Here's a good reason to wash new clothes before putting them on infants and children: A New Zealand television station is reporting that "scientists found formaldehyde in woollen and cotton clothes at 500 times higher than is safe."
Cheap clothes made in China have been found to contain high levels of a potentially dangerous chemical.
Formaldehyde is used to protect clothes that have to be shipped great distances against mildew.
However, long-term exposure to high levels can be harmful, causing problems ranging from minor skin rashes to some types of cancer.
Tests discovered formaldehyde concentrations up to 900 times above the safety limit in children's and adults' woollen and cotton clothes from China.
The latest safety alert over cheap Chinese goods was sounded in New Zealand. It has been passed on to trading standards officials in Britain.
"Any consumer worried about harm caused by clothes they have bought should contact the retailer or report their concerns to trading standards," a spokesman for the Government's new department for business, enterprise and regulatory reform said.
Formaldehyde resins have been used on fabrics for decades to make wrinkle-free and stain-resistant-garments. The chemical can be used, for example, to keep the crease in trousers.
The types of materials most likely to have been treated are blended cotton, wrinkle-resistant cotton, shrink-proof wool, rayon and synthetic blends.
Bryan Lewin, chairman of the Trading Standards Institute, said: "We would expect trading standards departments here to carry out tests to establish formaldehyde levels.
"At the same time, there is a general-requirement on importers, manufacturers and retailers to ensure that the consumer products they are selling are safe."
A spokesman for the Ministry of Consumer Affairs in New Zealand said it is investigating the nature and size of the problem there.
The details will reignite concerns over the safety of cheap merchandise imported into Britain from China. Imports have soared 500 per cent in ten years to £20billion a year.
Last week, the toy giant Mattel was forced to recall millions of Chinese-made toys in the UK and around the world.
There were safety fears over small magnets used in some and about paint containing high levels of toxic lead in others.
Other recent problems have involved toxic pet food, toothpaste laced with an ingredient used in anti-freeze and car tyres that were allegedly missing a key safety feature.
The ongoing rows over the quality of Chinese goods threatens a diplomatic row between East and West.
The Chinese authorities insist the recalls and complaints are motivated by trade protectionism rather than safety.
This has been rejected by EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson as "totally false".
Thisislongdon.co.uk 22 August 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Beijing Olympics Boycott: A Wake-Up Call
Given China's objectionable behavior in recent years—in human rights, trade, nuclear proliferation, aid to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, support for genocidal regimes in Sudan and vicious dictatorships in Burma and North Korea—it is no wonder that dozens of frustrated members of the U.S. House of Representatives are calling for an American boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Realistically, a U.S. boycott of the Beijing Olympics is not feasible. However, the advent of a new Olympic year is certainly an appropriate time for the Administration and Congress to call attention to the increasingly repressive character of the Chinese regime.
Rising Frustration with China
In August 2001, a skeptical Heritage Foundation cautiously welcomed the award of the 2008 Olympic Games venue to Beijing as an opportunity to "compel Beijing to adopt true Olympic values." In the intervening years, China has disappointed even modest hopes for change and reform. More disappointing still has been the Administration's and Congress's reaction to Beijing's disregard of human rights in China and abroad.
Earlier this month, eight prominent Republicans in Congress introduced House Resolution 610, calling for a boycott of the games. They elicited a great deal of sympathy from those in the policy community who are concerned about China's dismal record on human rights. Representative Maxine Waters (D–CA) introduced her own resolution that expressed similar concerns from the Democratic side of the aisle, specifically delineating China's economic and military support for Sudan's genocidal regime.
The boycott resolutions make an important statement, but they do not add address the real problem. Members of Congress might simply vote for one version or the other, dust off their hands, and move on to the next order of business. Not only are House resolutions non-binding, but also they are generally seen on Capitol Hill as adequate substitutions for action that require no follow-up.
Parallels With 1936
The tragedy of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin was not that the free world participated but that nobody used the limelight of the Games to make an issue of Germany's deepening persecutions of Jews, its remilitarization, its occupation of the Rhineland, or its threats against Austria as it resisted being labeled "part of the German nation."
The free European countries, as well as the United States, not only failed to use the 1936 Games as a bully pulpit from which to shame Germany's Nazi leaders; they actually downplayed German violence, threats, and excesses. A broad international boycott certainly would have been preferable to the fawning over Germany that took place.
Similarly, the free world may use the Beijing Olympics as another stage on which to fawn over China's new wealth and power. This is already happening, as U.S. businesses try to curry favor with the Beijing regime and even U.S. officials downplay China's emergence as a ruthless superpower.
America's "China Lobby"
The Washington Post recently reported that President George W. Bush's ambassador in Beijing "threw a fit" when he heard of the President's plans to meet with Chinese Christian dissidents in May 2006.[1] He called the meeting "inappropriate" and warned it would damage relations with the Beijing regime. This year, columnist Robert Novak reported almost a month after the fact that President Bush met secretly in the White House with the Catholic bishop of Hong Kong, Joseph Cardinal Zen, a figure reviled by Beijing. According to Novak, the U.S. ambassador in Beijing "weighed in against a Bush-Zen meeting."[2]
The image of the President of the United States meeting in secret with Chinese religious dissidents and Catholic cardinals because the State Department fears offending the Chinese Communist regime gives the impression that these meetings had something to hide. In the same way, both President Bush and President Clinton felt obliged to keep their meetings with the Tibetan religions leader, the Dalai Lama—a Nobel peace prize laureate—low-key for fear of offending Beijing.
President Ronald Reagan's recently published diary revealed his deep suspicions about a "China lobby" in his State Department that cared more about smooth relations with the Chinese Communists than about the legitimacy of America's commitment to human rights. Some current State officials are uncomfortable with the easygoing attitude toward China. The following is from a speech given by Ambassador Jay Lefkowitz to a Heritage Foundation audience in April:
As the world's attention turns to China for the 2008 Olympics, does anyone seriously believe a massive, abused, and imperiled refugee population will go unnoticed? I certainly hope not, and this is an area where the international media can play a big role of exposing what's going on. Hopefully there will be human interest stories that will spotlight the oppression and repression of the North Korean people—both in North Korean and indeed, even those who are fortunate enough to escape, but then languish in hiding in northeastern China. This will be an enduring black mark not only for North Korea, but for China too—unless China takes action.[3]
Boycott Call Catches Beijing's Attention
The "Boycott Beijing" campaign caught fire when Hollywood actress-turned-activist Mia Farrow championed the theme in newspaper ads in the spring of 2007. The ads called on China to cease its weapons and financial support for Sudanese genocide. China reacted to mounting pressure by dispatching a "peace envoy" to the Darfur region, and then claimed to have "urged Khartoum to be flexible on a peace plan." In reality, China's "peace envoy" returned to Beijing to report that "everything is basically stable." China's state media then blamed "Sudanese secessionists and external hostile elements" (read: the United States) for "viciously 'promoting' and publicizing the issue." Instead, said the Chinese media, "the Darfur issue is a pure internal affair of the Sudan."
While China has not exerted any real pressure on Khartoum, Ms. Farrow has done more to get Beijing's attention than all the State Department's polite exhortations put together have done to get Beijing to pressure Khartoum to accept the "hybrid" force with "a predominantly African character" that is now being desultorily assembled by the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity. The move is seriously inadequate, but it is more than the Chinese regime wanted to do.
This raises the question: If not a boycott, then what? If the Administration and Congress are serious about China's persistent violation of human rights, labor rights, and civil and political rights, along with its myriad other depredations, they should do something more meaningful than pass symbolic, generally ineffectual congressional resolutions.
Conclusion
Both the Administration and Congress must get into the habit of seeing the regime in Beijing for what it is—a Communist dictatorship that suppresses religious, political, and labor freedoms at home and bullies its neighbors. It supports brother dictatorships around the globe, whether they are major or minor perpetrators of genocide, nuclear blackmail, slave labor, and suppression of freedoms.
Boycotting the Olympics would not change any of this. The calls from Congress, however—like Ms. Farrow's effort—do have the welcome effect of focusing attention on the dreadful state of human rights in China and the regime's support for tyranny abroad. American policymakers must use the occasion to call China out on its myriad domestic abuses and irresponsibility abroad and fully enforce related sanctions already on the books.
To do any less than this would be a betrayal of the bargain America made with its own conscience, and would be a lost opportunity of 1936 proportions.
By John J. Tkacik The Heritage Foundation 22 August 2007
Rising Frustration with China
In August 2001, a skeptical Heritage Foundation cautiously welcomed the award of the 2008 Olympic Games venue to Beijing as an opportunity to "compel Beijing to adopt true Olympic values." In the intervening years, China has disappointed even modest hopes for change and reform. More disappointing still has been the Administration's and Congress's reaction to Beijing's disregard of human rights in China and abroad.
Earlier this month, eight prominent Republicans in Congress introduced House Resolution 610, calling for a boycott of the games. They elicited a great deal of sympathy from those in the policy community who are concerned about China's dismal record on human rights. Representative Maxine Waters (D–CA) introduced her own resolution that expressed similar concerns from the Democratic side of the aisle, specifically delineating China's economic and military support for Sudan's genocidal regime.
The boycott resolutions make an important statement, but they do not add address the real problem. Members of Congress might simply vote for one version or the other, dust off their hands, and move on to the next order of business. Not only are House resolutions non-binding, but also they are generally seen on Capitol Hill as adequate substitutions for action that require no follow-up.
Parallels With 1936
The tragedy of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin was not that the free world participated but that nobody used the limelight of the Games to make an issue of Germany's deepening persecutions of Jews, its remilitarization, its occupation of the Rhineland, or its threats against Austria as it resisted being labeled "part of the German nation."
The free European countries, as well as the United States, not only failed to use the 1936 Games as a bully pulpit from which to shame Germany's Nazi leaders; they actually downplayed German violence, threats, and excesses. A broad international boycott certainly would have been preferable to the fawning over Germany that took place.
Similarly, the free world may use the Beijing Olympics as another stage on which to fawn over China's new wealth and power. This is already happening, as U.S. businesses try to curry favor with the Beijing regime and even U.S. officials downplay China's emergence as a ruthless superpower.
America's "China Lobby"
The Washington Post recently reported that President George W. Bush's ambassador in Beijing "threw a fit" when he heard of the President's plans to meet with Chinese Christian dissidents in May 2006.[1] He called the meeting "inappropriate" and warned it would damage relations with the Beijing regime. This year, columnist Robert Novak reported almost a month after the fact that President Bush met secretly in the White House with the Catholic bishop of Hong Kong, Joseph Cardinal Zen, a figure reviled by Beijing. According to Novak, the U.S. ambassador in Beijing "weighed in against a Bush-Zen meeting."[2]
The image of the President of the United States meeting in secret with Chinese religious dissidents and Catholic cardinals because the State Department fears offending the Chinese Communist regime gives the impression that these meetings had something to hide. In the same way, both President Bush and President Clinton felt obliged to keep their meetings with the Tibetan religions leader, the Dalai Lama—a Nobel peace prize laureate—low-key for fear of offending Beijing.
President Ronald Reagan's recently published diary revealed his deep suspicions about a "China lobby" in his State Department that cared more about smooth relations with the Chinese Communists than about the legitimacy of America's commitment to human rights. Some current State officials are uncomfortable with the easygoing attitude toward China. The following is from a speech given by Ambassador Jay Lefkowitz to a Heritage Foundation audience in April:
As the world's attention turns to China for the 2008 Olympics, does anyone seriously believe a massive, abused, and imperiled refugee population will go unnoticed? I certainly hope not, and this is an area where the international media can play a big role of exposing what's going on. Hopefully there will be human interest stories that will spotlight the oppression and repression of the North Korean people—both in North Korean and indeed, even those who are fortunate enough to escape, but then languish in hiding in northeastern China. This will be an enduring black mark not only for North Korea, but for China too—unless China takes action.[3]
Boycott Call Catches Beijing's Attention
The "Boycott Beijing" campaign caught fire when Hollywood actress-turned-activist Mia Farrow championed the theme in newspaper ads in the spring of 2007. The ads called on China to cease its weapons and financial support for Sudanese genocide. China reacted to mounting pressure by dispatching a "peace envoy" to the Darfur region, and then claimed to have "urged Khartoum to be flexible on a peace plan." In reality, China's "peace envoy" returned to Beijing to report that "everything is basically stable." China's state media then blamed "Sudanese secessionists and external hostile elements" (read: the United States) for "viciously 'promoting' and publicizing the issue." Instead, said the Chinese media, "the Darfur issue is a pure internal affair of the Sudan."
While China has not exerted any real pressure on Khartoum, Ms. Farrow has done more to get Beijing's attention than all the State Department's polite exhortations put together have done to get Beijing to pressure Khartoum to accept the "hybrid" force with "a predominantly African character" that is now being desultorily assembled by the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity. The move is seriously inadequate, but it is more than the Chinese regime wanted to do.
This raises the question: If not a boycott, then what? If the Administration and Congress are serious about China's persistent violation of human rights, labor rights, and civil and political rights, along with its myriad other depredations, they should do something more meaningful than pass symbolic, generally ineffectual congressional resolutions.
Conclusion
Both the Administration and Congress must get into the habit of seeing the regime in Beijing for what it is—a Communist dictatorship that suppresses religious, political, and labor freedoms at home and bullies its neighbors. It supports brother dictatorships around the globe, whether they are major or minor perpetrators of genocide, nuclear blackmail, slave labor, and suppression of freedoms.
Boycotting the Olympics would not change any of this. The calls from Congress, however—like Ms. Farrow's effort—do have the welcome effect of focusing attention on the dreadful state of human rights in China and the regime's support for tyranny abroad. American policymakers must use the occasion to call China out on its myriad domestic abuses and irresponsibility abroad and fully enforce related sanctions already on the books.
To do any less than this would be a betrayal of the bargain America made with its own conscience, and would be a lost opportunity of 1936 proportions.
By John J. Tkacik The Heritage Foundation 22 August 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Chinese Scholars Demand Human Rights Before Olympics
Six university scholars in China wrote an open letter to the communist regime on Aug. 14, demanding human rights compliance before the 2008 Olympics. Their letter follows:
The spirit of the Olympics is peace, justice, democracy, and the sanctity of human rights. The 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing. We maintain, however, that the Chinese government must improve human rights conditions in China. A government that cannot safeguard its citizens' basic human rights has no [moral] right to sponsor the Olympics. Subsequently, we are presenting an eightfold proposal to the Chinese government for the improvement of human rights in China:
1. Release political and religious prisoners. Cease political and religious persecution.
2. Abolish the labor-camp system in China. The system allows the government to deprive citizens of their human rights without observing due process under the law. Millions of Chinese citizens have been imprisoned in labor camps over the past 50 years.
3. End newspaper censorship. Insure freedom of speech and of the press. Stop blocking and interfering with foreign media. Abolish the policy of prohibiting people from installing satellite TV antennae.
4. Abolish the violent "one-child" policy. This policy gravely violates the human rights of women, infants, and other family members.
5. Review cases of injustice. Many unjust cases in China have not been vindicated. The victims and their family members have endured injustice and suffering for years. The foremost aberrations of justice should be immediately vindicated, such as those relating to the 1989 Tiananmen Square Democratic Movement, Falun Gong, the Anti-Rightist Movement, violently enforced birth control, and the like.
6. Resolutely implement the Property Rights Law, and stop the barbaric demolition of private property and other abuses of owners' rights.
7. Stop depriving the Chinese people of the right to legally leave and enter China. At present, many Chinese people are restricted from leaving or entering China, based solely on their political views and their beliefs.
8. Abolish torture. All torture methods existing in China should be banned
9. If the Chinese government does not resolve all the forgoing problems, all law-abiding people in China and throughout the world must boycott the Beijing Olympics.
[signed:]
Shi Ruoping (Shandong University), Li Changyu (Shandong University), Sun Wenguang (Shandong University), Hu Fengdazzle (Jiao Tong University), Teng Biao (China University of Political Science and Law), Wang Yi (Chengdu University)
The Epoch Times 21 August 2007
The spirit of the Olympics is peace, justice, democracy, and the sanctity of human rights. The 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing. We maintain, however, that the Chinese government must improve human rights conditions in China. A government that cannot safeguard its citizens' basic human rights has no [moral] right to sponsor the Olympics. Subsequently, we are presenting an eightfold proposal to the Chinese government for the improvement of human rights in China:
1. Release political and religious prisoners. Cease political and religious persecution.
2. Abolish the labor-camp system in China. The system allows the government to deprive citizens of their human rights without observing due process under the law. Millions of Chinese citizens have been imprisoned in labor camps over the past 50 years.
