If there's one thing I can't stand, it's militant hypocrisy. Being a hypocrite is one thing; we can all be accused of it at some time or another. But being one, and sticking into the faces of other people is a whole different sport. So what am I talking about you ask? Well, I'm talking about China. With the Beijing Olympic Games in full swing and the situation in Tibet casting a nasty shadow, there seems to be no time like the present to cry foul and poo poo all over this country's chance to shine. Everyone is against China's disregard for human rights, the French here are doing their best to perturb the Games, the average Joe feels the need to express his loathing for this new superpower, but the world is still buying Made in China. It's open season on the Chinese and everyone seems to be jumping on the paradoxical bandwagon.

The human rights issue, their incredible pollution problem, poor safety standards of exported goods, press censorship, the list goes on; if you're looking to point the finger at China, then there's certainly a lot of reasons to do so. I do of course respect an individual's right to have his or her opinion; people should be concerned about what happens in China, and in the rest of the world for that matter. But that's where the problem lies. The people in question choose to get all hot-headed and belligerent about China's deficiencies, but when it comes to say Robert Mugabe's handling of the Zimbabwean elections or the violence in Darfur, the passion seems to disappear. Why the emphasis on China when there are more serious atrocities going on in Africa? And how about North Korea, if these people think that China's one party government is far too heavy handed, then what do these activists think about Kim Jong-il treatment of his fellow countrymen? These people have tunnel vision. Their protests are nothing more than knee-jerk reactions to the attention China now receives in the media.

Je boycotte les Jeux Olympics

China simply commands attention. Its booming economy and the inevitability of this country attaining the top spot on the food chain make it a prime target for socialists looking for a cause. Add the Olympic Games into the mix and you've got yourself quite a spectacle. I mean, what better occasion is there to take to the streets in discontent than during the world's greatest sporting event? And if there is any country that is gifted for protesting, it's the one I'm in now - La France. From Sarkozy's mention of his possible non-attendance during the opening ceremony to the sabotage of the Olympic torch leg in Paris, there hasn't been much "French love" for China's first ever Olympic Games. I think a lot of people would agree that the attacks on that wheelchair-bound torchbearer were probably a little excessive. In any case, I find these reactions amusing if anything. Political stances and demonstrations don't seem to bug me too much, especially if they're not that of the country of my citizenship. What gets me really fired up are all those people who decide to give me grief when I say something as harmless as "Did you see France get that gold in the fencing yesterday? It was amazing!" It's not like I'm waving around a Chinese flag or shoving propaganda down their throats, I'm simply mentioning the Games for the sake of light conversation. Can't they just indulge me in a little chitchat? Instead, I usually receive silence followed by a heroic "I'm boycotting the Olympics" (hence, stop talking about it). I was apparently offending their moral sensibilities. What a load of hypocritical BS. I didn't see these people protest when I cooked a Chinese meal for them (no doubt made from imported Chinese produce). How about that mobile phone of theirs? I wonder where that came from. And because of their socialist inclinations, most of these far-left types aren't big spenders; they usually go for the cheaper stuff and so are in effect supporting all those cost-cutting industries in China (and in other developing nations exploiting something or another). Oh the irony!

Are these people completely blind? Don't they realise at what point they support the very country they supposedly despise? Their token actions are completely meaningless. If they feel so strongly about these issues, why don't they do something with actual meaning, instead of toting their disapproval around like some kind of moral badge of honour?