Friday saw the opening ceremony of the long awaited Beijing Olympics, which has doubled up as China’s international debutante ball. China has always been a paradox for Western politicians, who want to benefit from her emerging economic power but have concerns regarding her domestic politics. However, these concerns seem to be highlighted more by the Western media than by Western statesman and politicians themselves.

There is an understanding amongst Western leaders and corporations that winning a larger share of the Chinese market will be integral to the future growth of Western economies. The Chinese government are acutely sensitive to criticism and therefore criticising a government that exercises a high level of control over it’s people’s civil liberties may not be the best way to gain a foothold in China’s massive economy with reserves of $1.8 trillion.

It was possibly figures like this and a desire to maintain access to China’s 95 million Internet users which persuaded Yahoo to cooperate with the Chinese authorities to reveal the identity of a mystery blogger accused of emailing ’state secrets’. Yahoo’s revelations resulted in Shi Tao, a journalist with the Contemporary Trade News in Hunan being sentenced to ten years imprisonment.

It’s part of the nature of non-democratic forms of government that they crush the inconvenience of criticism. China has done a spectacular job of using the Olympics to promote the official, state-approved0 version of a happy modern China.

While we can enjoy the sport, sections of the Chinese population are protesting en masse, begging us not to forget what else lies behind the Olympic veil. The forced restraint of the Chinese security services reminds me of the mother whose child behaves badly in public and is thinking to herself “just wait till I get you home.”

On another note, the problem of young British men behaving badly in relationships was highlighted last week by the Conservative spokesman for education Michael Gove. He blamed lads mags such as ‘Nuts’ for encouraging irresponsible behaviour among young men and promoting a negative image of women. He commented that bikini clad women were presented as being readily available and non-committal.

Gove argued that these type of publications helped promote a culture of not taking responsibility and a casual attitude towards sex and relationships which results in teenage pregnancies, single parent families and sexual infections.

He went on to say that he was not calling for these publications to be banned but simply for the magazines to take a more responsible approach. Criticising or seeking to influence any part of the media becomes an issue in a democratic political system which celebrates a free media. The editor of nuts and his colleagues should thank their lucky stars they operate in a system where you they sell ‘Nuts’ without fear of losing theirs.

These magazines operate on a broad assumption that the vast majority of men are only interested in fast easily available women. However judging by the recent behaviour of former presidential hopeful, John Edwards they may be on to something. We might have expected more of a man who staked his campaign on family values and a loving relationship with his cancer-stricken wife, though it’s not exactly unheard of for a politician or a man with money and fame to cheat on his partner regardless of age. From Ashley Cole to John Prescott the tabloids are full of men caught with their pants down.

Which begs the question are there any monogamous men who actually believe in these family values that politicians so often espouse? Or is it simply that men are only as faithful as the opportunities available to them? I’d love hear your views and experiences regarding this issue.

Taking a more optimistic view, there are possibly men with families seeking mental stimulation, which emanates above the waist. There are virtually no publications to cater for the needs of these men who have partners and children. There are no tips in GQ for Dads to help with homework, no articles in Esquire advising men how they can support their partners in times of emotional stress, or prepare for the birth of a first child.

Traditionally it was young women that we feared were vulnerable to exploitation from glossy magazines. However young men themselves need to be aware of how they are exploited by the promotion of fantasy lifestyles, which usually involve being surrounded by a multitude of women with not much clothing. Young men are bombarded with images of what it means to be young, rich and single whether it be through, movies, music videos or magazines. Underpinning all this is the less than subtle message that if you invest in those expensive clothes and aspire for that Rolex, you to could be surrounded by gorgeous women.

Whether democratically elected or not, politicians face the same challenges of how to uphold the morals of society and improve the prosperity of its population. We in the West believe that this is best done in a democratic political system. However, China has in the last 10 years managed to draw 100 million of its citizens out of poverty and will soon be the world’s largest economy. But should a successful Olympics and economic prosperity gloss over the human rights deficit?

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