3. End newspaper censorship. Insure freedom of speech and of the press. Stop blocking and interfering with foreign media. Abolish the policy of prohibiting people from installing satellite TV antennae.
4. Abolish the violent "one-child" policy. This policy gravely violates the human rights of women, infants, and other family members.
5. Review cases of injustice. Many unjust cases in China have not been vindicated. The victims and their family members have endured injustice and suffering for years. The foremost aberrations of justice should be immediately vindicated, such as those relating to the 1989 Tiananmen Square Democratic Movement, Falun Gong, the Anti-Rightist Movement, violently enforced birth control, and the like.
6. Resolutely implement the Property Rights Law, and stop the barbaric demolition of private property and other abuses of owners' rights.
7. Stop depriving the Chinese people of the right to legally leave and enter China. At present, many Chinese people are restricted from leaving or entering China, based solely on their political views and their beliefs.
8. Abolish torture. All torture methods existing in China should be banned
9. If the Chinese government does not resolve all the forgoing problems, all law-abiding people in China and throughout the world must boycott the Beijing Olympics.
[signed:]
Shi Ruoping (Shandong University), Li Changyu (Shandong University), Sun Wenguang (Shandong University), Hu Fengdazzle (Jiao Tong University), Teng Biao (China University of Political Science and Law), Wang Yi (Chengdu University)
The Epoch Times 21 August 2007
Report Finds China More Willing to Pressure Sudan Over Darfur Policy
A report from a Geneva-based research group says China appears more willing to pressure Sudan over its policy in the troubled Darfur region and that the 2008 Beijing Olympics may be a factor. Yet the group cautions that rights groups should not declare victory yet. For VOA, Nick Wadhams has more from Nairobi.
The passage late last month of a U.N. Security Council resolution to send 26,000 United Nations and African Union peacekeepers to Darfur was seen as a sign that China was at last exerting its influence to get Khartoum to allow foreign troops.
Rights groups credited their "Genocide Olympics Campaign" with this victory and China's vote to approve the U.N. force. The campaign has suggested that the 2008 Beijing Olympics and China's image would be tainted because of China's support for Sudan.
But the author of the Small Arms Survey report, Daniel Large, argues that international advocates should not be quick to claim credit. China could just as easily change course once the Olympics are over.
"While Hollywood was quick to claim credit for China's apparent change of tack on Darfur, I think we should remember that signs of change were visible before the so-called 'Genocide Olympics Campaign' started in earnest," said Large. "So I think we should set these issues in context and we should be wary of having a short time frame in praising progress or success or failure."
China sells arms to Sudan and is heavily invested in its oil industry. As a result, Beijing has been seen as key in pressuring Khartoum to stop the slaughter in Darfur, where some 200,000 people have died in four years of fighting.
Sudan and China have been allies since the 1990s, and China had previously blocked international efforts to punish the Sudanese government over Darfur. The Small Arms Survey's report says China may be taking a more pragmatic approach now.
Large points out that Sudan is only one part of China's move to invest more heavily - both politically and economically - across the African continent.
And he says China's desire to play a bigger role on the global stage may also be a factor.
"When it's conducting its diplomacy we should remember that this is not a question entirely of economic interest or oil, China's political difference, politically with America matters and its economic interest in Sudan have not been the sole consideration behind its diplomacy," noted Large.
The Small Arms Survey concludes that international pressure on China may be a promising avenue to ease the continuing crisis in Darfur. Yet its policy is still officially one of non-interference.
By Nick Wadhams Nairobi Voice of America 21 August 2007
The passage late last month of a U.N. Security Council resolution to send 26,000 United Nations and African Union peacekeepers to Darfur was seen as a sign that China was at last exerting its influence to get Khartoum to allow foreign troops.
Rights groups credited their "Genocide Olympics Campaign" with this victory and China's vote to approve the U.N. force. The campaign has suggested that the 2008 Beijing Olympics and China's image would be tainted because of China's support for Sudan.
But the author of the Small Arms Survey report, Daniel Large, argues that international advocates should not be quick to claim credit. China could just as easily change course once the Olympics are over.
"While Hollywood was quick to claim credit for China's apparent change of tack on Darfur, I think we should remember that signs of change were visible before the so-called 'Genocide Olympics Campaign' started in earnest," said Large. "So I think we should set these issues in context and we should be wary of having a short time frame in praising progress or success or failure."
China sells arms to Sudan and is heavily invested in its oil industry. As a result, Beijing has been seen as key in pressuring Khartoum to stop the slaughter in Darfur, where some 200,000 people have died in four years of fighting.
Sudan and China have been allies since the 1990s, and China had previously blocked international efforts to punish the Sudanese government over Darfur. The Small Arms Survey's report says China may be taking a more pragmatic approach now.
Large points out that Sudan is only one part of China's move to invest more heavily - both politically and economically - across the African continent.
And he says China's desire to play a bigger role on the global stage may also be a factor.
"When it's conducting its diplomacy we should remember that this is not a question entirely of economic interest or oil, China's political difference, politically with America matters and its economic interest in Sudan have not been the sole consideration behind its diplomacy," noted Large.
The Small Arms Survey concludes that international pressure on China may be a promising avenue to ease the continuing crisis in Darfur. Yet its policy is still officially one of non-interference.
By Nick Wadhams Nairobi Voice of America 21 August 2007
China warns of hijack threats during Beijing Olympics
BEIJING: Senior Chinese police officials have warned of hijack threats during next year's Summer Olympics as air traffic volumes swell for the games, a state-run newspaper reported Tuesday.
The warning in the China Daily comes a day an anti-hijacking drill was held in northeastern China.
"Our efforts to prevent hijacking, as part of the security for the Olympics, face a severe test," Wang Changshun, vice minister of the General Administration of Civil Aviation, was quoted as saying in the newspaper.
Wang said the volume of air traffic at China's main airports is expected to increase by 50 percent during the Beijing Games, which start in just under a year when athletes, tourists, journalists and politicians arrive in China. Beijing's airport is opening a new terminal to handle some of the increase, but has also ordered domestic carriers to reduce numbers of flights to the capital.
"At present, China's anti-hijacking work is facing a series of new challenges," Zhang Xinfeng, vice minister of public security, was quoted as saying.
"Some international terrorist organizations are increasing their infiltration into China and civil aviation planes could be the target of a terrorist attack," he said.
He did not give details.
The anti-hijacking drill at the port city of Dalian in Liaoning province consisted of a simulated raid on hijackers and rescue operations for passengers held hostage, as well as a firefighting operation for a plane that burst into flames upon landing, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
It said more than 600 civil aviation, public security and firefighting officers took part in the drill watched by Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan.
China suffered a string of hijackings between 1993 and 1998, but the hijackers were all attempting to flee to Taiwan.
Taiwan used to welcome Chinese hijackers as anti-communist heroes, but began prosecuting them as tensions with Beijing lessened and contacts expanded between the sides in the 1990s.
China and Taiwan split during a civil war in 1949 and have been ruled separately since then.
The Associated Press 21 August 2007
The warning in the China Daily comes a day an anti-hijacking drill was held in northeastern China.
"Our efforts to prevent hijacking, as part of the security for the Olympics, face a severe test," Wang Changshun, vice minister of the General Administration of Civil Aviation, was quoted as saying in the newspaper.
Wang said the volume of air traffic at China's main airports is expected to increase by 50 percent during the Beijing Games, which start in just under a year when athletes, tourists, journalists and politicians arrive in China. Beijing's airport is opening a new terminal to handle some of the increase, but has also ordered domestic carriers to reduce numbers of flights to the capital.
"At present, China's anti-hijacking work is facing a series of new challenges," Zhang Xinfeng, vice minister of public security, was quoted as saying.
"Some international terrorist organizations are increasing their infiltration into China and civil aviation planes could be the target of a terrorist attack," he said.
He did not give details.
The anti-hijacking drill at the port city of Dalian in Liaoning province consisted of a simulated raid on hijackers and rescue operations for passengers held hostage, as well as a firefighting operation for a plane that burst into flames upon landing, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
It said more than 600 civil aviation, public security and firefighting officers took part in the drill watched by Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan.
China suffered a string of hijackings between 1993 and 1998, but the hijackers were all attempting to flee to Taiwan.
Taiwan used to welcome Chinese hijackers as anti-communist heroes, but began prosecuting them as tensions with Beijing lessened and contacts expanded between the sides in the 1990s.
China and Taiwan split during a civil war in 1949 and have been ruled separately since then.
The Associated Press 21 August 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
The Degeneration of the Olympic Rings
Analysis of the 2008 Olympic Games and China's human rights situation
Compared to the pride Bejing had eight years ago upon securing the 2008 Olympic Games, the present mood of the Chinese communist regime is anything but proud; for it is now mired in an embarrassing situation: the international community is offering a variety of activities aimed at boycotting the 2008 Olympics. There are even groups in Norway (which used to keep itself away from international political issues) supporting the multinational boycott. The Chinese communist regime finds it most unbearable that their country's own people have participated in these activities. One example is the 3,000 farmers in Qinghua Village, Fujin City in China's Heilongjiang Province who have signed a petition "against the Olympics and in support of human rights."
It has been only seven years since Beijing won its Olympics bid in 2001. Since the mythic charm of China's outstanding economy hasn't faded away, why does the international community hold a dramatically different impression of this country? By analyzing various Olympics' boycott slogans, we observe that China's refusal to honor its previous promises and abandonment of justice fueled this widespread endeavor. Seven years ago the Chinese communist regime pledged to address its appalling human rights record in order to host the 2008 Olympics. But when China was awarded the Games, the regime did little to improve its worsening human rights situation. On the contrary, an increase in political pressure and a more powerful network of secret agents have made a bad situation even worse.
I. The Olympics' Boycott Resulted from China's Refusal to Honor Previous Promises
China's attitude toward the boycott turned itself into a laughing stock. The Chinese communist regime often stops those who speak out against the regime by charging these individuals with political offences, such as "endangering national security," "governmental subversion" and "illegally leaking state secrets." These critics often end up behind bars for their offences. But when it comes to the subject of the boycott, China has uncharacteristically depoliticized the issue, demanding that the international community not to politicize the Olympics. One example is a professor quoted on China's state-run media that those who mixed the Olympics with politics "totally misunderstood the spirit of the Olympics." This report went on to explain that the boycott organized by America and 60 other nations against the Moscow Olympics was nothing more than "a slapstick comedy." In reality, the highly politicized Chinese communist regime is the least qualified to demand that others keep a distance from politics.
In July, 2001 in Moscow when placed its bid for the Olympics, China was determined to win the Games at any cost. To silence dissenting voices, China promised the International Olympic Committee and its opponents that if it were awarded the 2008 Olympics, China would better its human rights situation. But in the past few years, China's human rights situation has not improved, but is instead worsening. Headquartered in Paris, France, Reporters Without Borders has been paying close attention to China's human rights situation. A dominant force for the boycott against the Olympics, Reporters Without Borders has continued to criticize China's tight control over public opinion and has protested the regime's backlash toward those who've severely criticized the regime. In order to silence Reporters Without Borders, in January 2007, Chinese authorities invited Robert Menard, general secretary of Reporters Without Borders, and Vincent Brosse, director of the organization's Asia office, to visit China. During their visit, Chinese officials promised they would better their human rights situation, but they were lying through their teeth, and Reporters Without Borders was deceived into disbanding its boycott.
While in China, Menard made ten demands for improving freedom of the press. He made particular mention of the repeated demand for the release of imprisoned reporters and dissidents who were charged with political offenses for posting articles critical of the regime on the Internet. The list included over 100 dissidents, reporters and defenders for freedom of speech. Menard singled out those with the poorest health, the oldest, and individuals who had been imprisoned for longest time. Chinese authorities promised that "there was no problem with the release," and further specified the date of either release or visitation rights would be granted. In addition, China pledged that Reporters Without Borders could establish a base in the country, and the regime promised to lift the ban imposed on certain websites.
But seven months after this meeting, China failed to fulfill any of its promises. Reporters Without Borders had no choice but to launch a new campaign. The director of Reporters Without Borders wrote to the International Olympic Committee demanding that China enforce its previous promise to address its appalling human rights record. As the signature image of its new campaign, Reporters Without Borders designed a logo of five interlinked handcuffs in place of the Olympic rings. The newly designed logo symbolizes that the Chinese communist regime has turned the country into an enormous jail; it reflects deprivation of freedom from which Chinese people have been suffering.
II. The Boycott Against the 2008 Olympics is Endowed with Political Justice and Moral Nobility.
Compared with other boycotts in history, the boycott against the 2008 Olympics has two distinguishing features:
To begin with, international human rights groups like Amnesty International—with supporters from all walks of life, ranging from politicians, social celebrities, to ordinary college students—have called for this boycott. They are the driving force behind this initiative. The Australia-based Human Rights Union—consisting of many former Canadian political heavyweights, California Congressman Tom Lantos, former Canadian Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific David Kilgour, and French presidential candidate Segolene Royal have all expressed support for this effort.
Yet it is United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Ambassador Mia Farrow who lends the boycott its muscle. In her article published in the Wall Street Journal on March 28, 2007, she condemned China for propping up the regime of Sudan, which "in turn caused the genocide in Darfur." Additionally, she dubbed the Games "the Genocide Olympics," and called for a boycott. Furthermore, she wrote another article, singling out distinguished director Steven Spielberg, who had arrived in Beijing in mid-March to help Beijing promote the Olympics. She questioned whether Spielberg had any idea that China's bloody money was behind the genocide in Darfur. Spielberg responded to her accusation by contacting China's leader Hu Jintao, condemning the genocide in Darfur, and urging Beijing to exert its influence on Sudan so as to "end the suffering of people there."
Currently, Canada is the nation that lends the most powerful voice to the call for a boycott. Even Canadian college students support the boycott—of all the student groups participating in this effort, the Students' Union of Simon Fraser University in Canada are the most active in support of the boycott. Judging from the many organizations mentioned, we can conclude that boycott supporters are not limited to what the Chinese communist regime calls the "anti-China forces"— right wing Japanese, Falun Gong, or the Taiwanese independence group, nor are the supporters the so-called "vulgar figures" who intend to acquire fame through this endeavor.
Secondly, the reason for boycotting the Beijing Olympics has nothing to do with the personal interest of the advocates. Instead, the concern is for the human rights situation for the Chinese people and cooperation between the Chinese communist regime and the Sudanese authorities. Boycott advocates simply can't tolerate the human rights infringement in China, Sudan and Zimbabwe, etc. In other words, the boycott against the Beijing Olympics is the most justified Olympics boycott in history in terms of morality. Those who participate in the boycott are not motivated by personal interest, they have simply seen evidence of abuse. This includes videos of Chinese farmers who are fiercely beaten by baton wielding police, military forces and mafia who take their orders from local officials who wish to punish the farmers who resist the regime's forcible levy on their land. These advocates also know that that the regime can, without notice, evict Chinese people from their homes in the name of improving the city. Disgusted by these Chinese authorities, known by some as the "enemy of the Internet", these advocates sympathize with the ordinary Chinese individuals who are imprisoned for publishing their opinions online. They are also aware that China is the largest source of human organs in the world, and realize the cruelty and inhumanity used in the all too common practice of forcible abortion. These advocates also know that, in addition to the violence against human beings, many animals are unnecessarily maltreated in China. Due to the above evidence, boycott advocates aim to express a magnificent wish through their actions: facilitate the improvement of human rights for the people who live in a country that most of them have not visited.
When compared with the group dumping waste water at boycott activities, boycott advocates have demonstrated a high degree of morality. Even Chinese authorities have to admit that those dumping waste water in protest of boycott activities merely acted out of their own interests. In the April 7, 2007 a Global Times article, "Individual Politicians Coerce China, Threatening to Boycott Beijing's Olympics but Receive Little Support Among Western Media," one Chinese official said, "China is an economically strong country now. Many countries and companies have focused their interests here and watch what they need to do to maintain a good relationship with China." The statement says it all. Other than the attraction of benefits, the Chinese communist regime is fully aware that it has no moral inspiration.
The Olympics boycott among Chinese people is especially rare but thoroughly commendable. Despite the pressure imposed by secret agencies and police, a petition signed by farmers in Heilongjiang exclaims, "We want human rights! Not Olympics," indicating that these citizens refuse to tolerate a miserable life for the sake of this spectacle.
III. Chinese Realization: Human Rights Are More Important than Gold Medals and Olympics
Public opinion in China has been highly critical of "Gold Medal Politics" ever since the 2004 Olympics.
