Amnesty International Accuses China In Run Up To Olympics!

[Mainad]

AP article in today's Yomiuri Shimbun:

Amnesty International accuses China of increasing abuses in run-up to Olympics

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN

Associated Press Writer

BEIJING (AP) -- China's preparations for the Olympic Games have so far not included promised improvements to civil liberties and the International Olympic Committee must step up pressure on Beijing to deliver on its pledge of guaranteed press freedoms, activists groups said Tuesday.

Chinese authorities have violated pledges made when bidding for the games by heightening abuse and surveillance of political and religious dissidents, jailing journalists, and closing publications focusing on social development, human rights group Amnesty International said in a new report.

With just one year before the games, time is "running out for the Chinese government to fulfill its promise of promoting human rights as part of the Olympics legacy," Amnesty's secretary-general, Irene Khan, said in a statement. "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."

The Committee to Protect Journalists said when the IOC awarded the 2008 Olympics to Beijing seven years ago, it had promised to ensure that reporters could report freely in China.

Under a regulation announced last year, foreign reporters can travel and conduct interviews in China without asking for government approval from Jan. 1 until mid-October 2008. The temporary freedoms do not extend to local Chinese journalists.

The group called on the government to free 29 journalists currently jailed in China and to loosen restrictions on local reporters. It also called on the IOC to pressure China more aggressively on press freedom issues.

Amnesty's report comes on the heels of one issued last week by Human Rights Watch, which also said the Chinese government had failed to live up to promises of greater human rights, instead clamping down on domestic activists and journalists.

Amnesty's release came as six activists were detained Tuesday after scaling down a part of the Great Wall with a large banner that read "One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008," the London-based Free Tibet Campaign and Students for a Free Tibet said in an e-mail statement.

Activists say China is using the Olympics to underscore its claims on Tibet, which is says it has ruled for centuries. But many Tibetans say their homeland was essentially an independent state for most of that time. Chinese communist troops occupied Tibet in 1951, and Beijing continues to rule the region with a heavy hand.

On Monday, police detained journalists at a rare protest in Beijing staged by a free-press advocacy group that accused the Chinese government of failing to meet pledges for greater media freedom.

The detentions, which came during a visit to Beijing by International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, followed the unfurling of posters depicting the Olympic rings made from handcuffs by members of Reporters Without Borders on a pedestrian bridge outside the headquarters of the Beijing Olympics planning committee.

The Paris-based group said China continues to restrict press freedoms and lock up journalists, political dissidents and activists who publish on the Internet - despite pledges to liberalize made when bidding to stage the games.

The Beijing Olympics, which begin Aug. 8, 2008, are a huge source of pride for China. In bidding for the games back in 2001, Chinese leaders promised International Olympic Committee members that the Olympics would lead to an improved climate for human rights and media freedom.

Chinese officials have been eager to spread good news about the country's fevered preparations, with all venues except the iconic "Bird's Nest" National Stadium to be finished by the end of the year. Numerous government agencies have been announcing their Olympics-related achievements, from meeting tree-planting goals to setting up a network to monitor for potential disease outbreaks.

Etiquette campaigns are afoot to stamp out bad manners like jumping ahead in line, spitting, littering and reckless driving. A campaign to teach English in preparation of the 550,000 expected foreign visitors targets everyone from cab drivers to grandmothers.

LINK:

[Faster]

AI is a biased, political group that is incredibly inaccurate and incomplete.

[Lenric]

AI is a biased, political group that is incredibly inaccurate and incomplete.

I agree with that~ why do these guys have to wait for the games about to begin then to do these "amighty thing"~when Chinese people are facing extremely heavy flooding, terrible natural disasters in the early of this year, where are those guys? where are their helps?

[Faster]

I agree with that~ why do these guys have to wait for the games about to begin then to do these "amighty thing"~when Chinese people are facing extremely heavy flooding, terrible natural disasters in the early of this year, where are those guys? where are their helps?

