Olympics could open 'Pandora's box' in China

Although its veracity is disputed, it is said that China's Great Wall can be seen from space with the naked eye. The world's longest structure stretches over a distance of about 2,400 kilometers. Historically, states that emerged on the Chinese continent were wary of foreign invasion.

Now, the Chinese government is on its guard over a journey of 137,000 kilometers, which is 57 times the length of the Great Wall. It is the relay of the Olympic torch, which is being carried by runners across the world to China. Like the country of the Great Wall, the distance covered by the relay will apparently be the longest in Olympic history.

But the relay could be disrupted anywhere along the way because of protests over the violence in and around the Tibet Autonomous Region.

In the beginning, there was a brief skirmish. On Monday, men broke through security at the torch lighting ceremony in Greece, displaying a black flag with five interlocking handcuffs portrayed in the pattern of the Olympic rings.

They were members of the international nongovernmental organization Reporters Without Borders, calling for more attention to the human rights situation than the Olympic flame.

Today, Tibet remains virtually closed to the outside world much as when it was a basically unexplored region. The Chinese government has shut out foreign media and continues to keep in information in the same way that the Great Wall kept out invaders.

The entire picture is invisible and the actual death toll remains unclear.

In Greek mythology, it was Prometheus who gave fire to humans. The name means "forethought." His younger brother Epimetheus, whose name means "hindsight," thoughtlessly married Pandora, who opened a box releasing all the evils of mankind.

China is urged to hold a dialogue with the 14th Dalai Lama to bring the situation under control. This is the "foresight" needed to appease the world and make the Olympics a success.

If it continues to hide the truth behind closed doors until the Olympics are over, the Games could turn into a dangerous "Pandora's box."

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 26(IHT/Asahi: March 27,2008)