Through years of propaganda and ideological education, the Chinese communist regime has been inculcating a political illusion that winning Olympic gold medals equates to building China's might and prosperity. Consider that the political agenda pursued by this regime has been one focused on building the country's prestige and military power. Even the "economic development" emphasized since the reforms aims at strengthening the country, not enriching the people. Human rights are not a factor included in their political considerations. Therefore, the Chinese regime holds a specious understanding that the Olympics are an opportunity to showboat their power and grab international recognition. Winning a great number of gold medals or hosting an Olympics Games are considered key strategies to promoting China's international prestige and fortifying domestic harmony. The regime keeps propagandizing that, in hosting an Olympics Games, a feat that led to Japan and Korea becoming modernized countries, they will bring a bright future to China. China's so-called "Gold Medal Politics," unseen elsewhere, is thus shaped under such a political environment. On July 29, 1984 when Xu Haifeng won the first gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics after China was away from the Olympics for 28 years, the Chinese general public was overcome with elation. A news report titled "Glory of Gun Shot at Prado" written by Sun Jie for the China Youth Daily was later selected into the elementary school text book. Since then, the allure of the Olympic gold medal made its impression into the mind of a new generation and became a vital part of the Chinese dream for a strong country. An "Olympic Complex" became one of the important tools for the Chinese regime to agglomerate public support. Many Chinese (including a lot of overseas Chinese) consider one's support of Beijing's Olympic as a patriotic action. When Beijing was elected as the host city for the Olympics in 2001, a lot of Chinese thought the country's international prestige would be greatly enhanced.
However, the real outcome of this "gold-medal" policy towards physical education did not in fact improve the overall physical health of the nation. Save for a number of athletes becoming gold medal laureates through taxpayer money and the group of officials that personally benefited from the program, the general public would never see how the number of Olympic gold medals had anything to do with their quality of life. In the 2004 Olympics, China became the second leading gold-medal winning country. As officials celebrated the achievement, public opinion in China, which the regime gave little notice, took critical stance toward the "Olympic Complex." The so-called "gold-medal" policy was criticized by many. The criticism can be summarized as follows.
1. Suspicion Of "Gold-Medal" Policy: Does It Really Benefit The General Public?
China's athletes won 32 gold medals in the 2004 Olympics, trailing closely behind USA's 35. Considering the promise of the "Olympic Complex," Chinese people should feel happy and proud at this achievement. However, Chinese citizens, as they began to awake, were not excited by the Olympic glory—they noticed that the enormous investment the regime made in pursuing gold medals at the expense of public welfare did not equal what their former Soviet neighbors produced with a comparatively lesser sacrifice. The total number of gold medals won by Russia and eight other former Soviet republics including Ukraine, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Lithuania reached 45 (the total number of medals was 162), actually a greater number than the top ranking USA. Originally, Chinese people felt the regime's gold-medal policy was justified, as the Soviet Union was employing a similar strategy. However, these countries have become democratized and can no longer rely on an autocratic allocation of resources to chase Olympic gold. That is, their gold medal achievement was driven by athletes themselves. And as for the U.S. Olympic team, Chinese people have become aware that, except for a few profitable sports that are able to support professional athletes by drawing a substantial number of TV viewers, almost all U.S. competitors are amateurs who must balance their athletic aspirations with another career. In a significant contrast, China's athletes are all professionals supported by tax dollars.
Chinese people also understand that China is not a sports giant in the world even though its athletes have won lot of Olympic medals. Among the top 10 gold-medal-winning countries, there is an average of one gold medal for every one million people with some country-to-country variation. The disparity becomes clear when you consider that the ratio is a gold medal for every 2.85 million people in USA and 20.59 million people in China. Ironically, Chinese people also realize that Chinese students who study abroad cannot compete with their classmates in sports because their regime does not provide free public sports facilities for the general public.
Chinese people are well aware of what's happening around them: Their country's education industry is so backward that about 50 million children are unable go to school; the regime's outstanding debt for the social pension fund reaches one trillion yuan (US $125 billion) which accounts for half of China's GDP, leaving many retirees without their pension. Many cannot afford to get sick since the regime's "medical insurance reform" project has minimized the funding of the social welfare system and most Chinese people simply do not have the money to see a doctor. While many in the country live below poverty, the Chinese regime squanders large sums of money cultivating gold medal athletes in hopes of raising China's international image. Is it in the interest of Chinese people, and is it consistent with common people's wishes?
2. How Much Does Each Gold Medal Cost?
An article entitled "A Warning of the Pitfall in Olympic Gold Medals" has further echoed this sentiment. The author revealed a shocking number: After the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, the business expenditure of China's General Administration of Sport went from three billion yuan (about $400 million) to a staggering five billion yuan (about $500 million). To this end, China had spent some 20 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) during the four years preparing for the Athens Olympic Games. If we suppose that China garnered 30 gold medals (in fact it was 32) in Athens, the cost for each gold medal was about 700 million yuan ($90 million), which might be the most expensive gold medal in the world. Bao Mingxiao, director of the Institute of Physical Science under the General Administration of Sports, stated that it was not right to include all the General Administration of Sports' expenditures into the cost for the gold medals. He added that on average, the Chinese regime spends between 4 million yuan ($500 000) to 5 million yuan ($600 000) in expenses for an Olympic medalist. As the Chinese Olympic delegation is composed of 400 athletes, the aggregate investment would be between 1.6 billion yuan ($0.2 billion) and 2 billion yuan ($0.25 billion). If the figure is divided by 32, the number of gold medals garnered, each gold medal may cost between 50 million yuan ($6 million) to 60 million yuan ($7.5 million).
Originally, Bao Mingxiao intended to clarify that the cost for each gold medal was not as much as 700 million yuan ($90 million), but even a figure of between between 50 million yuan ($6 million) to 60 million yuan ($7.5 million) is by no means small change.
What was most ironic to the Chinese people is that the 2004 Olympic Games coincided with the beginning of China's school semester. At that time the media reported many cases of children from poor families being unable afford to pay their tuition, which ranged from several hundred to several thousand yuan. Because of this, many children and parents committed suicide throughout the country. On one hand, many of China's social elite traveled to Athens to enjoy a relaxing and cheerful excursion at the Olympic Games; on the other, many of China's poor committed suicide out of frustration due to the high cost in tuition. As China's poor suffered and struggled, those gold medals inevitably lost their sparkle. As a result, many have wondered if it is worthwhile to handsomely award athletes and let officials squander public funds overseas under the guise of Olympics. A 2004 audit revealed the scandal of the General Administration of Sport's appropriation of funds exclusively designated for the Olympic Games, the money being used instead to build mansions. The scandal further stoked the people's doubt and criticism. As a result, some bloggers expressed their discontent by claiming that a lot of China's corruption has occurred under the guise of the Olympics.
Between gold medals and people's livelihood, which one is more important? The split on this issue is so serious that many people whose awareness has been raised have bitterly exclaimed, "We want human rights rather than the Olympic Games."
Conclusion: Only Countries That Respect Human Rights Will Be Respected By The World
It is only about one year or so before China hosts the 2008 Olympic Games. The Chinese regime has squandered a huge amount of money on expenditures that have nothing to do with people's livelihood and has inspired many complaints among the Chinese people. Because of this, it is very likely that China may follow in the footsteps of Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union, as these two former autocratic superpowers had also used the Olympic Games as a means to show off their "glory, greatness and correctness," but these two superpowers also collapsed less than ten years after hosting the Olympics. As these precedents are still vivid in our minds, the Chinese regime's refusal to acknowledge human rights may only trigger an early arrival of crises.
On April 30, 2007, Amnesty International released a 22-page report entitled "China: The Olympics Countdown—Repression Of Activists Overshadows Death Penalty And Media Reforms." The report made painfully clear that the purpose of the international society's support of China's hosting the 2008 Olympic Games was an effort to help improve the country's human rights. For this, the Beijing administration also promised to extensively improve China's human right situation. However, a recent investigation and assessment found that in preparing to host the Olympic Games, the Chinese regime has detained more people and sent more individuals to forced labor camps without trial, making for a situation that is even worse than before.
This report ruthlessly criticized China's deplorable human right situation, but due to the restraints of the article's length and the nature of the organization, it could only list some individual persecution cases against political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. In reality, the Chinese people's terrible living environment further underscores China's appalling human rights situation. The Shanxi Black Brick Kiln Incident—which saw many child slaves forced to work in an underground brick factory— merely represents a typical case which points to the collapse of China's countryside and the country's economically bankrupt farm villages. As similar incidents have occurred throughout China, it is by no means an isolated incident.
Given these examples, being a Chinese scholar with a conscience, I would like once again to urge the country to look at the following: Aside from getting rich and building up its military power, China should take human rights to be an integral part of its goal in becoming a superpower. A country may be famous for its military buildup and national finance, but if its people must work in a terrible environment and live under intense political pressure, no matter how many strategies China initiates to uplift its international image (such as hosting the Olympic Games), it will never win the world's respect, and it will never realize its dream of becoming a world leader.
In late July, 2007 in New Jersey, the United States.
By He Qinglian The Epoch Times 16 August 2007
Compared to the pride Bejing had eight years ago upon securing the 2008 Olympic Games, the present mood of the Chinese communist regime is anything but proud; for it is now mired in an embarrassing situation: the international community is offering a variety of activities aimed at boycotting the 2008 Olympics. There are even groups in Norway (which used to keep itself away from international political issues) supporting the multinational boycott. The Chinese communist regime finds it most unbearable that their country's own people have participated in these activities. One example is the 3,000 farmers in Qinghua Village, Fujin City in China's Heilongjiang Province who have signed a petition "against the Olympics and in support of human rights."
It has been only seven years since Beijing won its Olympics bid in 2001. Since the mythic charm of China's outstanding economy hasn't faded away, why does the international community hold a dramatically different impression of this country? By analyzing various Olympics' boycott slogans, we observe that China's refusal to honor its previous promises and abandonment of justice fueled this widespread endeavor. Seven years ago the Chinese communist regime pledged to address its appalling human rights record in order to host the 2008 Olympics. But when China was awarded the Games, the regime did little to improve its worsening human rights situation. On the contrary, an increase in political pressure and a more powerful network of secret agents have made a bad situation even worse.
I. The Olympics' Boycott Resulted from China's Refusal to Honor Previous Promises
China's attitude toward the boycott turned itself into a laughing stock. The Chinese communist regime often stops those who speak out against the regime by charging these individuals with political offences, such as "endangering national security," "governmental subversion" and "illegally leaking state secrets." These critics often end up behind bars for their offences. But when it comes to the subject of the boycott, China has uncharacteristically depoliticized the issue, demanding that the international community not to politicize the Olympics. One example is a professor quoted on China's state-run media that those who mixed the Olympics with politics "totally misunderstood the spirit of the Olympics." This report went on to explain that the boycott organized by America and 60 other nations against the Moscow Olympics was nothing more than "a slapstick comedy." In reality, the highly politicized Chinese communist regime is the least qualified to demand that others keep a distance from politics.
In July, 2001 in Moscow when placed its bid for the Olympics, China was determined to win the Games at any cost. To silence dissenting voices, China promised the International Olympic Committee and its opponents that if it were awarded the 2008 Olympics, China would better its human rights situation. But in the past few years, China's human rights situation has not improved, but is instead worsening. Headquartered in Paris, France, Reporters Without Borders has been paying close attention to China's human rights situation. A dominant force for the boycott against the Olympics, Reporters Without Borders has continued to criticize China's tight control over public opinion and has protested the regime's backlash toward those who've severely criticized the regime. In order to silence Reporters Without Borders, in January 2007, Chinese authorities invited Robert Menard, general secretary of Reporters Without Borders, and Vincent Brosse, director of the organization's Asia office, to visit China. During their visit, Chinese officials promised they would better their human rights situation, but they were lying through their teeth, and Reporters Without Borders was deceived into disbanding its boycott.
While in China, Menard made ten demands for improving freedom of the press. He made particular mention of the repeated demand for the release of imprisoned reporters and dissidents who were charged with political offenses for posting articles critical of the regime on the Internet. The list included over 100 dissidents, reporters and defenders for freedom of speech. Menard singled out those with the poorest health, the oldest, and individuals who had been imprisoned for longest time. Chinese authorities promised that "there was no problem with the release," and further specified the date of either release or visitation rights would be granted. In addition, China pledged that Reporters Without Borders could establish a base in the country, and the regime promised to lift the ban imposed on certain websites.
But seven months after this meeting, China failed to fulfill any of its promises. Reporters Without Borders had no choice but to launch a new campaign. The director of Reporters Without Borders wrote to the International Olympic Committee demanding that China enforce its previous promise to address its appalling human rights record. As the signature image of its new campaign, Reporters Without Borders designed a logo of five interlinked handcuffs in place of the Olympic rings. The newly designed logo symbolizes that the Chinese communist regime has turned the country into an enormous jail; it reflects deprivation of freedom from which Chinese people have been suffering.
II. The Boycott Against the 2008 Olympics is Endowed with Political Justice and Moral Nobility.
Compared with other boycotts in history, the boycott against the 2008 Olympics has two distinguishing features:
To begin with, international human rights groups like Amnesty International—with supporters from all walks of life, ranging from politicians, social celebrities, to ordinary college students—have called for this boycott. They are the driving force behind this initiative. The Australia-based Human Rights Union—consisting of many former Canadian political heavyweights, California Congressman Tom Lantos, former Canadian Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific David Kilgour, and French presidential candidate Segolene Royal have all expressed support for this effort.
Yet it is United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Ambassador Mia Farrow who lends the boycott its muscle. In her article published in the Wall Street Journal on March 28, 2007, she condemned China for propping up the regime of Sudan, which "in turn caused the genocide in Darfur." Additionally, she dubbed the Games "the Genocide Olympics," and called for a boycott. Furthermore, she wrote another article, singling out distinguished director Steven Spielberg, who had arrived in Beijing in mid-March to help Beijing promote the Olympics. She questioned whether Spielberg had any idea that China's bloody money was behind the genocide in Darfur. Spielberg responded to her accusation by contacting China's leader Hu Jintao, condemning the genocide in Darfur, and urging Beijing to exert its influence on Sudan so as to "end the suffering of people there."
Currently, Canada is the nation that lends the most powerful voice to the call for a boycott. Even Canadian college students support the boycott—of all the student groups participating in this effort, the Students' Union of Simon Fraser University in Canada are the most active in support of the boycott. Judging from the many organizations mentioned, we can conclude that boycott supporters are not limited to what the Chinese communist regime calls the "anti-China forces"— right wing Japanese, Falun Gong, or the Taiwanese independence group, nor are the supporters the so-called "vulgar figures" who intend to acquire fame through this endeavor.
Secondly, the reason for boycotting the Beijing Olympics has nothing to do with the personal interest of the advocates. Instead, the concern is for the human rights situation for the Chinese people and cooperation between the Chinese communist regime and the Sudanese authorities. Boycott advocates simply can't tolerate the human rights infringement in China, Sudan and Zimbabwe, etc. In other words, the boycott against the Beijing Olympics is the most justified Olympics boycott in history in terms of morality. Those who participate in the boycott are not motivated by personal interest, they have simply seen evidence of abuse. This includes videos of Chinese farmers who are fiercely beaten by baton wielding police, military forces and mafia who take their orders from local officials who wish to punish the farmers who resist the regime's forcible levy on their land. These advocates also know that that the regime can, without notice, evict Chinese people from their homes in the name of improving the city. Disgusted by these Chinese authorities, known by some as the "enemy of the Internet", these advocates sympathize with the ordinary Chinese individuals who are imprisoned for publishing their opinions online. They are also aware that China is the largest source of human organs in the world, and realize the cruelty and inhumanity used in the all too common practice of forcible abortion. These advocates also know that, in addition to the violence against human beings, many animals are unnecessarily maltreated in China. Due to the above evidence, boycott advocates aim to express a magnificent wish through their actions: facilitate the improvement of human rights for the people who live in a country that most of them have not visited.
When compared with the group dumping waste water at boycott activities, boycott advocates have demonstrated a high degree of morality. Even Chinese authorities have to admit that those dumping waste water in protest of boycott activities merely acted out of their own interests. In the April 7, 2007 a Global Times article, "Individual Politicians Coerce China, Threatening to Boycott Beijing's Olympics but Receive Little Support Among Western Media," one Chinese official said, "China is an economically strong country now. Many countries and companies have focused their interests here and watch what they need to do to maintain a good relationship with China." The statement says it all. Other than the attraction of benefits, the Chinese communist regime is fully aware that it has no moral inspiration.