China is not the only country they are biased towards, Israel is the most sited example.

[Guardian]

Whatever is going on over there, two Canadians are in jail for that action and could be either held there "indefinitely" or be executed for "crimes against the state."

Link: CBC: Parents Worried After 2 Vancouverites Reportedly Held In China

Two activists hang below a giant banner hung from the Great Wall of China Tuesday.

(Courtesy of Freya Putt)

Sam Price of Vancouver was one of six activists arrested Tuesday in China.

(Courtesy of Freya Putt)

Melanie Raoul of Vancouver was one of six activists arrested in China Tuesday.

(Courtesy of Freya Putt)

In fact, these 2 people did almost exactly like this in 2001, around the time of the 2008 Olympic Games decision. But, they focused their attention at a Canadian trade mission to China then.

[Lenric]

Whatever is going on over there, two Canadians are in jail for that action and could be either held there "indefinitely" or be executed for "crimes against the state."

Link: CBC: Parents Worried After 2 Vancouverites Reportedly Held In China

Two activists hang below a giant banner hung from the Great Wall of China Tuesday.

(Courtesy of Freya Putt)

Sam Price of Vancouver was one of six activists arrested Tuesday in China.

(Courtesy of Freya Putt)

Melanie Raoul of Vancouver was one of six activists arrested in China Tuesday.

(Courtesy of Freya Putt)

In fact, these 2 people did almost exactly like this in 2001, around the time of the 2008 Olympic Games decision. But, they focused their attention at a Canadian trade mission to China then.

At the first point, I am not intend to provoke a kind of unfriendly atmosphere in this tread. However, I have to say they been judged quite fairly. Why? Because, they broke the Chinese law in the land of China. That's very simple~ Just imagine a group of Chinese people got the Canadian visa aim to help Quebec to be strongly againest the current english government of Canada. Is that legal for Canadian law? I only make this point in a fair but didn't judge at the moral level. They are the same cases. You are not the Chinese citizen, how on earth could you do such thing that didn't ask for most of the Chinese ordinary (Non-government background) people's signatures and opinions? isn't that wiser for a so-called 'honest' international political activitist?

I am tired to explain about the story of Tibet, I believe the real history will be really to unveil all the truth in the future. If these Canadian friends do really hope Tibet for a better future, why not trying to be more clever to do the practical constructions job on the land of Tibet such as helping Tibetan tourism or leading a funding for Tebetan youth education, poverty improvement, cultural communication and so on. If you do really come to the land of Tibet, you would understand Tibetan people also need a better quality of life and so on. I do understand Chinese Communist Party is extremely controversial. However, I have to say, it is also only the Chinese Communist Party who make a record that help the largest population in human history been improved their life standards from the UN poverty line.

I have to say something that very curel and realistic, in Tibet, the spritual leader was the king. Because of the pure heart of the Tibetan people, they been stifled the free will and the understanding of the human rights by the local landlords and religious leaders for about hundreds of the year. For your european, that's quite similar as the fusion between the Dark AGE and the Slave Trade together~here are some pics

It's very common to see those faces in early Tibet

A Tibetan slave been cut off one hand by his Master(landlord)

This one is quite disturbing, they are the human skins of the slaves been cut off by the early Tibetan Authority. can you a baby size skin?

terriblly the British Empire was going to take over Tibet by threating former Chinese government

British soldiers were humiliating honest Tibetan warroirs(even though they are also the slaves)

British troops are taking over the city of Lahsa.

I am not a Communist but a Christian. I do not stand on either side but only love to listen the local people's feeling. We cannot always say the countries that plitically away from the West all doing propoganda or mind-controled. It's just because their doors are closed, it doesn't mean they are all isolated by the modern world. Actually, there is only a nation such as North Korea is the typical one the world and the democracy need to deal with seriously.

