A REPORT released this week by Amnesty International highlights the worsening human-rights situation in China.
The report, The Olympics Countdown: Crackdown on activists threatens Olympics legacy, draws attention to a clampdown on human-rights campaigners as part of a pre-Olympics “clean-up”. It says that the authorities are using the pretext of maintaining security at the Games to arrest dissidents.
It recounts the detention of the human-rights activist Hu Jia, who was charged with “inciting subversion” after establishing contact with foreign journalists and participating in a web-cast to the EU. On the web, he criticised continuing human-rights violations in China.
At his trial, Hu Jia’s lawyer was given only 30 minutes to prepare his defence, and was repeatedly interrupted. Amnesty describes the trial as “unfair and politically motivated”, and considers Hu Jia to be a prisoner of conscience. He is now imprisoned in Beijing, and has been denied access to his family and lawyers for several weeks.
The report also draws attention to the alleged plight of many other human-rights activists in China, the increasing censorship of the internet, and a rise in the detentions of practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual movement.
In its conclusion, it calls on world leaders, including Gordon Brown, to push the Chinese authorities to act now to improve human rights. It says: “Unless urgent measures are taken, the legacy of the Beijing Olympics will not be ‘valuable’ in terms of human rights. In fact, with just four months to go, the Olympic Games risk being tarnished with a legacy of repression and persecution.”
Tim Hancock, Amnesty International UK Campaigns Director, said the muzzle on protesters in both China and Tibet is getting tighter as the Olympics approaches. “Unless world leaders and the International Olympic Committee speak out strongly and in public, they risk giving tacit endorsement to China’s repressive policies.”
Meanwhile, an international coalition of Christian groups, including Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Open Doors International, have signed a statement calling for full freedom of expression and worship for religious groups in China. |
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