Soon after China was awarded the Olympic Games seven years ago, a series of public relations strategy sessions were held. But it wasn’t the Chinese Government holding the sessions: it was grass-roots Tibet support groups in the United States and abroad. The protesters quickly established a communications plan, focused their message and ran camps where they taught members interview skills and even rappelling — as they showed off last week in hanging banners on the Golden Gate Bridge.
As a result, the protesters have pulled off a publicity coup. Instead of basking in the glow of the coming games, China has quickly found itself on the defensive, and protesters have turned the subject from athletics in Beijing to the crackdown in Tibet, along with human-rights violations inside China and China’s investments in Sudan. “At first there was a profound sense of despair after the Chinese government was awarded the honour,” said Kalaya’an Mendoza, a coordinator for Students for a Free Tibet, an activist group. “But after five minutes passed, we realised this would be a monumental opportunity for the Tibetan people to be put in the international spotlight.”
For all its might, China is still something of a naïf when it comes to Western-style public relations. In many ways, China is facing the same challenge that companies like Philip Morris and Wal-Mart have in recent years as protesters and union activists have grown increasingly sophisticated in delivering their message. Wenqi Gao, spokesman for China’s consulate in New York believes, “We have to improve our image.”
After China lost its Olympics bid in 1993, Olympic insiders advised it to hire a public relations firm before its next attempt. Weber Shandwick, owned by the Interpublic Group, won the contract, and its advice was that China separate its human-rights record from its Olympics bid. What the firm suggested to the Olympic committee, Liu said, was that if Beijing were allowed to hold the Games, it might lead to some movement on a number of fronts. ”