Honestly, Tibet been a part of ancient China already thousands years. However, Chinese government never prefer to invade this great land for their political need. So you could see even though Tibet was in the map of China, even the troops were in their, As I show you in the early year, Tibet even has their own spritial leader! So aren't they been free for long, but who won the moral value. I don't know. This question is so complex so that it is a issue. The truth is Tibet is geographically important for the Chinese security, but this refres to the modern history of CHINA, because China was ever been invaded by more than 8 countries from the West combined together (the impact could be positive as huge as negetive), but emotionally it is negative. The distrust of the West was start from that period. But it doesn't mean Chinese people like to be isolated

Could you find your nation?

So to talk about the issue of Tibet, we have to see the both sides, not just from the Dalai~ the viewpoint of the West. coz he was just that spritiual leader. we know in Islam, there are also the spritual leaders (or some of them are fundamentalist), their rights even bigger than the political authority~(the reason is quite clear, if you could understand and think). If you do really experience the real life of the early Tibetan slaves~you could understand deeper about the social liberation of the Tibet (I emphasis on the social one because I also do concern the cultural communication is changing the native Tibetan culture). It's so similar the West would never understand how terrible Japanese nationalists harmed to the Chinese people during WWII. So why not wait for the answer given by Tibet itself in the future (you have to believe the power of the people is bigger than any politics)?

China is a highly controled nation (Big Brother). That's the fact, because of it's extremely huge population and it is a developing country, there must be tons of harsh problems . So you could see how taugh it is~ the political war is always happening behind the image.

You maybdo not know, there are quite negative attitudes to Canada among Chinese people on the internet. Do you know that? I would tell you, it is just because quite a lot pf the Chinese embezzlers who commited the terrible crime on the human rights, economy and the justice successfully escaped to Canada for the political asylum that Canada never make the honest answers on these so that they could still enjoying their nasty lives by using huge amount of illeagal money from China as propagandizing for harming the image of China.

isn't that a double-standard of the true value?

[Fox334]

At the first point, I am not intend to provoke a kind of unfriendly atmosphere in this tread. However, I have to say they been judged quite fairly. Why? Because, they broke the Chinese law in the land of China. That's very simple~ Just imagine a group of Chinese people got the Canadian visa aim to help Quebec to be strongly against the current english government of Canada. Is that legal for Canadian law?

Ya, its totally legal. You would get laugh at by everyone for doing it (中國為建立一個自由魁北克 (Google translated...)), but you would be totally in your rights. Canada is a confederation, so its relatively easy for a province or a territory to enter or leave it.

As a mater of fact, in 1967, the French President Charles de Gaulle made a speech in Montreal that ended by "Vive le Québec libre ! Vive le Canada français ! Et vive la France !" (Long live free Quebec! Long live French Canada! And long live France!). What he did was totally legal, even at that time, altought obviously a breach of procedure.

The problem I have whit this whole debate is that it seams that we hear the opinion of everybody but the peoples that actually live in Tibet. And its the same thing for the separatism movement in Xinjiang, for example. You can't know what the people's opinion are becose the Chinese government does not allow the peoples in those areas to debate freely whether or not independence would be good for them. And since the People's Republic of China isn't democratic, there is no real way to know, anyway... But for me, the real question is: IF the peoples of Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, Macau and Hong-Kong where freely given the choice of becoming independent, would they chose to stay whiting the PRC?

[Faster]

I have to say that they are getting everything they deserve. When you enter a country there is an agreement between that person and the country that the person has safe passage in the country and that person has the responsibility to respect the laws of the land and the people therein. You enter a country and break the law you will face the consequences.

[Techno Dragon]

Apparently they've been released, and sent to Hong Kong.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/244316

[Alan in Montréal]

Just imagine a group of Chinese people got the Canadian visa aim to help Quebec to be strongly againest the current english government of Canada. Is that legal for Canadian law?

