Cameras gone, protests (semi) allowed

Beijing residents have said that in the eight days since the end of the Olympics, and ahead of Saturday's Paralympic Games, air pollution in Beijing has dramatically worsened. On 30 August about 500 angry residents staged a marching demonstration near the Bird's Nest stadium.

With the three designated protest zones completely void of people for the duration of the Games (despite 77 applications filed to use the area), is it coincidence that we see 500 people take to the streets after the Games?

Demonstrations are not uncommon in China. There are many issues for locals to be upset about and very few avenues for resolution. And it's certainly not as though these are all condoned demonstrations, a larger environmental rally planned for 31 August was stopped by local authorities.

Dissent under control

However, the complete lack of dissent during the Games is evidence of China's incredible and extra efforts at control over the Games period.

A rally of 500 people simply would not have been permitted between the 8 and 25 of August in Beijing. Organisers would most likely have been detained before the event got under way, police and security presence on the streets would have been much larger, and foreign media and tourists would have been in close proximity.

Protestor's mother harassed

Beijing graphic designer Hai Mingyu attempted to use one of the 'protest parks' during the Games.

He and his young son went to Ritan Park with signs protesting the forced sale of Hai's mother's home for which she received no money. He claims that the Shandong Huimin county government illegally sold the house.

Foreign cameras were present at Ritan Park, crowds yelled at authorities not to leave Hai's young son alone, the pair were able to leave the area safely. Reports advise that Hai's mother, 73-year-old Yang Guiying now has police officers stationed outside her home and she is being harassed over her son's actions.

International pressure

It is reported that one protestor remains missing from Saturday's anti-pollution demonstration.

International pressure has worked to keep Ms Wu and Ms Wang out of re-education through labour camps, it worked to keep Hai and his son out of police custody. But what will happen to Hai and to the missing environmental demonstrator and so many others without the foreign media and international pressure?

We must also ensure that the Paralympics serve as an opportunity to continue this scrutiny and work well beyond the Games to ensure that the human right to freedom of expression is upheld in China: and that people who do speak out are not given unfair trials, detained without charge, and are not subjected to torture or executed.

With the Games over there is the benefit of being able to host demonstrations such as last Saturday's but there is also the fact that the foreign media are leaving Beijing.