way’ Gosper. Remember he made Torch Relay headlines before the 2004 Athens Olympics. A young Greek-Australian schoolgirl had been given the honour of being the first Australian to take the torch from one of the goddesses at Mt. Olympia and run the first leg. Not good enough for Kev. He bounced her and had his daughter do the honours.

The Chinese hierarchy would understand that nepotism.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

© Copyright Derryn Hinch 2008