With the Olympic Games finally on in Beijing, it’s fitting that much of the world’s media attention turns to action at the sports venues. Highlights should be abundant.

Despite these elite competitions, all spectators should remember a few extra issues. They should hope and pray for victims of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province. Likewise, they should reflect on the plight of Tibetans who remain abused and oppressed by Chinese occupiers. And no one should forget the student protesters who died in the 1989 Beijing Massacre when the Communist government and its army crushed so many of their own people.

Now, as before the Games, China commits many sins -- the imprisonment of peaceful dissidents, refusal of basic human rights and denial of press freedoms. In the days before the opening ceremony, China tried to censor the Internet access for visiting journalists. When awarded the Games, the Beijing authorities had guaranteed complete media freedom on-site. When the time came, they had other notions.

In strategy and instinct, China’s leaders stay consistent. They promise “whatever” and then do “whatever they wish”. Similar reneging on solemn promises by powerful people in Beijing has left Hong Kong without meaningful political reforms since yielding to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

By now, international leaders, including those in the sporting world, should know better than to trust Beijing’s word on much of anything. The Chinese Communist Party wins no medals for truth or honor.

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