The Olympics boycott among Chinese people is especially rare but thoroughly commendable. Despite the pressure imposed by secret agencies and police, a petition signed by farmers in Heilongjiang exclaims, "We want human rights! Not Olympics," indicating that these citizens refuse to tolerate a miserable life for the sake of this spectacle.
III. Chinese Realization: Human Rights Are More Important than Gold Medals and Olympics
Public opinion in China has been highly critical of "Gold Medal Politics" ever since the 2004 Olympics.
Through years of propaganda and ideological education, the Chinese communist regime has been inculcating a political illusion that winning Olympic gold medals equates to building China's might and prosperity. Consider that the political agenda pursued by this regime has been one focused on building the country's prestige and military power. Even the "economic development" emphasized since the reforms aims at strengthening the country, not enriching the people. Human rights are not a factor included in their political considerations. Therefore, the Chinese regime holds a specious understanding that the Olympics are an opportunity to showboat their power and grab international recognition. Winning a great number of gold medals or hosting an Olympics Games are considered key strategies to promoting China's international prestige and fortifying domestic harmony. The regime keeps propagandizing that, in hosting an Olympics Games, a feat that led to Japan and Korea becoming modernized countries, they will bring a bright future to China. China's so-called "Gold Medal Politics," unseen elsewhere, is thus shaped under such a political environment. On July 29, 1984 when Xu Haifeng won the first gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics after China was away from the Olympics for 28 years, the Chinese general public was overcome with elation. A news report titled "Glory of Gun Shot at Prado" written by Sun Jie for the China Youth Daily was later selected into the elementary school text book. Since then, the allure of the Olympic gold medal made its impression into the mind of a new generation and became a vital part of the Chinese dream for a strong country. An "Olympic Complex" became one of the important tools for the Chinese regime to agglomerate public support. Many Chinese (including a lot of overseas Chinese) consider one's support of Beijing's Olympic as a patriotic action. When Beijing was elected as the host city for the Olympics in 2001, a lot of Chinese thought the country's international prestige would be greatly enhanced.
However, the real outcome of this "gold-medal" policy towards physical education did not in fact improve the overall physical health of the nation. Save for a number of athletes becoming gold medal laureates through taxpayer money and the group of officials that personally benefited from the program, the general public would never see how the number of Olympic gold medals had anything to do with their quality of life. In the 2004 Olympics, China became the second leading gold-medal winning country. As officials celebrated the achievement, public opinion in China, which the regime gave little notice, took critical stance toward the "Olympic Complex." The so-called "gold-medal" policy was criticized by many. The criticism can be summarized as follows.
1. Suspicion Of "Gold-Medal" Policy: Does It Really Benefit The General Public?
China's athletes won 32 gold medals in the 2004 Olympics, trailing closely behind USA's 35. Considering the promise of the "Olympic Complex," Chinese people should feel happy and proud at this achievement. However, Chinese citizens, as they began to awake, were not excited by the Olympic glory—they noticed that the enormous investment the regime made in pursuing gold medals at the expense of public welfare did not equal what their former Soviet neighbors produced with a comparatively lesser sacrifice. The total number of gold medals won by Russia and eight other former Soviet republics including Ukraine, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Lithuania reached 45 (the total number of medals was 162), actually a greater number than the top ranking USA. Originally, Chinese people felt the regime's gold-medal policy was justified, as the Soviet Union was employing a similar strategy. However, these countries have become democratized and can no longer rely on an autocratic allocation of resources to chase Olympic gold. That is, their gold medal achievement was driven by athletes themselves. And as for the U.S. Olympic team, Chinese people have become aware that, except for a few profitable sports that are able to support professional athletes by drawing a substantial number of TV viewers, almost all U.S. competitors are amateurs who must balance their athletic aspirations with another career. In a significant contrast, China's athletes are all professionals supported by tax dollars.
Chinese people also understand that China is not a sports giant in the world even though its athletes have won lot of Olympic medals. Among the top 10 gold-medal-winning countries, there is an average of one gold medal for every one million people with some country-to-country variation. The disparity becomes clear when you consider that the ratio is a gold medal for every 2.85 million people in USA and 20.59 million people in China. Ironically, Chinese people also realize that Chinese students who study abroad cannot compete with their classmates in sports because their regime does not provide free public sports facilities for the general public.
Chinese people are well aware of what's happening around them: Their country's education industry is so backward that about 50 million children are unable go to school; the regime's outstanding debt for the social pension fund reaches one trillion yuan (US $125 billion) which accounts for half of China's GDP, leaving many retirees without their pension. Many cannot afford to get sick since the regime's "medical insurance reform" project has minimized the funding of the social welfare system and most Chinese people simply do not have the money to see a doctor. While many in the country live below poverty, the Chinese regime squanders large sums of money cultivating gold medal athletes in hopes of raising China's international image. Is it in the interest of Chinese people, and is it consistent with common people's wishes?
2. How Much Does Each Gold Medal Cost?
An article entitled "A Warning of the Pitfall in Olympic Gold Medals" has further echoed this sentiment. The author revealed a shocking number: After the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, the business expenditure of China's General Administration of Sport went from three billion yuan (about $400 million) to a staggering five billion yuan (about $500 million). To this end, China had spent some 20 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) during the four years preparing for the Athens Olympic Games. If we suppose that China garnered 30 gold medals (in fact it was 32) in Athens, the cost for each gold medal was about 700 million yuan ($90 million), which might be the most expensive gold medal in the world. Bao Mingxiao, director of the Institute of Physical Science under the General Administration of Sports, stated that it was not right to include all the General Administration of Sports' expenditures into the cost for the gold medals. He added that on average, the Chinese regime spends between 4 million yuan ($500 000) to 5 million yuan ($600 000) in expenses for an Olympic medalist. As the Chinese Olympic delegation is composed of 400 athletes, the aggregate investment would be between 1.6 billion yuan ($0.2 billion) and 2 billion yuan ($0.25 billion). If the figure is divided by 32, the number of gold medals garnered, each gold medal may cost between 50 million yuan ($6 million) to 60 million yuan ($7.5 million).
Originally, Bao Mingxiao intended to clarify that the cost for each gold medal was not as much as 700 million yuan ($90 million), but even a figure of between between 50 million yuan ($6 million) to 60 million yuan ($7.5 million) is by no means small change.
What was most ironic to the Chinese people is that the 2004 Olympic Games coincided with the beginning of China's school semester. At that time the media reported many cases of children from poor families being unable afford to pay their tuition, which ranged from several hundred to several thousand yuan. Because of this, many children and parents committed suicide throughout the country. On one hand, many of China's social elite traveled to Athens to enjoy a relaxing and cheerful excursion at the Olympic Games; on the other, many of China's poor committed suicide out of frustration due to the high cost in tuition. As China's poor suffered and struggled, those gold medals inevitably lost their sparkle. As a result, many have wondered if it is worthwhile to handsomely award athletes and let officials squander public funds overseas under the guise of Olympics. A 2004 audit revealed the scandal of the General Administration of Sport's appropriation of funds exclusively designated for the Olympic Games, the money being used instead to build mansions. The scandal further stoked the people's doubt and criticism. As a result, some bloggers expressed their discontent by claiming that a lot of China's corruption has occurred under the guise of the Olympics.
Between gold medals and people's livelihood, which one is more important? The split on this issue is so serious that many people whose awareness has been raised have bitterly exclaimed, "We want human rights rather than the Olympic Games."
Conclusion: Only Countries That Respect Human Rights Will Be Respected By The World
It is only about one year or so before China hosts the 2008 Olympic Games. The Chinese regime has squandered a huge amount of money on expenditures that have nothing to do with people's livelihood and has inspired many complaints among the Chinese people. Because of this, it is very likely that China may follow in the footsteps of Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union, as these two former autocratic superpowers had also used the Olympic Games as a means to show off their "glory, greatness and correctness," but these two superpowers also collapsed less than ten years after hosting the Olympics. As these precedents are still vivid in our minds, the Chinese regime's refusal to acknowledge human rights may only trigger an early arrival of crises.
On April 30, 2007, Amnesty International released a 22-page report entitled "China: The Olympics Countdown—Repression Of Activists Overshadows Death Penalty And Media Reforms." The report made painfully clear that the purpose of the international society's support of China's hosting the 2008 Olympic Games was an effort to help improve the country's human rights. For this, the Beijing administration also promised to extensively improve China's human right situation. However, a recent investigation and assessment found that in preparing to host the Olympic Games, the Chinese regime has detained more people and sent more individuals to forced labor camps without trial, making for a situation that is even worse than before.
This report ruthlessly criticized China's deplorable human right situation, but due to the restraints of the article's length and the nature of the organization, it could only list some individual persecution cases against political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. In reality, the Chinese people's terrible living environment further underscores China's appalling human rights situation. The Shanxi Black Brick Kiln Incident—which saw many child slaves forced to work in an underground brick factory— merely represents a typical case which points to the collapse of China's countryside and the country's economically bankrupt farm villages. As similar incidents have occurred throughout China, it is by no means an isolated incident.
Given these examples, being a Chinese scholar with a conscience, I would like once again to urge the country to look at the following: Aside from getting rich and building up its military power, China should take human rights to be an integral part of its goal in becoming a superpower. A country may be famous for its military buildup and national finance, but if its people must work in a terrible environment and live under intense political pressure, no matter how many strategies China initiates to uplift its international image (such as hosting the Olympic Games), it will never win the world's respect, and it will never realize its dream of becoming a world leader.
In late July, 2007 in New Jersey, the United States.
By He Qinglian The Epoch Times 16 August 2007
Will U.S. boycott China Games?
Human rights at issue for Summer 2008 Olympics.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep Joe Pitts is among seven House Republicans sponsoring a resolution calling for a boycott of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing because of China's poor human rights record.
The resolution was introduced Aug. 4, just before the lawmakers' summer recess. It asks the federal government to take steps to boycott the Olympics unless China stops human rights abuses and stops supporting the governments of Sudan, Burma, North Korea and others.
"(Hosting the Olympics) is a real big deal to China. This is an opportunity to pressure them to correct some of their policies on human rights violations," said Pitts, a Republican who represents Lancaster County.
Comparing the games in China to the 1936 Olympics in Nazi-era Berlin, the resolution says, "The integrity of the host country is of the utmost importance so as not to stain the participating athletes or the character of the Games."
The resolution lists multiple human rights abuses, including detention of political prisoners, China's military ties with Sudan and "forced abortion and sterilization to enforce its 'One Child' policy, as per family population control measures."
Pitts said torture, imprisonment of people on religious grounds and the violent suppression of demonstrations were particularly galling.
While Pitts said he was uncertain if the resolution would lead to an actual boycott, he added that it was important to use the publicity of the Olympic Games as an opportunity to call on China to change.
"I think this is the beginning of a process that is going to escalate." he said. "This will begin the talk, not only here in the Congress but around the world."
The Pitts-sponsored resolution is one of three House resolutions that call for a U.S. boycott of next year's Olympics. All were introduced just before Congress' August recess and criticize China's human rights record.
The United States last boycotted the Olympics in 1980, when it stayed home from the summer games in Moscow as a protest against the Soviet Union's 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.
By CHAD UMBLE Lancaster Online.com 16 August 2007
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep Joe Pitts is among seven House Republicans sponsoring a resolution calling for a boycott of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing because of China's poor human rights record.
The resolution was introduced Aug. 4, just before the lawmakers' summer recess. It asks the federal government to take steps to boycott the Olympics unless China stops human rights abuses and stops supporting the governments of Sudan, Burma, North Korea and others.
"(Hosting the Olympics) is a real big deal to China. This is an opportunity to pressure them to correct some of their policies on human rights violations," said Pitts, a Republican who represents Lancaster County.
Comparing the games in China to the 1936 Olympics in Nazi-era Berlin, the resolution says, "The integrity of the host country is of the utmost importance so as not to stain the participating athletes or the character of the Games."
The resolution lists multiple human rights abuses, including detention of political prisoners, China's military ties with Sudan and "forced abortion and sterilization to enforce its 'One Child' policy, as per family population control measures."
Pitts said torture, imprisonment of people on religious grounds and the violent suppression of demonstrations were particularly galling.
While Pitts said he was uncertain if the resolution would lead to an actual boycott, he added that it was important to use the publicity of the Olympic Games as an opportunity to call on China to change.
"I think this is the beginning of a process that is going to escalate." he said. "This will begin the talk, not only here in the Congress but around the world."
The Pitts-sponsored resolution is one of three House resolutions that call for a U.S. boycott of next year's Olympics. All were introduced just before Congress' August recess and criticize China's human rights record.
The United States last boycotted the Olympics in 1980, when it stayed home from the summer games in Moscow as a protest against the Soviet Union's 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.
By CHAD UMBLE Lancaster Online.com 16 August 2007
Human rights abuses risk blighting Olympics legacy
As the one year countdown begins, time is running out for the Chinese government to fulfil its promise of promoting human rights as part of the Olympics legacy, Amnesty International's Secretary General Irene Khan said today.
"Unless the Chinese authorities take urgent measures to stop human rights violations over the coming year, they risk tarnishing the image of China and the legacy of the Beijing Olympics," Irene Khan said.
In its latest assessment of China's progress towards its promised human rights improvements ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Amnesty International finds that several Beijing-based activists continue to face 'house arrest' and tight police surveillance, while activists in other parts of China are facing heightened patterns of abuse as attention is focused on Beijing in the run-up to the Olympics. The report also highlights an ongoing crackdown on journalists, which has most recently extended to the closure of certain publications on Chinese civil society and development.
"The crackdown on human rights defenders and domestic media continues to overshadow more positive reforms with regard to the death penalty and foreign media coverage in China. Not only are we not seeing delivery on the promises made that the Olympics would help improve the human rights situation in China, but the police are using the pretext of the Olympics to extend the use of detention without trial."
The report also highlighted the continued use of detention without trial as part of Beijing's "clean up" operations of the city ahead of the 2008 Games, despite the fact that substantial reform or abolition of methods of arbitrary detention including "Re-education through Labour" has been on China's reform agenda for many years.
In its report, Amnesty International welcomed recent statements by Supreme Court officials expressing the need for greater transparency on the death penalty and unified criteria for imposing death sentences. However, the organization urged the authorities to broaden this approach by increasing access to information on individuals facing the death penalty, particularly for lawyers and members of their families, and by publishing full national statistics on death sentences and executions.
"The application of the death penalty in China -- the world's top executioner -- remains shrouded in secrecy," Irene Khan said.
"Full transparency is essential to help prevent miscarriages of justice and provide the Chinese public with sufficient information to reach informed conclusions on the death penalty. Nothing short of publishing full national statistics on the application of the death penalty in China will suffice," Irene Khan said.
Amnesty International's report, China: The Olympics countdown - one year left to fulfil human rights promises, focuses on four key areas of human rights relating to the Olympics: death penalty, detention without trial, human rights activists and media freedom.
Key findings in the latest assessment are as follows:
Death penalty
Continued use of death sentences and executions for non-violent crimes and ongoing failure to disclose national death penalty statistics, despite official assertions that use of the death penalty has declined by 10 per cent following the restoration of Supreme Court review on 1 January 2007;
Evidence that official commitments to introduce greater transparency in courts at all levels may not be being implemented and the continued denial of access for the families and lawyers to those sentenced to death as well as information on their situation;
Recent official confirmation that the imposition of the death penalty is often arbitrary with courts applying different criteria in different parts of the country;
Detention without trial
Increased use of detention without trial to "clean up" Beijing ahead of the games, including "Enforced Drug Rehabilitation" and the extension of categories of petty crime for which "Re-education through Labour" is applied;
Human rights activists
Intensification of abuse against human rights activists in other parts of China, including the death of award-winning housing rights activist Chen Xiaoming in Shanghai on 1 July, shortly after his release from prison on medical parole; reports indicate that he was tortured in detention;
The targeting of lawyers and legal advisors working on behalf of victims of human rights violations, including the reported beating of imprisoned blind legal advisor Chen Guangcheng by fellow inmates on the orders of prison guards on 16 June. Chen was imprisoned in Shandong province after he tried to bring local authorities to book for allegedly forcing local women to undergo forced abortions and sterilization in pursuit of birth quotas;
The targeting of activists who try to draw attention to those evicted from their homes as a result of Olympics-related construction projects, including the ongoing imprisonment of Ye Guozhu, who was reportedly beaten with electro-shock batons at the end of last year;
Media freedom
A continued crackdown on domestic journalism including the continued imprisonment of journalists and writers, forced dismissal of media staff and the closure of publications;
Pervasive internet censorship involving the closure of websites and recent attempts in one city, Xiamen, to silence protests with new regulations to force Internet users to register under their real names.
