sinoscribe
Journalist Kathleen E. McLaughlin

Beijing — There was never much doubt that China’s critics would come together to air their grievances - the nation’s first Olympic Games this summer provided too tempting a global spotlight.

What remained largely up to speculation, until now, was how the government would react to internal dissent and outside criticism .The military crackdown on Tibetan protesters in three provinces has shown that, if nothing else, China does not intend to appear weak before its critics.