The first few months after China's nomination to host the 2008 Summer Olympics proved quite challenging for the Asian country. Still handling the delicate matters surrounding the territory of Tibet, China became prey to protests and criticism worldwide, pressured to change its policies in order to avoid an Olympic boycott.

On May 5th, a band of Falun Gong practitioners was barred from playing at the annual Canadian Tulip Festival, only moments before their initial performance. The award-winning marching band had been invited to play for several engagements throughout the duration of the festival.  Nonetheless, upon recognizing the symbol of the Falun Gong spiritual movement on the band’s attire, festival organizers rushed to stop the Tian Guo Marching Band before their performance of “O Canada.” Festival officials claimed that the group intended to politicize a festival dedicated to international friendship, though they themselves were culpable of submitting to the political pressure of the Chinese embassy.   

Not all military dictatorships are alike. Pakistan’s General Pervez Musharraf struggles between a genuine concern for the country’s economic welfare and a need to maintain executive control.  His ideas of governance are colored with his military background, but he does not ignore the economic concerns of the average citizen. Musharraf’s faults lie on the political dimension, where he has engaged in the suppression of alternative political ideologies. However, the poor, the rich, women, and all ethnicities and followers of minority religions are members of the nation in his eyes. His strategic thinking is not colored by prejudice.