Amnesty International has sent copies of its latest update to the Chinese authorities and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), noting that these issues are directly relevant to Beijing’s hosting of the Olympics and core principles in the Olympic Charter.
"The ongoing serious human rights violations in China constitute an affront to core principles in the Olympic Charter relating to the ‘preservation of human dignity’ and ‘respect for universal fundamental ethical principles’. The IOC must promote a positive legacy of the Olympics built on respect for human rights and rule of law," Irene Khan said.
"With just one year to go, time is running out before the Beijing Olympic Games are irreversibly tarnished by the China's lack of respect for human rights. The Chinese authorities must press ahead with their promises to improve human rights so that when August 2008 arrives the Chinese people can be proud in every respect of what their country has to offer the world."
Amnesty International 6 August 2007
"Unless the Chinese authorities take urgent measures to stop human rights violations over the coming year, they risk tarnishing the image of China and the legacy of the Beijing Olympics," Irene Khan said.
In its latest assessment of China's progress towards its promised human rights improvements ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Amnesty International finds that several Beijing-based activists continue to face 'house arrest' and tight police surveillance, while activists in other parts of China are facing heightened patterns of abuse as attention is focused on Beijing in the run-up to the Olympics. The report also highlights an ongoing crackdown on journalists, which has most recently extended to the closure of certain publications on Chinese civil society and development.
"The crackdown on human rights defenders and domestic media continues to overshadow more positive reforms with regard to the death penalty and foreign media coverage in China. Not only are we not seeing delivery on the promises made that the Olympics would help improve the human rights situation in China, but the police are using the pretext of the Olympics to extend the use of detention without trial."
The report also highlighted the continued use of detention without trial as part of Beijing's "clean up" operations of the city ahead of the 2008 Games, despite the fact that substantial reform or abolition of methods of arbitrary detention including "Re-education through Labour" has been on China's reform agenda for many years.
In its report, Amnesty International welcomed recent statements by Supreme Court officials expressing the need for greater transparency on the death penalty and unified criteria for imposing death sentences. However, the organization urged the authorities to broaden this approach by increasing access to information on individuals facing the death penalty, particularly for lawyers and members of their families, and by publishing full national statistics on death sentences and executions.
"The application of the death penalty in China -- the world's top executioner -- remains shrouded in secrecy," Irene Khan said.
"Full transparency is essential to help prevent miscarriages of justice and provide the Chinese public with sufficient information to reach informed conclusions on the death penalty. Nothing short of publishing full national statistics on the application of the death penalty in China will suffice," Irene Khan said.
Amnesty International's report, China: The Olympics countdown - one year left to fulfil human rights promises, focuses on four key areas of human rights relating to the Olympics: death penalty, detention without trial, human rights activists and media freedom.
Key findings in the latest assessment are as follows:
Death penalty
Continued use of death sentences and executions for non-violent crimes and ongoing failure to disclose national death penalty statistics, despite official assertions that use of the death penalty has declined by 10 per cent following the restoration of Supreme Court review on 1 January 2007;
Evidence that official commitments to introduce greater transparency in courts at all levels may not be being implemented and the continued denial of access for the families and lawyers to those sentenced to death as well as information on their situation;
Recent official confirmation that the imposition of the death penalty is often arbitrary with courts applying different criteria in different parts of the country;
Detention without trial
Increased use of detention without trial to "clean up" Beijing ahead of the games, including "Enforced Drug Rehabilitation" and the extension of categories of petty crime for which "Re-education through Labour" is applied;
Human rights activists
Intensification of abuse against human rights activists in other parts of China, including the death of award-winning housing rights activist Chen Xiaoming in Shanghai on 1 July, shortly after his release from prison on medical parole; reports indicate that he was tortured in detention;
The targeting of lawyers and legal advisors working on behalf of victims of human rights violations, including the reported beating of imprisoned blind legal advisor Chen Guangcheng by fellow inmates on the orders of prison guards on 16 June. Chen was imprisoned in Shandong province after he tried to bring local authorities to book for allegedly forcing local women to undergo forced abortions and sterilization in pursuit of birth quotas;
The targeting of activists who try to draw attention to those evicted from their homes as a result of Olympics-related construction projects, including the ongoing imprisonment of Ye Guozhu, who was reportedly beaten with electro-shock batons at the end of last year;
Media freedom
A continued crackdown on domestic journalism including the continued imprisonment of journalists and writers, forced dismissal of media staff and the closure of publications;
Pervasive internet censorship involving the closure of websites and recent attempts in one city, Xiamen, to silence protests with new regulations to force Internet users to register under their real names.
Amnesty International has sent copies of its latest update to the Chinese authorities and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), noting that these issues are directly relevant to Beijing’s hosting of the Olympics and core principles in the Olympic Charter.
"The ongoing serious human rights violations in China constitute an affront to core principles in the Olympic Charter relating to the ‘preservation of human dignity’ and ‘respect for universal fundamental ethical principles’. The IOC must promote a positive legacy of the Olympics built on respect for human rights and rule of law," Irene Khan said.
"With just one year to go, time is running out before the Beijing Olympic Games are irreversibly tarnished by the China's lack of respect for human rights. The Chinese authorities must press ahead with their promises to improve human rights so that when August 2008 arrives the Chinese people can be proud in every respect of what their country has to offer the world."
Amnesty International 6 August 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
US legislators propose China Olympics boycott over rights
WASHINGTON: US legislators introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives calling for a boycott of the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing unless China "stops engaging in serious human rights abuses," Congressional aides said.
Backed initially by eight lawmakers from President George W. Bush's Republican Party, the resolution also calls on Beijing to "stop supporting serious human rights abuses by the governments" of Sudan, Myanmar and North Korea, the aides said on Tuesday.
The resolution, a copy of which was made available to a news agency, is expected to be debated by the House foreign affairs committee when lawmakers return from recess in early September.
Comparing the 2008 games to the Berlin 1936 Olympics, which occurred at the time of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany, the resolution said "the integrity of the host country is of the utmost importance so as not to stain the participating athletes or the character of the games."
It said "the Chinese regime regularly denies the right to freedom of conscience, expression, religion, and association," and that it has held thousands of political prisoners without charge or trial.
The resolution was sponsored by a top China critic in the House, Dana Rohrabacher, and co-sponsored by, among seven others, ranking Republican lawmaker Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
It is expected to receive support from lawmakers from the Democratic Party, which has also been pushing for rights reforms in China.
News on the resolution came on the eve of China's bid to mark on Wednesday the one-year countdown to the Beijing Games, which start on August 8, 2008.
China is planning a huge party on Wednesday on Tiananmen Square, where the military crushed democracy protests in 1989, killing hundreds if not thousands of people.
"The test of whether the Olympics change China will come over human rights and responsible foreign policy, particularly in Africa," said Victor Cha, a former White House Asia adviser in an opinion piece in a newspaper on Wednesday.
"The question is: Will the 2008 Games be like the 1936 Games in Berlin, where the goal was to validate a flawed domestic system before the world?
"Or, in the coming year, will we see whether Beijing is ready to mark the Games as a watershed for China's constructive role in the community of nations?" Cha wrote.
Rights group Amnesty International on Tuesday challenged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to live up to a reported pledge to act against China over human rights concerns.
After Beijing won the right to host the games in 2001, IOC chief Jacques Rogge had warned the Chinese government of action if it failed to enhance security and improve the human rights situation, Amnesty said.
"IOC, you have a duty and responsibility to act now," said T. Kumar, Amnesty's Asia-Pacific advocacy director, at a Washington forum, citing Rogge's pledge which he said was made in April 2002.
Kumar said the Chinese government itself promised to "enhance social conditions, including education, health and human rights" when it bid to host the Olympics.
"The IOC and the Chinese government are on trial today for the promises they gave," he said.
The Times of India 8 August 2007
Backed initially by eight lawmakers from President George W. Bush's Republican Party, the resolution also calls on Beijing to "stop supporting serious human rights abuses by the governments" of Sudan, Myanmar and North Korea, the aides said on Tuesday.
The resolution, a copy of which was made available to a news agency, is expected to be debated by the House foreign affairs committee when lawmakers return from recess in early September.
Comparing the 2008 games to the Berlin 1936 Olympics, which occurred at the time of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany, the resolution said "the integrity of the host country is of the utmost importance so as not to stain the participating athletes or the character of the games."
It said "the Chinese regime regularly denies the right to freedom of conscience, expression, religion, and association," and that it has held thousands of political prisoners without charge or trial.
The resolution was sponsored by a top China critic in the House, Dana Rohrabacher, and co-sponsored by, among seven others, ranking Republican lawmaker Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
It is expected to receive support from lawmakers from the Democratic Party, which has also been pushing for rights reforms in China.
News on the resolution came on the eve of China's bid to mark on Wednesday the one-year countdown to the Beijing Games, which start on August 8, 2008.
China is planning a huge party on Wednesday on Tiananmen Square, where the military crushed democracy protests in 1989, killing hundreds if not thousands of people.
"The test of whether the Olympics change China will come over human rights and responsible foreign policy, particularly in Africa," said Victor Cha, a former White House Asia adviser in an opinion piece in a newspaper on Wednesday.
"The question is: Will the 2008 Games be like the 1936 Games in Berlin, where the goal was to validate a flawed domestic system before the world?
"Or, in the coming year, will we see whether Beijing is ready to mark the Games as a watershed for China's constructive role in the community of nations?" Cha wrote.
Rights group Amnesty International on Tuesday challenged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to live up to a reported pledge to act against China over human rights concerns.
After Beijing won the right to host the games in 2001, IOC chief Jacques Rogge had warned the Chinese government of action if it failed to enhance security and improve the human rights situation, Amnesty said.
"IOC, you have a duty and responsibility to act now," said T. Kumar, Amnesty's Asia-Pacific advocacy director, at a Washington forum, citing Rogge's pledge which he said was made in April 2002.
Kumar said the Chinese government itself promised to "enhance social conditions, including education, health and human rights" when it bid to host the Olympics.
"The IOC and the Chinese government are on trial today for the promises they gave," he said.
The Times of India 8 August 2007
Danger: made in China
Mattel recalled 19 million Chinese-made toys last week, due to lead in the paint of the toys that could harm children. The toys are yet another unsafe product that raise doubts about doing business with China.
This summer has been chock full of controversy surrounding the safety and quality of Chinese-made products, whether it be toothpaste, seafood or pet food. But the Mattel recall is the most alarming incident yet, because its scope shows just how many American consumers rely on Chinese services. The trading relationship China has with America, the biggest importer of Chinese goods, has been so strong that it seems like some American corporations have put all their eggs in one basket.
It is long past time to re-evaluate the credibility of Chinese assurances about the safety and quality of goods made in China, especially since China has been unwilling to share information about how and why it exports products that are defective.
There were reports last week, for example, that China is withholding information on a fast-spreading virus that threatens to wipe out its pig population. Chinese officials claim that the disease is an infection called blue-ear pig disease. But China has not shared tissue samples that would allow confirmation by outside agencies.
What does seem clear is that the effects of the virus appear more lethal than those typically associated with blue-ear pig disease, a common ailment. The precise number of pig deaths has not been reliably reported, and a similar virus has also been seen in Vietnam and Burma.
Chinese officials' decision to withhold information about a potentially widespread virus is a dangerous precedent. Such secrecy eats away at China's image as a reliable trading partner and an emerging superpower.
With China preparing to host the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, now would be the worst time for the country to lose the world's confidence.
courier-journal.com 19 August 2007
This summer has been chock full of controversy surrounding the safety and quality of Chinese-made products, whether it be toothpaste, seafood or pet food. But the Mattel recall is the most alarming incident yet, because its scope shows just how many American consumers rely on Chinese services. The trading relationship China has with America, the biggest importer of Chinese goods, has been so strong that it seems like some American corporations have put all their eggs in one basket.
It is long past time to re-evaluate the credibility of Chinese assurances about the safety and quality of goods made in China, especially since China has been unwilling to share information about how and why it exports products that are defective.
There were reports last week, for example, that China is withholding information on a fast-spreading virus that threatens to wipe out its pig population. Chinese officials claim that the disease is an infection called blue-ear pig disease. But China has not shared tissue samples that would allow confirmation by outside agencies.
What does seem clear is that the effects of the virus appear more lethal than those typically associated with blue-ear pig disease, a common ailment. The precise number of pig deaths has not been reliably reported, and a similar virus has also been seen in Vietnam and Burma.
Chinese officials' decision to withhold information about a potentially widespread virus is a dangerous precedent. Such secrecy eats away at China's image as a reliable trading partner and an emerging superpower.
With China preparing to host the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, now would be the worst time for the country to lose the world's confidence.
courier-journal.com 19 August 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Olympics spectators warned over air in Beijing
High levels of air pollution in Beijing could damage the health of many spectators at next years Olympic Games, a leading World Health Organisation expert has warned.
Dr Michal Krzyzanowski, said that air quality was so bad in the Chinese capital that those with a history of heart problems and those suffering from asthma should be aware they could be harmed.
The warning came as city officials began a four-day scheme to ban half of Beijing’s almost three million vehicles from the road to try to cut pollution.
Cars with registration plates ending in odd and even numbers will each be banned from the roads for two days.
More than 6,000 police officers have been drafted in to hand out spot fines of £6.50 for anyone caught ignoring the restrictions.
Commuters filled buses and underground trains yesterday as the ban began to take effect.
But despite the fact it visibly thinned out congestion, the ban was unable to shift a layer of smog that hung stubbornly over the capital throughout the day.
However, Du Shaozhong, the deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, classed the air quality as “good”.
“Today is a good day in terms of pollution. You can go out and do sports or whatever you want,” he said.
The city hopes that, should the system prove effective, it will be used again next August to reduce pollution and traffic during the Games.
Beijing, a city of 13 million people, is one of the world’s most polluted cities, beset by severe smog brewed by heavy industry and vehicles, with the number of the city’s streets ordinarily growing by 1,200 a day.
City authorities hope the ban to cut vehicle emissions by 40 per cent.
However, Dr Krzyzanowski, an expert in air quality, doubted the measures would be effective in the long term and said the WHO still feared for the health of many of those planning to attend the Games.
“I’d be amazed if substantial progress is made in the next 12 months,” he said, pointing out that Beijing’s problems are not just created locally.
"It’s possible the beneficial effect of cutting the traffic in the city will be compensated by the transport of pollution from other parts of China.”
“Even by the standards of Asia, Chinese cities are pretty highly polluted,” he said.
“Those who come with asthma may suffer attacks. I would be concerned for those who have some cardiac condition,” he added.
“This might be more serious as it requires a much more specialised medical response.”
Beijing is one of the world’s most polluted cities and poor air quality, blamed partly on the city’s three million cars - a number growing by 1,200 a day - has long been a top concern for athletes and officials.
Jacques Rogge, the head of the International Olympic Committee, warned last week that events could be postponed if conditions were unhealthy, while some countries say their competitors will arrive in Beijing as late as possible to avoid exposure to pollution.
By Graeme Baker Telegraph.co.uk 18 August 2007
Dr Michal Krzyzanowski, said that air quality was so bad in the Chinese capital that those with a history of heart problems and those suffering from asthma should be aware they could be harmed.
The warning came as city officials began a four-day scheme to ban half of Beijing’s almost three million vehicles from the road to try to cut pollution.
Cars with registration plates ending in odd and even numbers will each be banned from the roads for two days.
More than 6,000 police officers have been drafted in to hand out spot fines of £6.50 for anyone caught ignoring the restrictions.
Commuters filled buses and underground trains yesterday as the ban began to take effect.
But despite the fact it visibly thinned out congestion, the ban was unable to shift a layer of smog that hung stubbornly over the capital throughout the day.
However, Du Shaozhong, the deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, classed the air quality as “good”.
“Today is a good day in terms of pollution. You can go out and do sports or whatever you want,” he said.
The city hopes that, should the system prove effective, it will be used again next August to reduce pollution and traffic during the Games.
Beijing, a city of 13 million people, is one of the world’s most polluted cities, beset by severe smog brewed by heavy industry and vehicles, with the number of the city’s streets ordinarily growing by 1,200 a day.
City authorities hope the ban to cut vehicle emissions by 40 per cent.
However, Dr Krzyzanowski, an expert in air quality, doubted the measures would be effective in the long term and said the WHO still feared for the health of many of those planning to attend the Games.
“I’d be amazed if substantial progress is made in the next 12 months,” he said, pointing out that Beijing’s problems are not just created locally.
"It’s possible the beneficial effect of cutting the traffic in the city will be compensated by the transport of pollution from other parts of China.”
“Even by the standards of Asia, Chinese cities are pretty highly polluted,” he said.
