Individuals at Risk

The Olympic Games provides a gathering ground for the international community, where the blending of culture, education, and athleticism promote core universal principles of human dignity and compassion. For any country, hosting a successful Olympics means taking part in this long-standing tradition, a pinnacle of national pride and a prestigious opportunity to promote and uphold such principles in the pursuit of human excellence both domestically and internationally. As host to the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing has promised to maintain this tradition of moral excellence.

In 2001, the Games were seen as leverage, providing the impetus to compel the Chinese government into easing socio-political restrictions and making improvements to human rights conditions and standards. These improvements include reevaluating the continued and rampant use of the death penalty and other abusive forms of detention such as the Re-Education through Labor program, the widespread imprisonment, torture, and harassment of human rights defenders including journalists and lawyers, and the easing of restrictions on censorship and free speech, particularly in regards to the Internet. Now, in 2008, we can retrospectively see that conditions within China have in fact deteriorated further, as authorities scramble to crack down on anyone and everyone in order to "clean up" Beijing before August. China wants to look good for its peers, if only at face-value. The international community and the IOC should be appalled at the thought of accepting this gesture and China should be ashamed for offering, knowing that it is at the expense of silencing and repressing an already muted population.

In 2004, Chinese journalist Shi Tao used his Yahoo! account to send an email to a U.S. based pro-democracy website, regarding a government order for media censorship. The Chinese government used email account holder information provided by Yahoo! to convict Tao of "illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities" and sentenced him to ten years in prison, for simply expressing his views in an email (See Special Focus Case). Human rights activist Hu Jia and his wife Zeng Jinyan were arrested (again) in December 2007, for continuing to be active in publicizing human rights violations in China, despite a previous incommunicado imprisonment and house arrest for involvement in other peaceful human rights activities (UA 01/08). In preparation for the Olympics, the incidence of land seizure and forced eviction with inadequate compensation has become appalling. Housing rights activist Ye Guozhu was sentenced to four years in prison after attempting to organize a demonstration against Olympic-related forced evictions in Beijing (AI Media Kit: Legacy of the Beijing Olympics, China's Choice). While in detention, it is reported that he was beaten by guards with electro-shock batons. The imprisonments of Shi Tao, Hu Jia, and Ye Guozhu are singular examples amongst countless others who have been arrested or "re-educated" by Chinese authorities in a monumental effort to silence internal protest and dissent before the arrival of the international community in August 2008.

As participants and spectators of the Olympic Games, we too share the responsibility of condemning such repressive and violating policies in China. The Olympics are meant to embody and promote principles of global excellence and human dignity, but what is left to be proud of if we allow China to crush the dignities and rights of its own population, in a half-hearted effort to meet only the aesthetic requirements of hosting the Games? China should be ashamed of its actions and the international community needs to hold the Chinese government responsible. There are six months left until the 2008 Olympic Games begin in August, but it is not too late to remind and shame China into upholding its thus-far broken promises.

Take Action: Hold China accountable!

On Monday, February 11^th, Amnesty International will be holding a rally in front of the White House urging President Bush (who will be attending the Olympics), to pressure China into living up to its promises of improving human rights policies and conditions. Join us and rally, in the spirit of what the Olympic Games should stand for, but most importantly, on behalf of those victims in China whose suffering and repression continues to deepen as a consequence.....

More Information on the Rally

In Solidarity,

Angie