The Shenanigans Have Begun

From the BBC:

Meanwhile state media reported that four pro-Tibet activists from Britain and the US had been arrested in Beijing after a brief protest close to the Olympic stadium.

They had unfurled two large "Free Tibet" banners from electricity poles, despite tight security.

Reports are that these self-righteous numbskulls will be swiftly deported, I for one think they can't be shipped out of China fast enough.

Not out of any animosity towards Tibet or sympathy for the official Chinese government line, mind you. This sort of thing is infuriating because it is counterproductive - the more high profile the protests are, the more the Chinese government is backed into a corner, and the less likely any solution will be. Remember, the vast majority of Chinese support the government on this one. The ones that don't support the government tend to think Beijing needs to take a harder line, and start cracking heads even more than they have up to now.

At this point, any progress will only come from the kind of incremental, behind-the-scenes negotiation that is tough to pull off when banners are being strung up in front of the world's news cameras.

By the same light, the international protests that greeted the Olympic torch couldn't have hardened China's position more if they had been designed for just that purpose. China's met with the Dalai Lama representatives since then, but the possibility of China agreeing to anything under the duress of outside protests is practically nil. And if Beijing did agree to anything that would satisfy the protesters, then millions of furious Chinese would probably pour into the street themselves.

I hope these 'activists' are happy with themselves. While they congratulate themselves, most Tibetans remain poor and restive. And protests like these are at least partly responsible for ensuring that they stay that way.