“Those who come with asthma may suffer attacks. I would be concerned for those who have some cardiac condition,” he added.
“This might be more serious as it requires a much more specialised medical response.”
Beijing is one of the world’s most polluted cities and poor air quality, blamed partly on the city’s three million cars - a number growing by 1,200 a day - has long been a top concern for athletes and officials.
Jacques Rogge, the head of the International Olympic Committee, warned last week that events could be postponed if conditions were unhealthy, while some countries say their competitors will arrive in Beijing as late as possible to avoid exposure to pollution.
By Graeme Baker Telegraph.co.uk 18 August 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
Promises Cynically Broken Over the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Much remains to be done before tens of thousands of athletes, sports enthusiasts and journalists turn up in Beijing for the opening of the Olympic Games on August 8 next year.
Not just all the construction work for a great sporting occasion, but work on human rights, which are still being abused throughout the country on a daily basis.
Despite clear promises China made before it was awarded the Games in 2001, it has done almost nothing to improve human rights. A Chinese official had told the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that if it accepted China's candidacy, "you will be helping the expansion of human rights." But six years later, things are still very bleak.
At least 30 journalists and 50 Internet users are in prison in China, and some have been there since the 1980s. Many have been tortured. They are serving heavy jail sentences for "disclosing state secrets," "subversion" or supposed defamation – after just writing an article or sending an e-mail.
The government blocks access to thousands of Internet news websites and broadcasts in Chinese, Tibetan, and Uighur by a dozen foreign radio stations are jammed.
After removing allegedly dissident messages from online discussion forums, the authorities are now targeting blogs and video-exchange sites. Censors have fitted all the country's blogtools with devices to filter out "subversive" key words. Rules for foreign journalists working in China have been eased but foreign media are still banned from hiring Chinese journalists or traveling freely to Tibet and Xinjiang.
Everyone who loves sport will be shocked to see the Olympic Games and its athletes used by a government that refuses to free thousands of prisoners of conscience and stop the practice of torture and forced labor.
The IOC is meanwhile risking its reputation by saying absolutely nothing about all this. Its charter says that sport must be "at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity."
Nobody wants to spoil the big occasion or use the events for other ends. Except China and its ruling Communist Party, who are abusing the Games and the Olympic spirit.
With just a year to go, it is more urgent than ever to demand that China keep to its pledges. The IOC must act and its president, Jacques Rogge, must speak up. If he does not, the slogan of the 2008 Games, "One world, One dream," will be worthless and be just a cynically broken promise. Athletes, journalists, lovers of sport and everyone who supports human rights must publicly express their concern about the countless violations of freedom in China. So that when the Games open, there will be celebrations all over China, not just in the stadiums.
By Robert Ménard Reporters Without Borders 14 August 2007
Not just all the construction work for a great sporting occasion, but work on human rights, which are still being abused throughout the country on a daily basis.
Despite clear promises China made before it was awarded the Games in 2001, it has done almost nothing to improve human rights. A Chinese official had told the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that if it accepted China's candidacy, "you will be helping the expansion of human rights." But six years later, things are still very bleak.
At least 30 journalists and 50 Internet users are in prison in China, and some have been there since the 1980s. Many have been tortured. They are serving heavy jail sentences for "disclosing state secrets," "subversion" or supposed defamation – after just writing an article or sending an e-mail.
The government blocks access to thousands of Internet news websites and broadcasts in Chinese, Tibetan, and Uighur by a dozen foreign radio stations are jammed.
After removing allegedly dissident messages from online discussion forums, the authorities are now targeting blogs and video-exchange sites. Censors have fitted all the country's blogtools with devices to filter out "subversive" key words. Rules for foreign journalists working in China have been eased but foreign media are still banned from hiring Chinese journalists or traveling freely to Tibet and Xinjiang.
Everyone who loves sport will be shocked to see the Olympic Games and its athletes used by a government that refuses to free thousands of prisoners of conscience and stop the practice of torture and forced labor.
The IOC is meanwhile risking its reputation by saying absolutely nothing about all this. Its charter says that sport must be "at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity."
Nobody wants to spoil the big occasion or use the events for other ends. Except China and its ruling Communist Party, who are abusing the Games and the Olympic spirit.
With just a year to go, it is more urgent than ever to demand that China keep to its pledges. The IOC must act and its president, Jacques Rogge, must speak up. If he does not, the slogan of the 2008 Games, "One world, One dream," will be worthless and be just a cynically broken promise. Athletes, journalists, lovers of sport and everyone who supports human rights must publicly express their concern about the countless violations of freedom in China. So that when the Games open, there will be celebrations all over China, not just in the stadiums.
By Robert Ménard Reporters Without Borders 14 August 2007
Olympic spotlight ignites hope for change in China
When the IOC awarded Beijing the 2008 summer Olympics, it was said to be an act of faith that the Games would give China's leaders the impetus to become more responsible players in the international community.
What the current Chinese regime had hoped to be an Olympic coming-out party on the word stage is instead looking more like the 1936 Olympics, which were blighted by Hitler and Nazism.
A laundry list of interest groups are sounding the alarm over the 2008 Games, ranging from concerns over press freedom, the persecution of Falun Gong, Tibetans, and political dissidents to China's arms proliferation, its role in Darfur, tainted products, and pollution problems.
The organizers of the Beijing Olympics are no strangers to controversy. The preparations for the Games have ranged from the eccentric–like spray-painting the grass green during IOC inspections and planning to artificially force rain ahead of the opening ceremony–to the appalling. Some human rights groups charge that Beijing has used the Games as a pretext to step up the suppression of dissidents and religious groups such as Falun Gong and Tibet so as to avoid any public protests during the Games.
But rather than being silenced, rights advocates are instead using the Games as a platform to flag long-standing during this time when the international community is more inclined to pay attention.
Last week, exactly a year ahead of the opening ceremonies for the Games, two former Olympians joined supporters of the Falun Gong spiritual discipline in launching a "Human Rights Torch Relay" in Athens to protest the Chinese regime's violent persecution of the meditation practice.
Among those present at the event in Athens was former Edmonton MP and Liberal cabinet minister David Kilgour, who referred to the 2008 Olympics as the "bloody harvest Olympics." The moniker was a reference to the Chinese regime's practice of forcibly removing and selling the organs of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience.
Supporters of human rights in Darfur, have also seized on the chance to condemn Chinese rulers for their policy on Sudan, which includes weapons proliferation and obstructing UN resolutions to intervene in the conflict there. Referring to the Beijing Games as the "genocide Olympics", many groups are calling for a boycott.
"We have tried to give China a chance to try to make good of what is required of a rising world power, that is, recognizing and respecting the rights of its citizens and promoting human rights outside of its own borders. So if that does not happen we will have no choice but to call for a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games," says Clement Apaak, chair and founder of Canadian Students for Darfur.
High-profile celebrities like Mia Farrow have also called for a boycott of the Games over China's backing of the Sudanese government. Farrow,along with several prominent rights activists, also launched a symbolic torch relay in Chad this week to protest the Beijing Games.
Director Steven Spielberg, one of the artistic advisors for the Beijing Games, is reportedly considering resigning his post if China does not change its stance on Sudan.
Another artist involved in the Games came forward this week to disavow his involvement in the Games. Ai Weiwei, the man behind the design of China's National Olympic Stadium, told the Guardian with reference to the Beijing Games: "I hate the kind of feeling stirred up by promotion or propaganda . . . It's the kind of sentiment when you don't stick to the facts, but try to make up something, to mislead people away from a true discussion. It is not good for anyone."
Seeing the Games as a means for the Chinese Communist Party to bolster its legitimacy, he said he wished his involvement be "forgotten." "If you read newspapers today you see the problems created by [the state] and by the effort to maintain power. It is against everything that human society should be fighting for," he told the newspaper.
On Aug. 7, Tibetan rights activists–including three Canadians–made international headlines when they unfurled a banner on the Great Wall of China. The banner, which stayed on the wall for two hours, read: "One World, One Dream, Free Tibet"–a play on the Beijing Olympic's slogan "One World, One Dream." The protesters were detained for 36 hours and interrogated before being deported.
In an effort to prevent similar occurrences during the Games themselves, the Chinese regime is reportedly compiling intelligence information on foreigners who might have reason to protest during the Games, including activist groups, non-government organizations, and even some Christian organizations, according to the Associate Press.
Yet it's not only foreigners who have reason to protest the Games. Where support for the Olympics among Beijing residents was ripe back in 2001, thousands of forced evictions to make room for Olympics projects in the city have since left many disillusioned.
Last month in one Beijing neighborhood where some 1000 families were forcibly evicted from their homes without compensation, hundreds of locals staged a round-the-clock protests for over two weeks to demand redress. Their homes were torn down to make way for an Olympic park. Instead of compensating the families, police arrested and monitored some of the protesters and ordered them disbanded.
"Holding the Olympics in Beijing is wasting manpower and money, the country is still poor," said one protester, surnamed Li. "The Olympics could only put powder on the false face of the regime. The communist regime stole the land from the villagers by cheating; now it will cheat the foreigners too."
A slew of other revelations have cast a shadow on the Beijing Games recently.
A spate of health scares and recalls of Chinese-made products began in March with revelations that a Chinese ingredient in pet foods sold in North America contained rat poison. It was blamed for killing over a dozen pets.
That incident was followed by scandals involving other "made in China" products, including toothpaste that contained an ingredient of antifreeze, toxic cough syrup, children's toys covered in lead-base paint, and car tires that lacked a safety strip. Most recently, toy giant Mattell has been forced to recall millions of toys that either had lead paint or small magnets that it said could cause injury or death if swallowed.
In June, it was revealed that several brick factories China were using child slave labour. The children were abducted, abused, and forced to work in egregious conditions, while local authorities turned a blind eye.
That news was followed by allegations that a manufacturer of Beijing Olympic merchandise was using child labor. An anxious Chinese regime later stripped that company's right to produce the products.
Last week, the issue of Beijing's heavily polluted air cast a fog over ceremonies intended to celebrate the one-year countdown to the Games. Some countries warned that their athletes would not train there and IOC president Jacques Rogge even suggested that some outdoor events may need to be postponed due to pollution.
Some members of Canada's women's soccer team reported using puffers they hadn't used in years after training in Beijing this spring.
Last week Reporters Without Borders expressed concerns that Beijing was reneging on promises to allow press freedom during the Olympic Games, citing the fact that the regime continues to imprison more journalists than any other nation on earth.
Members of the organization held a small protest in Beijing to demand greater press freedom. Shortly after their demonstration, police detained foreign journalists who covered the event.
The regime in Beijing is understandably concerned about media coverage during the Games, and even more so about the potential for demonstrations. Should protests occur in the nation's capital while the whole world watches, after all, it could be the death knell for the party whose power seems to rest on secrecy.
But if recent events are any indication, more people the world over do seem to share one dream: a free China. And who knows–the Beijing Games could just be the place to make it happen.
By Caylan Ford Epoch Times Canada Staff 16 August 2007
What the current Chinese regime had hoped to be an Olympic coming-out party on the word stage is instead looking more like the 1936 Olympics, which were blighted by Hitler and Nazism.
A laundry list of interest groups are sounding the alarm over the 2008 Games, ranging from concerns over press freedom, the persecution of Falun Gong, Tibetans, and political dissidents to China's arms proliferation, its role in Darfur, tainted products, and pollution problems.
The organizers of the Beijing Olympics are no strangers to controversy. The preparations for the Games have ranged from the eccentric–like spray-painting the grass green during IOC inspections and planning to artificially force rain ahead of the opening ceremony–to the appalling. Some human rights groups charge that Beijing has used the Games as a pretext to step up the suppression of dissidents and religious groups such as Falun Gong and Tibet so as to avoid any public protests during the Games.
But rather than being silenced, rights advocates are instead using the Games as a platform to flag long-standing during this time when the international community is more inclined to pay attention.
Last week, exactly a year ahead of the opening ceremonies for the Games, two former Olympians joined supporters of the Falun Gong spiritual discipline in launching a "Human Rights Torch Relay" in Athens to protest the Chinese regime's violent persecution of the meditation practice.
Among those present at the event in Athens was former Edmonton MP and Liberal cabinet minister David Kilgour, who referred to the 2008 Olympics as the "bloody harvest Olympics." The moniker was a reference to the Chinese regime's practice of forcibly removing and selling the organs of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience.
Supporters of human rights in Darfur, have also seized on the chance to condemn Chinese rulers for their policy on Sudan, which includes weapons proliferation and obstructing UN resolutions to intervene in the conflict there. Referring to the Beijing Games as the "genocide Olympics", many groups are calling for a boycott.
"We have tried to give China a chance to try to make good of what is required of a rising world power, that is, recognizing and respecting the rights of its citizens and promoting human rights outside of its own borders. So if that does not happen we will have no choice but to call for a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games," says Clement Apaak, chair and founder of Canadian Students for Darfur.
High-profile celebrities like Mia Farrow have also called for a boycott of the Games over China's backing of the Sudanese government. Farrow,along with several prominent rights activists, also launched a symbolic torch relay in Chad this week to protest the Beijing Games.
Director Steven Spielberg, one of the artistic advisors for the Beijing Games, is reportedly considering resigning his post if China does not change its stance on Sudan.
Another artist involved in the Games came forward this week to disavow his involvement in the Games. Ai Weiwei, the man behind the design of China's National Olympic Stadium, told the Guardian with reference to the Beijing Games: "I hate the kind of feeling stirred up by promotion or propaganda . . . It's the kind of sentiment when you don't stick to the facts, but try to make up something, to mislead people away from a true discussion. It is not good for anyone."
Seeing the Games as a means for the Chinese Communist Party to bolster its legitimacy, he said he wished his involvement be "forgotten." "If you read newspapers today you see the problems created by [the state] and by the effort to maintain power. It is against everything that human society should be fighting for," he told the newspaper.
On Aug. 7, Tibetan rights activists–including three Canadians–made international headlines when they unfurled a banner on the Great Wall of China. The banner, which stayed on the wall for two hours, read: "One World, One Dream, Free Tibet"–a play on the Beijing Olympic's slogan "One World, One Dream." The protesters were detained for 36 hours and interrogated before being deported.
In an effort to prevent similar occurrences during the Games themselves, the Chinese regime is reportedly compiling intelligence information on foreigners who might have reason to protest during the Games, including activist groups, non-government organizations, and even some Christian organizations, according to the Associate Press.
Yet it's not only foreigners who have reason to protest the Games. Where support for the Olympics among Beijing residents was ripe back in 2001, thousands of forced evictions to make room for Olympics projects in the city have since left many disillusioned.
Last month in one Beijing neighborhood where some 1000 families were forcibly evicted from their homes without compensation, hundreds of locals staged a round-the-clock protests for over two weeks to demand redress. Their homes were torn down to make way for an Olympic park. Instead of compensating the families, police arrested and monitored some of the protesters and ordered them disbanded.
"Holding the Olympics in Beijing is wasting manpower and money, the country is still poor," said one protester, surnamed Li. "The Olympics could only put powder on the false face of the regime. The communist regime stole the land from the villagers by cheating; now it will cheat the foreigners too."
A slew of other revelations have cast a shadow on the Beijing Games recently.
A spate of health scares and recalls of Chinese-made products began in March with revelations that a Chinese ingredient in pet foods sold in North America contained rat poison. It was blamed for killing over a dozen pets.
That incident was followed by scandals involving other "made in China" products, including toothpaste that contained an ingredient of antifreeze, toxic cough syrup, children's toys covered in lead-base paint, and car tires that lacked a safety strip. Most recently, toy giant Mattell has been forced to recall millions of toys that either had lead paint or small magnets that it said could cause injury or death if swallowed.
In June, it was revealed that several brick factories China were using child slave labour. The children were abducted, abused, and forced to work in egregious conditions, while local authorities turned a blind eye.
That news was followed by allegations that a manufacturer of Beijing Olympic merchandise was using child labor. An anxious Chinese regime later stripped that company's right to produce the products.
Last week, the issue of Beijing's heavily polluted air cast a fog over ceremonies intended to celebrate the one-year countdown to the Games. Some countries warned that their athletes would not train there and IOC president Jacques Rogge even suggested that some outdoor events may need to be postponed due to pollution.
Some members of Canada's women's soccer team reported using puffers they hadn't used in years after training in Beijing this spring.
Last week Reporters Without Borders expressed concerns that Beijing was reneging on promises to allow press freedom during the Olympic Games, citing the fact that the regime continues to imprison more journalists than any other nation on earth.
Members of the organization held a small protest in Beijing to demand greater press freedom. Shortly after their demonstration, police detained foreign journalists who covered the event.
