The passage of the Olympic torch has caused controversy wherever it goes, but it has its grassroot supporters too. Obviously, the protestors draw the most attention because they are seeking the most attention, but there are plenty of expat Chinese who are trying to shield the torch from disruption. This led to farce in San Fran when the civic leaders changed the route at the last moment, inconveniencing protestors and wellwishers alike. When the Chinese expats are canvassed, they are broadly supportive of their government's actions in Tibet, even if a few people do die as a result. Sa Dingding, in the UK to promote her album, is of the same mind (though she has to consider Communist Party reprisals against her music should she rebel against the official line). She says she has been to Tibet four times and people should go there for themselves before they judge - easier said than done when the People's Libertaion Army have locked-down the province.
This wide support among oridnary Chinese reminds me of accounts of the Indian Mutiny in 1856-7. Then the average British person was most acquiescent in the army's actions in suppressing the revolt, especially after a garrison and the families with it were wiped out by angry Indians. These days, however, to read such comments as were made at the time is to be horrified. It all goes to show that the Chinese still possess an imperial mindset that the British lost a while back.

As for this judgement on the closing of the Serious Fraud Office inquiry into illegal slush funds by British Aerospace to the Saudi royal family, it is the final nail in the coffin of Tony Blair's claim that "I think I'm a pretty honest kinda guy." Blair and his attorney-general rolled over with ease at a verbal warning imperilling security co-operation because they found that the easiest political route out of it. To condone corruption is to be corrupt yourself. Ethical foreign policy. Pah!
On Newsnight yesterday, no government spokesman, Labour backbencher or civil servant was shame-faced enough to appear on Newsnight, so the BBC wheeled in the former foreign secretary, Malcolm Rifkind, to defend Blair's decision. He made some rather specious comments on national defence, citing Northern Ireland, as to why everything should be kept hush-hush. All very well, but that wasn't a situation where the foreigners in question were not blackmailing Britain. Moreover, at the time, Britain had not signed a treaty expressly forbidding collusion in corruption. Blair's government, furthermore, trumpeted their signing of the treaty.
Now the government has prepared a plan where judicial review can no longer impinge on a matter of national security, which not only is a sweeping increase of powers of the executive over the judges (who as the third arm of government are supposed to oversee government probity), but could be applied in any tricky situation for the executive. Thus, the Chagossians seeking a right of return to their homeland in the Indian Ocean after being evicted by the British so a US airbase could be built there, would never have got a fair hearing. This is a government who taking the American path of chewing up civil liberties in favour of a national security issue that allows them to avoid politically difficult consquences. Blair was always very much in favour when in office of letting history (rather than democracy) judge him. Well, history will look very unkindly on this; that is, if national security, doesn't forbid such writings at all.
Amazingly, Rifkind said we should not have followed up the murder of Alexander Litvinenko because it worsened relations with Russia. First of all, British relations with Russia were already on the rocks beforehand, literally since the Russians claimed that we put spy cameras in rocks around Russian government offices. And a murder is one thing, but to do it with a radioactive isotope in a capital city of eight million people and then leave a geiger-crazy trail of slime around London is a serious breach of any protocol. And Rifkind said it all should have been suppressed, as if the press would have taken no interest in it whatsoever. Usually, Rifkind is a quite lucid interviewee, but he was positively barking last night.
Thinking of the Saudis themselves, they do seem an odd lot. Their defence minister, who benefitted most from the illegal bribes, possibly to the tune of 1 billion pounds, Prince Bandar, sounds like a character out of Star Wars. As Blair might say, 'May the Eurofighters be with you'. But Prince Bandar is no sleek sheikh or elegant emir, more of a Jabba the Hut. He looks like he weighs a billion pounds! But then when you can gorge yourself and uttering a few words about national security cooperation is all in a day's work and is all the day's work, then perhaps it's no wonder.