To answer your question, yes, it is legal! If you know anything about Canada, you will understand that we have very liberal freedoms of expression and association, in fact, there is a federal political party who runs for federal parliament on a separatist platform.

If you are in Canada legally, you have to right to speak-out as you please, provided you do not promote racial hatred or incite violence.

In my opinion, this is China's problem. China promised the IOC that we would see changes to human rights policies and in fact openly promoted their bid based on the fact that winning the Games would force change in China. We have seen none of that. Did you know that over 1,000,000 Chinese citizens have been "moved" wiht virtually no say or recourse in order to make room for Olympic venues, or to move them away to avoid embarassment?

[Lenric]

Ya, its totally legal. You would get laugh at by everyone for doing it (中國為建立一個自由魁北克 (Google translated...)), but you would be totally in your rights. Canada is a confederation, so its relatively easy for a province or a territory to enter or leave it.

As a mater of fact, in 1967, the French President Charles de Gaulle made a speech in Montreal that ended by "Vive le Québec libre ! Vive le Canada français ! Et vive la France !" (Long live free Quebec! Long live French Canada! And long live France!). What he did was totally legal, even at that time, altought obviously a breach of procedure.

The problem I have whit this whole debate is that it seams that we hear the opinion of everybody but the peoples that actually live in Tibet. And its the same thing for the separatism movement in Xinjiang, for example. You can't know what the people's opinion are becose the Chinese government does not allow the peoples in those areas to debate freely whether or not independence would be good for them. And since the People's Republic of China isn't democratic, there is no real way to know, anyway... But for me, the real question is: IF the peoples of Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, Macau and Hong-Kong where freely given the choice of becoming independent, would they chose to stay whiting the PRC?

Very interesting to see you only catch up this part of my information ( ). Yes, that's legal for Canadian law. However, you have to understand what kind of political form of Canada exactly it is. As you say that Canada is a confederation, but you forget about that Canada is also a nation from the West. Could you remember the Cold War? Could you remeber the NATO? It's very clear to see the actual political identity of Canada. Ok, if Qubec quit Canada, do you think the Qubec would be possibly aviod the political influence or we called it PRESSURE from Canada? Furthermore, what kind of FREE of Qubec it actually is? You have to understand the differences between the liberation and the seperation. And also, if we talk about the real master of Canada, do you think they are really the white people? The former colony of the British Empire and the French Empire became a independent political individual on the map of the world. Do you think that's legally and morally fair for the native Canadian (and also there is issue about the early slave trade in Canada)? ok~they embrace at last, but what is their motivation? the bread or the great great British and French authority? Why is the major offical language of Canada are English and French? Can you see the shame of the politics at this point? Back to the issue of the Qubec, Ok~ we acknowledge on the side of the Qubec, however, what is the biggest ethnic background in Qubec? The French-speaking people. So of course they been supported by French Government. Why did the British Government never help with that if Qubec is really a universal sadness and been supported by the UN? Two dogs are biting together out of their houses, who owns the truth at last?

Mao ever said 'the government only comes from the power of gun'. That might sounds quite offensive for your Westerners, but that's the natural process of the birth of a political power. The free of the individual and the free of the community are different but also connect with each other , even Switzerland couldn't reject the Globalization and finally joined the UN. However, some political issues are so not that easy to deal with as your Qubec case. OK~as your logic, why Palestine still couldn't form a country successfully as just another nation located near Isreal? Why couldn't the Tukish and Greek Cyprus still under one flag? Why do the Corsica still need to be under the French control? Why Gorden Borwn promised that he is not goint to let Scotland go? Why couldn't the Northern Ireland become independent in the period of Tony? Why the American coluldn't let the Kurds become an independent state? Why do Afghanistan been controled by the US troops without the ackownldgement from the UN? Before China has its influence on Dafur, where was the West...........come on~Global Warming is killing more and more people, rising sea level has already wipeD away some island countries. In the past 100 years, who shoud take the biggest responsbility? AIDS is becoming a huge disaster around the globe, where is the promise from the WEST to the develpoing nations? Your left hand got an icecream, right hand got a coke, sitting on the sofa trying to help the world, is it that really effective?

