The Current Discussion: The Olympics open in two weeks, and offer a perfect platform for anti-government protests by ethnic minorities and dissident groups. Who's likely to protest and how should Beijing respond?

HONG KONG -- Short of declaring martial law, Beijing is doing all it can to ensure the Olympic Games -- to be opened at 8:08pm on August 8 -- will be a protest-free pageant. While the Chinese communists look very likely to achieve this aim, it's also turning the Games into a "no-fun Olympics."

As reported by Maureen Fan of the Washington Post: "In the run-up to the Games, authorities have jailed dissidents, warned activists not to cause trouble, closed bars frequented by foreigners, and deported or denied visas to people connected with groups critical of Chinese policy in Tibet and on the issue of Darfur." Setting up three designated protest zones, far away from the main stadiums, is a joke.

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