The regime in Beijing is understandably concerned about media coverage during the Games, and even more so about the potential for demonstrations. Should protests occur in the nation's capital while the whole world watches, after all, it could be the death knell for the party whose power seems to rest on secrecy.
But if recent events are any indication, more people the world over do seem to share one dream: a free China. And who knows–the Beijing Games could just be the place to make it happen.
By Caylan Ford Epoch Times Canada Staff 16 August 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
How China can lose the Beijing Olympics
Could it be corporate corruption, rather than political repression, that tarnishes the success of the Beijing Olympics?
When China campaigned to host the 2008 Games, the memories of the Tiananmen Square massacre and the image of a man standing alone in front of a line of tanks haunted its bid. Now, a year before the Olympics open in Beijing, it is concerns about safety standards and the recall of nearly 10 million potentially toxic Polly Pocket dolls that threatens the reputation of China.
The mass recall of Mattel toys covered with lead paint, coming on the heels of scares about toothpaste laced with industrial solvents, fake pharmaceuticals, tainted pet food and drug-contaminated seafood, could all too easily prompt Americans to shut its ports to Chinese goods. Senator Dick Durbin, a senior Democrat, has already called for the temporary detention and inspection of all children’s products from China that might contain any paint at all.
The US Administration knows that economically, as well as strategically, it has as much to lose from a trade war as China. Instead, it is up to Washington and the West to impress upon China the responsibilities of companies that operate in the international market. Ever since the US amended the Consumer Product Safety Act in 1981, America and its trading partners have essentially operated by a system of self-regulation. Companies not only stand and fall by the quality of their goods, but are liable for the safety of their products.
The quality control problem in corporate China is pervasive. The authorities in Beijing say that one fifth of products fail to meet quality standards. The evidence in recent weeks suggests the problems may be even more widespread. In addition to the product recalls, a bridge nearing the end of construction in Hunan province collapsed this week, killing 34 people.
China has reacted to these regulatory and corporate failures with dramatic ferocity. Last month, the Government executed the former head of the State Food and Drug Administration for dereliction of duty and for taking bribes. It has responded to the collapse of the Hunan bridge by launching a police man-hunt for the project supervisor.
But scalps and scapegoats will not, alone, change the corporate culture. For China to maintain its export-led boom and to ensure that its cherished 2008 Olympics are not marred by faulty construction or flawed products, state-owned enterprises need to embrace greater transparency, accountability and individual responsibility.
This may represent a serious challenge to the one party state, but it is the price of participation in the world market.
by James Harding The Times Online 16 August 2007
When China campaigned to host the 2008 Games, the memories of the Tiananmen Square massacre and the image of a man standing alone in front of a line of tanks haunted its bid. Now, a year before the Olympics open in Beijing, it is concerns about safety standards and the recall of nearly 10 million potentially toxic Polly Pocket dolls that threatens the reputation of China.
The mass recall of Mattel toys covered with lead paint, coming on the heels of scares about toothpaste laced with industrial solvents, fake pharmaceuticals, tainted pet food and drug-contaminated seafood, could all too easily prompt Americans to shut its ports to Chinese goods. Senator Dick Durbin, a senior Democrat, has already called for the temporary detention and inspection of all children’s products from China that might contain any paint at all.
The US Administration knows that economically, as well as strategically, it has as much to lose from a trade war as China. Instead, it is up to Washington and the West to impress upon China the responsibilities of companies that operate in the international market. Ever since the US amended the Consumer Product Safety Act in 1981, America and its trading partners have essentially operated by a system of self-regulation. Companies not only stand and fall by the quality of their goods, but are liable for the safety of their products.
The quality control problem in corporate China is pervasive. The authorities in Beijing say that one fifth of products fail to meet quality standards. The evidence in recent weeks suggests the problems may be even more widespread. In addition to the product recalls, a bridge nearing the end of construction in Hunan province collapsed this week, killing 34 people.
China has reacted to these regulatory and corporate failures with dramatic ferocity. Last month, the Government executed the former head of the State Food and Drug Administration for dereliction of duty and for taking bribes. It has responded to the collapse of the Hunan bridge by launching a police man-hunt for the project supervisor.
But scalps and scapegoats will not, alone, change the corporate culture. For China to maintain its export-led boom and to ensure that its cherished 2008 Olympics are not marred by faulty construction or flawed products, state-owned enterprises need to embrace greater transparency, accountability and individual responsibility.
This may represent a serious challenge to the one party state, but it is the price of participation in the world market.
by James Harding The Times Online 16 August 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Beijing Olympics: Let the politics begin
BEIJING: The Communist Party expends much effort trying to remove politics from daily life in China, and now it wants to remove politics from the Olympics, too. Beijing Olympic officials are taking the line that political protesters agitating about China are violating the spirit and charter of the Games.
Poor sports, so to speak.
But if anything was evident last week when Beijing staged a one-year countdown to the 2008 Games, it was that eliminating politics from the Olympics was about as likely as eliminating medals. Beijing may have envisioned a public relations opportunity, but so did an array of advocacy groups that spent the week whipsawing China on human rights violations, press freedom and Tibet.
If a few stunts were daring - protesters unfurled a "Free Tibet" banner on the Great Wall - the criticisms were not new. What did change was the way the Olympics amplified the dissent, even for a nonevent like the one-year countdown. Media attention intensified merely because the Olympics were in town.
"All of these voices are going to become stronger and stronger, not weaker and weaker, as the Games approach," said John MacAloon, an Olympic historian who has advised the Beijing Olympic committee on managing the traditional torch relay. "All Olympic Games are, of course, highly politically charged and sensitive in some regions of the world. How could they not be?"
For about as long as the modern Games have existed, they have served as a stage for politics as much as sport. Berlin 1936 was Hitler and Jesse Owens. Helsinki 1952 was the beginning of the Cold War. Mexico City 1968 was the Black Power salute. The blood of 11 slain Israeli athletes stained Munich 1972. Moscow 1980 meant boycotts, as did Los Angeles 1984.
Beijing knows politics cannot really be tabled. Even before China was selected in 2001, international opinion was sharply divided between those who thought the Games could help reform the world's largest authoritarian state and those who thought they would simply validate the regime. Politicization has only deepened in recent months with controversies over pollution and the safety of Chinese products (including some Olympic trinkets).
One historical comparison studied by the Communist Party and its critics is Seoul 1988. There the Olympics reshaped political history when public anticipation of the Games fed demonstrations that toppled an authoritarian regime and ushered in democracy.
Does anyone really believe that that kind of political collapse is possible for Beijing? Almost no one. But in the abstract, Seoul gives sustenance to those mindful of an Olympic formula that can at least accelerate political liberalization and create more official tolerance for dissent in China: An authoritarian state, eager for validation, wobbles under the heat of international scrutiny and criticism and then loosens its grip.
The Communist Party is eager to stage a successful Olympics, and the Chinese public is ecstatic about holding the Games. China regards the event as a coming-out party to highlight its economic rise and emergence as a world power. But that eagerness is also providing an opening for the critics.
That was clear when the actress Mia Farrow criticized China for contributing to the atrocities in Darfur through its huge subsidies to oil-rich Sudan. China had seemed indifferent about international criticism over its role in Sudan until Farrow wrote an article in The Wall Street Journal in March that popularized the phrase "Genocide Olympics." The article pointed to Steven Spielberg for his involvement in the staging of the opening ceremonies in Beijing. Boycott talk then picked up a bit of steam. By August, China was suddenly part of a unanimous UN Security Council endorsing peacekeepers for Darfur. Some politicians in Europe and the United States have continued to promote a boycott, but the chances seem slim.
Still, other advocacy groups got the message. In April, the Chinese authorities arrested four pro-Tibetan independence protesters who had climbed to the Mount Everest base camp and hung a banner to protest plans to take the Olympic torch through the Tibetan Himalayas.
Countdown week presented another opportunity. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International released reports denouncing China as failing to honor its Olympic obligations on human rights. The Committee to Protect Journalists said China was still impeding foreign journalists and jailing domestic ones, despite promises to allow unfettered reporting. Reporters Without Borders managed to stage a protest in Beijing, only to see the police briefly detain the foreign journalists covering it.
Lhadon Tethong, an advocate for Tibetan independence, said she thought the Olympics might finally have created some space for open dissent in China. She flew to Beijing from New York and spent countdown week filing updates on her Tibet blog. She went to the hotel where Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, was staying and shouted out questions about Tibet. The police later confronted her with printed pages of her blog and deported her to Hong Kong. She said the protesters who had hung the Tibet banner on the Great Wall were deported on the same plane.
"In the end, we weren't surprised they got us kicked out because we know they are not open and free," Tethong said by telephone after landing in Canada on Thursday night. "No IOC, no press and no Olympics are going to change the way they rule that place."
MacAloon, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Chicago, said the torch relay, which begins in March, could cause major political friction.
He also predicted that press freedom would become an increasingly prominent issue because it directly challenges the control that the Communist Party is accustomed to wielding. Tensions already emerged last week, and MacAloon predicted more friction if officials, for fear of bad publicity, refused to allow reporters to follow the torch through the restive regions of China.
Many dissidents in China say the ultimate barometer of success is whether the Olympics force the Communist Party to further open up society and advance political reform. Hu Jia, a prominent Beijing dissident, said the party considered domestic dissidents, more than foreign protesters or advocacy groups, the most serious challenge to staging the Olympics.
"The reason for a 'politicized' Olympics lies with the Chinese government," Hu said. "It's repressing dissidents and activists under the name of the Olympics. At the same time, it is trying to prove the legality and validity of its rule through the Olympics."
Hu should know. He has spent much of this year under house arrest.
By Jim Yardley International Herald Tribune August 13, 2007
Poor sports, so to speak.
But if anything was evident last week when Beijing staged a one-year countdown to the 2008 Games, it was that eliminating politics from the Olympics was about as likely as eliminating medals. Beijing may have envisioned a public relations opportunity, but so did an array of advocacy groups that spent the week whipsawing China on human rights violations, press freedom and Tibet.
If a few stunts were daring - protesters unfurled a "Free Tibet" banner on the Great Wall - the criticisms were not new. What did change was the way the Olympics amplified the dissent, even for a nonevent like the one-year countdown. Media attention intensified merely because the Olympics were in town.
"All of these voices are going to become stronger and stronger, not weaker and weaker, as the Games approach," said John MacAloon, an Olympic historian who has advised the Beijing Olympic committee on managing the traditional torch relay. "All Olympic Games are, of course, highly politically charged and sensitive in some regions of the world. How could they not be?"
For about as long as the modern Games have existed, they have served as a stage for politics as much as sport. Berlin 1936 was Hitler and Jesse Owens. Helsinki 1952 was the beginning of the Cold War. Mexico City 1968 was the Black Power salute. The blood of 11 slain Israeli athletes stained Munich 1972. Moscow 1980 meant boycotts, as did Los Angeles 1984.
Beijing knows politics cannot really be tabled. Even before China was selected in 2001, international opinion was sharply divided between those who thought the Games could help reform the world's largest authoritarian state and those who thought they would simply validate the regime. Politicization has only deepened in recent months with controversies over pollution and the safety of Chinese products (including some Olympic trinkets).
One historical comparison studied by the Communist Party and its critics is Seoul 1988. There the Olympics reshaped political history when public anticipation of the Games fed demonstrations that toppled an authoritarian regime and ushered in democracy.
Does anyone really believe that that kind of political collapse is possible for Beijing? Almost no one. But in the abstract, Seoul gives sustenance to those mindful of an Olympic formula that can at least accelerate political liberalization and create more official tolerance for dissent in China: An authoritarian state, eager for validation, wobbles under the heat of international scrutiny and criticism and then loosens its grip.
The Communist Party is eager to stage a successful Olympics, and the Chinese public is ecstatic about holding the Games. China regards the event as a coming-out party to highlight its economic rise and emergence as a world power. But that eagerness is also providing an opening for the critics.
That was clear when the actress Mia Farrow criticized China for contributing to the atrocities in Darfur through its huge subsidies to oil-rich Sudan. China had seemed indifferent about international criticism over its role in Sudan until Farrow wrote an article in The Wall Street Journal in March that popularized the phrase "Genocide Olympics." The article pointed to Steven Spielberg for his involvement in the staging of the opening ceremonies in Beijing. Boycott talk then picked up a bit of steam. By August, China was suddenly part of a unanimous UN Security Council endorsing peacekeepers for Darfur. Some politicians in Europe and the United States have continued to promote a boycott, but the chances seem slim.
Still, other advocacy groups got the message. In April, the Chinese authorities arrested four pro-Tibetan independence protesters who had climbed to the Mount Everest base camp and hung a banner to protest plans to take the Olympic torch through the Tibetan Himalayas.
Countdown week presented another opportunity. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International released reports denouncing China as failing to honor its Olympic obligations on human rights. The Committee to Protect Journalists said China was still impeding foreign journalists and jailing domestic ones, despite promises to allow unfettered reporting. Reporters Without Borders managed to stage a protest in Beijing, only to see the police briefly detain the foreign journalists covering it.
Lhadon Tethong, an advocate for Tibetan independence, said she thought the Olympics might finally have created some space for open dissent in China. She flew to Beijing from New York and spent countdown week filing updates on her Tibet blog. She went to the hotel where Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, was staying and shouted out questions about Tibet. The police later confronted her with printed pages of her blog and deported her to Hong Kong. She said the protesters who had hung the Tibet banner on the Great Wall were deported on the same plane.
"In the end, we weren't surprised they got us kicked out because we know they are not open and free," Tethong said by telephone after landing in Canada on Thursday night. "No IOC, no press and no Olympics are going to change the way they rule that place."
MacAloon, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Chicago, said the torch relay, which begins in March, could cause major political friction.
He also predicted that press freedom would become an increasingly prominent issue because it directly challenges the control that the Communist Party is accustomed to wielding. Tensions already emerged last week, and MacAloon predicted more friction if officials, for fear of bad publicity, refused to allow reporters to follow the torch through the restive regions of China.
Many dissidents in China say the ultimate barometer of success is whether the Olympics force the Communist Party to further open up society and advance political reform. Hu Jia, a prominent Beijing dissident, said the party considered domestic dissidents, more than foreign protesters or advocacy groups, the most serious challenge to staging the Olympics.
"The reason for a 'politicized' Olympics lies with the Chinese government," Hu said. "It's repressing dissidents and activists under the name of the Olympics. At the same time, it is trying to prove the legality and validity of its rule through the Olympics."
Hu should know. He has spent much of this year under house arrest.
By Jim Yardley International Herald Tribune August 13, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Olympic Fever
At the auspicious time of 8:08 p.m. on Aug. 8, precisely one year before the Olympic Games are to open in Beijing, China held a celebration of the coming festivities in Tiananmen Square. The Gate of Heavenly Peace, where Mao Zedong's portrait still hangs, was bathed in red and gold light for the event, which featured intricately choreographed dance routines, multiple pop stars and, of course, fireworks.
The evening was gaudy confirmation of why next summer's Games are often referred to as China's coming-out party. For its rulers, the Olympics are a chance to show that their country is no longer a jittery backwater of a nation but a dynamic, confident giant. For many human-rights activists around the world, however--for whom Tiananmen is a word signifying more than a square in the middle of Beijing--China's Olympic dream is nothing to celebrate. So the one-year mark before the Games has seen an outpouring of protest as much as of pageantry. On the Great Wall, a massive banner that read ONE WORLD, ONE DREAM, FREE TIBET 2008, was unfurled by half a dozen supporters of Tibetan independence. Outside the Beijing Olympic organizing committee's quarters, officials from Reporters Without Borders called for the release of imprisoned Chinese journalists. As if to dramatize their point, police detained a group of foreign reporters covering the event. Protesting Beijing's support for repressive governments like those of Burma and Sudan, some activists have launched a campaign to boycott the Games if China's policy does not change.
Chinese officials have repeatedly demanded that the Olympics not be politicized. But Olympic history--from the horrors of Munich in 1972 to the boycotts of the Games in Montreal, Moscow and Los Angeles--suggests that's a forlorn hope. "The Olympics are about human nature," says Bao Tong, a former adviser to Zhao Ziyang, the reformist Communist Party General Secretary at the time of the Tiananmen massacre in 1989. "You cannot separate the Olympics from human rights." You might suppose that the Chinese government would have thought of that before it entered its bid to host the games.