You think the Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria(rediculars conception), Macau and Hong-Kong are not willing to be under China? I just think that's true. not for everybody but for the mainstream. You also forget that CHINA has more than 55 different ethnic backgrounds. they all have their own autonomous regions~ they are the true native residents. unlike the immigrant feature of Canada. It has long history,not for the communist China, but it starts from the ancient China

4000 years ago

900 years ago

now

You forgot Taiwan as well. Chinese maps been always changing. Because the Chinese culture and people are always communicating with each other. so it is hard to see the extreme highly isolated groups but for common people, you could feel they do support the form of China but maybe not for any particular government. And you also say there is not democracy, that's ridiculars. Do you think the Chinese government can control everything? lol~you should really come to China to have a look. Do not really think Chinese people are that stupid as you imagine.~it is just because they speak in Chinese that you may never learn to understand....that quite true.

At last, CHinese governmet is not going to send those two Canadians to the death. Or they gonna treat them quite well by using CHinese tax-payers money. That's the history it shows. I also have to say the truth, if some of the Chinese nationalists got that news, some of them may really think they need a real punishment. that's not good for the mainstream as the friendship between two countries. but that's another issue. So China is bad, Canada is not good either if you do really need me to sum up in your logic. I would pray for those two spirits, but I have to say your understand China too less or you have another purpose.

[Lenric]

To answer your question, yes, it is legal! If you know anything about Canada, you will understand that we have very liberal freedoms of expression and association, in fact, there is a federal political party who runs for federal parliament on a separatist platform.

If you are in Canada legally, you have to right to speak-out as you please, provided you do not promote racial hatred or incite violence.

In my opinion, this is China's problem. China promised the IOC that we would see changes to human rights policies and in fact openly promoted their bid based on the fact that winning the Games would force change in China. We have seen none of that. Did you know that over 1,000,000 Chinese citizens have been "moved" wiht virtually no say or recourse in order to make room for Olympic venues, or to move them away to avoid embarassment?

Speaking out I think is useless fo helping the Qubec, if I really need to fullfill my political need, I have to use anything. So I have to break the law, legally in and inlegally out is just the thing those two Cans done in China, why couldn't Chinese do that, otherwise I am going to say Canada is a racist nation if you really let me do such thing as your logic.

When you think that's Chinese problem, why couldn't you follow your two Canadian Warriors path to help more? is that too selfish to them?

yes, China did promise that, but do you know it is just because of the so-called olympics, China invest huge amout of money and resources on the capital Beijng and ignore other part of CHINA. some of them even couldn't bear the rising price of the daily goods. you guys boycott, could even make the worst worse and lead China a huge bankrupt, you think Chinese people can get a better lives from this?

Childish.~

[Fox334]

Lets get started whit the answer ^^. I probably won't answer to everything, thought, beccose your post is quite long...

First of all, you seam to think I have a bad impression of the Chinese peoples. I don't believe that Chinese peoples are stupid, far from that.

Now on the issue of Tibet, Xianjing, Macau, etc. I did not say that I taught they wanted independence. I said I wondered IF they wanted it. Since it seams to be against Chinese laws to be a separatist, we aren't likely to know if they really want to be independent.

As for the three Canadians that where arrested, I didn't intend to defend them. What they did is quite stupid, and I hope whatever the Chinese authorities do to them will scare them from coming back to China (if they will ever be aloud to do so, anyway...). I think there statue of foreigner should protect them, thought.

Now Taiwan. That issue is interesting. I think there claim over mainland China is ridiculous. I believe that since Taiwan has been de-facto independent from the rest of China for so long that they should be aloud to decide whether they want to be a part of the PRC or there own country. But that is quite a complicated issue...

