China scolds west, says London may not be fit to host Olympics after riots

Why so smug, China? Oh, it’s because of the riots in London. Several Chinese news agencies are questioning London’s ability to host the Summer Games, noting that a Chinese-style ban on social networking sites would have curtailed the London riots. How do you say “I told you so” in Mandarin?

“The West have been talking about supporting internet freedom, and oppose other countries’ government to control this kind of websites, now we can say they are tasting the bitter fruit [of their complacency] and they can’t complain about it,” wrote one commentator in official Communist Party mouthpiece, People’s Daily.

“The three consecutive days of rioting has spread to east London area where the main sports stadium of London Olympic is located,” observed a report on the state-run Xinhua news agency.

Both Twitter and Facebook are banned in China, where citizen uprisings (more than 100,000 last year) and indiscriminate police crackdowns on said uprisings are common. The Chinese government, touting how smoothly the Beijing Olympics came off in 2008, is openly skeptical of London’s ability to prevent violence in the 2012 games. Xinhua news agency again:

“After the riots, the image of London has been severely damaged, leaving the people sceptical and worried about the public security situation during the London Olympics.”

China is also way ahead of the west when it comes to containing tiger zoo escapes.

Great comment over at Yahoo’s Fourth-Place Medal: It takes an oppressive police force, underaged athletes and serious air pollution to host a successful Olympics. Thanks for the feedback, China. — Crash Fu.

Meanwhile, British police revealed today that they concentrated protection during the riots to shopping malls and Olympic venues, after intercepting Twitter and BBM messages saying they were targets.

Late Tuesday, two men in northwesternn England were handed stiff jail terms for inciting disorder through social networking sites. Cheshire Police said Jordan Blackshaw, 20, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, both received 4-year sentences for using Facebook to “organize and orchestrate” disorder.

Blackshaw used the social networking site to create an event — with a date, time and location — for “massive Northwich lootin.”‘

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London riots: China raises questions over safety of 2012 Olympic Games [Daily Telegraph]
China questions whether London is fit to host Games after riots [Fourth-Place Medal]