BY AUSTIN RAMZY TIME magazine 11 August 2007
The evening was gaudy confirmation of why next summer's Games are often referred to as China's coming-out party. For its rulers, the Olympics are a chance to show that their country is no longer a jittery backwater of a nation but a dynamic, confident giant. For many human-rights activists around the world, however--for whom Tiananmen is a word signifying more than a square in the middle of Beijing--China's Olympic dream is nothing to celebrate. So the one-year mark before the Games has seen an outpouring of protest as much as of pageantry. On the Great Wall, a massive banner that read ONE WORLD, ONE DREAM, FREE TIBET 2008, was unfurled by half a dozen supporters of Tibetan independence. Outside the Beijing Olympic organizing committee's quarters, officials from Reporters Without Borders called for the release of imprisoned Chinese journalists. As if to dramatize their point, police detained a group of foreign reporters covering the event. Protesting Beijing's support for repressive governments like those of Burma and Sudan, some activists have launched a campaign to boycott the Games if China's policy does not change.
Chinese officials have repeatedly demanded that the Olympics not be politicized. But Olympic history--from the horrors of Munich in 1972 to the boycotts of the Games in Montreal, Moscow and Los Angeles--suggests that's a forlorn hope. "The Olympics are about human nature," says Bao Tong, a former adviser to Zhao Ziyang, the reformist Communist Party General Secretary at the time of the Tiananmen massacre in 1989. "You cannot separate the Olympics from human rights." You might suppose that the Chinese government would have thought of that before it entered its bid to host the games.
BY AUSTIN RAMZY TIME magazine 11 August 2007
US Says China's Human Rights Record on Tibetans Poor
The United States has said that China's human rights record relating to the Tibetan people is poor and that the level of repression of Tibetan religious freedom is high. This is part of the Tibet section of the report, "Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2005 - 2006," released by the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor on April 5, 2006.
The report is the fourth such reports submitted to the Congress by the Department of State in compliance with Section 665 of P.L. 107-228, the FY 03 Foreign Relations Authorization Act, which requires the Department to report on actions taken by the U.S. Government to encourage respect for human rights. It summarizes the efforts of the U.S. Government to promote democracy and protect human rights in key countries.
In the Tibet section, the report says, "The U.S. Government continued to advocate vigorously for improvements in human rights conditions in Tibetan areas of China and urged the Chinese Government to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama."
With Chinese President Hu Jintao due in Washington, D.C. soon, the report recalled, "President Bush specifically encouraged China to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama when he met with President Hu Jintao in Beijing in November."The report also quoted President Bush as saying during his 2005 inaugural address,"All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: The United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you."
The report said that China's "human rights record in Tibetan areas of China remained poor, and the level of repression of religious freedom remained high" and that it "continued to view the Dalai Lama with suspicion."
The State Department said this report "complements the longstanding Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005, and takes the next step, moving from highlighting abuses to publicizing the actions and programs the United States has employed to end those abuses."
"The advancement of human rights and democracy will enable diverse nations and people to choose governments that are accountable to the governed, that exercise the rule of the law, and that respect human rights," said Barry F. Lowenkron, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, in the report.
Following is the full text of the Tibet section in the report.
Tibet
The Government's human rights record in Tibetan areas of China remained poor, and the level of repression of religious freedom remained high. The Government continued to view the Dalai Lama with suspicion and tended to associate Tibetan Buddhist religious activity with separatist sympathies. The preservation and development of the unique religious, cultural, and linguistic heritage of Tibetan areas and the protection of Tibetan people's fundamental human rights continued to be of concern. The Government strictly controlled information about, and access to, Tibetan areas, making it difficult to determine accurately the scope of human rights abuses.
The U.S. Government continued to advocate vigorously for improvements in human rights conditions in Tibetan areas of China and urged the Chinese Government to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama. Discussions between Chinese officials and envoys of the Dalai Lama were held in Switzerland in June, the fourth round of talks since 2002. President Bush specifically encouraged China to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama when he met with President Hu Jintao in Beijing in November.
Numerous U.S. officials visited Tibetan areas during 2005, providing opportunities to raise human rights abuses with local officials. USCIRF commissioners and staff visited the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in August, a visit that had been sought since the 2002 bilateral Human Rights Dialogue. USCIRF was able to meet in Lhasa with released political prisoner Phuntsog Nyidrol. A large congressional delegation traveled to the TAR in August, visited religious sites, and raised concerns about human rights violations. In November, the UN Special Rapporteur for Torture visited Lhasa to meet with officials and visit two prisons. U.S.-funded programs focused on economic and community development, mindful of the importance of preserving Tibet's environment and religious and cultural heritage.
International Campaign for Tibet 6 April 2006
The report is the fourth such reports submitted to the Congress by the Department of State in compliance with Section 665 of P.L. 107-228, the FY 03 Foreign Relations Authorization Act, which requires the Department to report on actions taken by the U.S. Government to encourage respect for human rights. It summarizes the efforts of the U.S. Government to promote democracy and protect human rights in key countries.
In the Tibet section, the report says, "The U.S. Government continued to advocate vigorously for improvements in human rights conditions in Tibetan areas of China and urged the Chinese Government to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama."
With Chinese President Hu Jintao due in Washington, D.C. soon, the report recalled, "President Bush specifically encouraged China to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama when he met with President Hu Jintao in Beijing in November."The report also quoted President Bush as saying during his 2005 inaugural address,"All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: The United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you."
The report said that China's "human rights record in Tibetan areas of China remained poor, and the level of repression of religious freedom remained high" and that it "continued to view the Dalai Lama with suspicion."
The State Department said this report "complements the longstanding Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005, and takes the next step, moving from highlighting abuses to publicizing the actions and programs the United States has employed to end those abuses."
"The advancement of human rights and democracy will enable diverse nations and people to choose governments that are accountable to the governed, that exercise the rule of the law, and that respect human rights," said Barry F. Lowenkron, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, in the report.
Following is the full text of the Tibet section in the report.
Tibet
The Government's human rights record in Tibetan areas of China remained poor, and the level of repression of religious freedom remained high. The Government continued to view the Dalai Lama with suspicion and tended to associate Tibetan Buddhist religious activity with separatist sympathies. The preservation and development of the unique religious, cultural, and linguistic heritage of Tibetan areas and the protection of Tibetan people's fundamental human rights continued to be of concern. The Government strictly controlled information about, and access to, Tibetan areas, making it difficult to determine accurately the scope of human rights abuses.
The U.S. Government continued to advocate vigorously for improvements in human rights conditions in Tibetan areas of China and urged the Chinese Government to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama. Discussions between Chinese officials and envoys of the Dalai Lama were held in Switzerland in June, the fourth round of talks since 2002. President Bush specifically encouraged China to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama when he met with President Hu Jintao in Beijing in November.
Numerous U.S. officials visited Tibetan areas during 2005, providing opportunities to raise human rights abuses with local officials. USCIRF commissioners and staff visited the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in August, a visit that had been sought since the 2002 bilateral Human Rights Dialogue. USCIRF was able to meet in Lhasa with released political prisoner Phuntsog Nyidrol. A large congressional delegation traveled to the TAR in August, visited religious sites, and raised concerns about human rights violations. In November, the UN Special Rapporteur for Torture visited Lhasa to meet with officials and visit two prisons. U.S.-funded programs focused on economic and community development, mindful of the importance of preserving Tibet's environment and religious and cultural heritage.
International Campaign for Tibet 6 April 2006
Friday, August 10, 2007
Torch Relay Protests China's Crimes against Humanity
Human rights groups, in a laudable effort to rally opposition to the Chinese Communist Party’s crimes against humanity, have begun an inspiring, worldwide rival Olympic torch relay, named the Human Rights Torch World Tour. The rival torch was lit August 9, 2007, in Athens, a day after the one-year countdown to Beijing’s Olympic events.
The torch will now begin a journey around the world, passing from one runner to the next, traveling through Europe and Australia before reaching New Zealand in January 2008, having visited one hundred cities worldwide on five continents.
The originator of the international torch relay, the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG), says the relay will end in Asia right before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Former athletes, Olympians, and celebrities will participate, and serve as torch bearers in this uplifting international venture.
In a recent interview, Mr. Kai Chen, a former player on the Chinese National Basketball Team and newly appointed Western U.S. ambassador for the Human Rights Torch World Tour, explained why this torch relay is needed:
"Under the atheistic theories of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), there is no concept of human rights as a birth right. All Chinese people should assume responsibility for joining this campaign. The Olympic Games should not be used by the CCP as an excuse to advance its dictatorship."
Chen says, "The goal of the Human Rights Torch Relay is to end the CCP's human rights abuses in China. The Chinese people are deceived by the dictatorship. They think that the rights to have enough food and pursue a good life are given by the government.
"Actually, as President Lincoln said, the government should be 'of the people, by the people, and for the people.' The government should serve the people. Yet under the CCP's rule, the opposite happened. The people became tools of the regime. The roles of the people and the government are reversed."
Chen continued, "Over the last 50 years, few of the political movements in China were about human rights and freedom. As a result, no human rights or freedom were gained. The Chinese people need to be freed from this regime. They need to escape the distorted society created by the regime in order to restore human dignity. Otherwise they remain slaves to the regime."
Lai Ching-Te, a deputy of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, said there is great hope that “the human rights torch relay will expose the inside story of the bloody Olympics." At the news conference where Ching-Te commented, a banner saying, “No human rights, no Beijing 2008" was in full view.
The torch relay supporters say they are especially concerned with the treatment of Tibetans, after the Chinese government’s ominous vow to “tighten security” in Tibet in the upcoming year. What that means is anyone’s guess, but it certainly is good cause for alarm and anxiety among all Tibetans. Lai and others point to the persecution of Tibetans and adherents of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned by Beijing as a cult in 1999, as specific goals of the Chinese Communist regime.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry had no comment on these issues.
According to the International Herald Tribune:
Rights Watch said Beijing was more worried about political stability and tightening its grip on domestic human rights defenders, grass-roots activists and media to choke off any possible expressions of dissent ahead of the Games, the group said.
"Instead of a pre-Olympic 'Beijing spring' of greater freedom and tolerance of dissent, we are seeing the gagging of dissidents, a crackdown on activists, and attempts to block independent media coverage," said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch. "The government seems afraid that its own citizens will embarrass it by speaking out about political and social problems, but China's leaders apparently don't realize authoritarian crackdowns are even more embarrassing."
What is at issue here?
CIPFG charges that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) represents anything but the Olympic spirit and violates human rights on a regular basis and in many egregious ways. Surely one of the most repellant of the CCP practices is an actual ghoulish “harvesting” (removal) of live bodily organs for profit, while the persecuted “donor” is still alive. This is clearly an atrocity against humanity and is alleged to be conducted regularly by the CCP on their targets, particularly those who believe in the Falun Gong spiritual movement.
Further, as basketball star Kai Chen explained:
"Under the Communist regime's long-term brainwashing, the Chinese people have lost the ability to discern between good and bad, justice and injustice, and morality and immorality. All they know is whether someone is an 'insider' or 'outsider,' or an 'enemy' or 'friend.' When the September 11 terrorist attacks happened, a large number of Chinese people applauded. This reaction reflects a complete lack of humanity.
"The CCP has always said, 'As long as something is against the government, it has to be against the interests of the people.' Although some Chinese people don't favor the Communist Party, they are very protective of the Chinese government.
"These people have been deceived. Chinese people could only be awakened if moral values were re-established in China. Although the process to do so is slow and difficult, this power of justice is the only force that can touch the depth of people's souls and bring hope to China. This precludes the possibility of a new dictatorship taking over the country after the CCP is gone."
The focus of this global awakening to CCP’s dreadful practices is targeted to the Chinese Communist regime itself and not to the Chinese people. Its main purpose is to stop China’s persecution of human beings and to “save the Chinese people from living in an abyss of misery.” It will also ask that the CCP promote democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law.
China wants nothing more than an incident-free Olympics, stifling dissidents and blocking media coverage of dissidents’ righteous complaints. Let’s hope that this marvelous event, the Human Rights Torch World Tour, will shine a spotlight on a very dark element in our world – the Chinese Communist Party – and force the Communist dictatorship to understand that Chinese crimes against humanity and the Olympics cannot be allowed to co-exist.
By Editors of FamilySecurityMatters.org 10 August 2007
The torch will now begin a journey around the world, passing from one runner to the next, traveling through Europe and Australia before reaching New Zealand in January 2008, having visited one hundred cities worldwide on five continents.
The originator of the international torch relay, the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG), says the relay will end in Asia right before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Former athletes, Olympians, and celebrities will participate, and serve as torch bearers in this uplifting international venture.
In a recent interview, Mr. Kai Chen, a former player on the Chinese National Basketball Team and newly appointed Western U.S. ambassador for the Human Rights Torch World Tour, explained why this torch relay is needed:
"Under the atheistic theories of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), there is no concept of human rights as a birth right. All Chinese people should assume responsibility for joining this campaign. The Olympic Games should not be used by the CCP as an excuse to advance its dictatorship."
Chen says, "The goal of the Human Rights Torch Relay is to end the CCP's human rights abuses in China. The Chinese people are deceived by the dictatorship. They think that the rights to have enough food and pursue a good life are given by the government.
"Actually, as President Lincoln said, the government should be 'of the people, by the people, and for the people.' The government should serve the people. Yet under the CCP's rule, the opposite happened. The people became tools of the regime. The roles of the people and the government are reversed."
Chen continued, "Over the last 50 years, few of the political movements in China were about human rights and freedom. As a result, no human rights or freedom were gained. The Chinese people need to be freed from this regime. They need to escape the distorted society created by the regime in order to restore human dignity. Otherwise they remain slaves to the regime."
Lai Ching-Te, a deputy of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, said there is great hope that “the human rights torch relay will expose the inside story of the bloody Olympics." At the news conference where Ching-Te commented, a banner saying, “No human rights, no Beijing 2008" was in full view.
The torch relay supporters say they are especially concerned with the treatment of Tibetans, after the Chinese government’s ominous vow to “tighten security” in Tibet in the upcoming year. What that means is anyone’s guess, but it certainly is good cause for alarm and anxiety among all Tibetans. Lai and others point to the persecution of Tibetans and adherents of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned by Beijing as a cult in 1999, as specific goals of the Chinese Communist regime.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry had no comment on these issues.
According to the International Herald Tribune:
Rights Watch said Beijing was more worried about political stability and tightening its grip on domestic human rights defenders, grass-roots activists and media to choke off any possible expressions of dissent ahead of the Games, the group said.
"Instead of a pre-Olympic 'Beijing spring' of greater freedom and tolerance of dissent, we are seeing the gagging of dissidents, a crackdown on activists, and attempts to block independent media coverage," said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch. "The government seems afraid that its own citizens will embarrass it by speaking out about political and social problems, but China's leaders apparently don't realize authoritarian crackdowns are even more embarrassing."
What is at issue here?
CIPFG charges that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) represents anything but the Olympic spirit and violates human rights on a regular basis and in many egregious ways. Surely one of the most repellant of the CCP practices is an actual ghoulish “harvesting” (removal) of live bodily organs for profit, while the persecuted “donor” is still alive. This is clearly an atrocity against humanity and is alleged to be conducted regularly by the CCP on their targets, particularly those who believe in the Falun Gong spiritual movement.
Further, as basketball star Kai Chen explained:
"Under the Communist regime's long-term brainwashing, the Chinese people have lost the ability to discern between good and bad, justice and injustice, and morality and immorality. All they know is whether someone is an 'insider' or 'outsider,' or an 'enemy' or 'friend.' When the September 11 terrorist attacks happened, a large number of Chinese people applauded. This reaction reflects a complete lack of humanity.
"The CCP has always said, 'As long as something is against the government, it has to be against the interests of the people.' Although some Chinese people don't favor the Communist Party, they are very protective of the Chinese government.
"These people have been deceived. Chinese people could only be awakened if moral values were re-established in China. Although the process to do so is slow and difficult, this power of justice is the only force that can touch the depth of people's souls and bring hope to China. This precludes the possibility of a new dictatorship taking over the country after the CCP is gone."
The focus of this global awakening to CCP’s dreadful practices is targeted to the Chinese Communist regime itself and not to the Chinese people. Its main purpose is to stop China’s persecution of human beings and to “save the Chinese people from living in an abyss of misery.” It will also ask that the CCP promote democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law.
China wants nothing more than an incident-free Olympics, stifling dissidents and blocking media coverage of dissidents’ righteous complaints. Let’s hope that this marvelous event, the Human Rights Torch World Tour, will shine a spotlight on a very dark element in our world – the Chinese Communist Party – and force the Communist dictatorship to understand that Chinese crimes against humanity and the Olympics cannot be allowed to co-exist.
By Editors of FamilySecurityMatters.org 10 August 2007
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