[Alan in Montréal]

Lenric: I cannot for the life of me figure out exactly what you are talking about, but from I'm able to piece together, you don't seem to know too much about Canada or Canadian politics.

You questioned if a foreigner had the right to protest in Canada in favour of Quebec separation, to which I replied yes. I don't know where you went after that.

[Lenric]

Lets get started whit the answer ^^. I probably won't answer to everything, thought, beccose your post is quite long...

First of all, you seam to think I have a bad impression of the Chinese peoples. I don't believe that Chinese peoples are stupid, far from that.

Now on the issue of Tibet, Xianjing, Macau, etc. I did not say that I taught they wanted independence. I said I wondered IF they wanted it. Since it seams to be against Chinese laws to be a separatist, we aren't likely to know if they really want to be independent.

As for the three Canadians that where arrested, I didn't intend to defend them. What they did is quite stupid, and I hope whatever the Chinese authorities do to them will scare them from coming back to China (if they will ever be aloud to do so, anyway...). I think there statue of foreigner should protect them, thought.

Now Taiwan. That issue is interesting. I think there claim over mainland China is ridiculous. I believe that since Taiwan has been de-facto independent from the rest of China for so long that they should be aloud to decide whether they want to be a part of the PRC or there own country. But that is quite a complicated issue...

No~No~,I didn't mean to any particular person, but I understand some kind of mainstream attitude towards to China from the West. That's the reality we couldn't ignore, could we?

The fact is that those areas you mentioned mostly are the autonomous regions, the major population of these areas are the native people (Such as for Mogolian, there are also more than 15 ethnic groups, Mogolian, Russian, Tibetan....)~of course except Hong Kong/Macau, one group was seperated by the ethnic recognization, one group was seperated by the social form. I been living in an Muslim autonomous region for years~ the muslim community is highly been respected at many levels, however, there is always comes out a principle that the local government is not going to tollerate any activities that may harm for the national security. However, the fact is unless the central government really send the troops to these areas, the king is always the muslim~my grandpa told me that in the past, the leader of the communist government even been kidnapted by the muslim community in the early 1970s. You could imgaine how terrible it is~Do not think they are fighting for the so-called human rights~?do you know in Xinjiang, Muslim could take a knife with them~ one of my friends who got two roomates from Xinjiang, one is always been involved in the school bullying,that one is not willing to get in touch with everyone and isolate himself all the time, one is always stay in the room and do nothing or playing games, never attend the class~ and all of these are using our tax-payer's money for helping those Xinjiang people~ The children muslim thieves from Xinjian is the most common ones who making more and more Chinese upset about Xinjiang,why? because they are everywhere in the major cities of China.~when the police got them, they even have no shame and causing the chaos. ~Ironically, when the policemen been stolen, they can't even say anything~cause Chinese are not allowed to say anything may cause unfriendly atmosphere towards to the muslim~

........................................

the EAST TURKS you may heard about it~I don't care if they really fight for their HUMAN RIGHT, however, when they just having a connection with BEN LARDEN~you know XInjiang is just near AFGHANISTAN~i don't think America,the police of the world would be happy with that~

you may also know in the early of this year~ there are two Japanese spies been to XINJIANG for inlegal geographical research.......

are they goona write a book about introducing the XINJIANG TORUISM?

And I also answered to Juan~ I may know very less about Canadian~,however, I still think you couldn't make the issue of Tibet as the fully same as the Qubec~ I think from the year of 1999, the confederation government of Canada is not going to tollerate the vote about the independence of Qubec from their single side, but it has to be passed by the central government and other provinces combined together~ so that means it is about to let the entire Canada to vote for the question of Qubec~ I think that's more rational and scicitific,~ isn' t it? Don't forget on the MONTRÉAL Games, one french girl and one english boy light the flame together at the open ceremony~don't you see sth very interesting from that?