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Friends of Freedom Everywhere! The world watches as the Chinese government continues its systematic destruction of the Tibetan people. Its actions can only be described as a blatant disregard for human dignity, brazenly executed in front of the entire world. What is our response? This carnage is not an isolated incident but a strategic destruction of the Tibetan culture openly and ruthlessly implemented for over ten decades by the Chinese government. What is our response? Are we to bless these actions with Olympic Gold? For all who say yes! We ask you to go to Beijing through Lhasa, Tibet. We ask you to step over the bodies of innocent monks and Tibetan citizens whose only crime is to freely practice their religion and way of life in peace. The systematic destruction of the Tibetan culture by the Chinese government is horrendous but not isolated. It is the action of an illegitimate and insecure regime that uses the same naked force and disregard for human dignity on all the people under its domination. The Chinese government's only goal is to maintain its slippery grip on power at whatever cost. What is our response? Everyday inside of China people are arrested, jailed, and intimated without due process of any kind. Every day, innocent Chinese citizens deprived of their land and their rights of free speech and thought. Just last week Mr, Teng Biao, noted civil rights lawyer was grabbed by state security in front of his apartment, A bag was put over his head, and he was forcibly pushed into a car and held in secret for 41 hours. Leading dissidents from around the world signed an open letter to the International Community asking people of conscience around the world to ask themselves if this behavior was the standard of behavior for an Olympic host? What is our response? Friends of Freedom everywhere. History has taught us that our response cannot and must not be silence. Our silence condemns us. Our silence sends a loud message to the ruthless Chinese Government that they can reap the benefits of Olympic Gold while it tramples on the innate rights and benefits of its own citizens. Our response cannot be silence. Our response cannot be continued unconditional participation in the Olympics. For those of you who say "No" We must be nice to them and they will be nice to us. To those of you say this, I read to you a poem written by a German minister to remind us of the consequences of silence. "First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one to speak up." We call upon all the world leaders of governments, religions, businesses, and all organizations not to condemn us with you silence. In particular, we call on the U.S. government, the historical champion of human rights in the world, to immediately and boldly retract its removal of China from its list of the worst human rights offenders. How can it justify this removal in the face of such human degradation? We, the Chinese Human Rights and democracy advocates, ask President Bush directly to stand before the slaughtered Tibetans and tell them he is going to the Olympics as a "sports fan" The time has come to tell the Chinese Government that participation in the Olympics is conditional up deeds and not words. The time has come to tell the Chinese Government that participation in the Olympics is conditional upon these minimum standards of human rights. 1)Ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights during the current session of the Chinese Peoples Congress. This covenant was signed by Chinese government in October, 1998. 2)Extend the rights of travel and reporting granted to foreign journalists in January of last year to China's domestic journalists. Adhere to these rights for both domestic and foreign journalist after the Olympics. 3)Release all those who remained imprisoned for their involvement in Tiananmen Square almost 20 years ago. 4)Stop the ongoing arrests of human-rights activists and defenders. 5)Abolish the border-crossing blacklists, so that all Chinese citizens, including pro-democracy activists can leave and return to China without fear. The time has come to hold the Chinese government accountable and for us to hold our governments accountable for demanding these minimal conditions be implemented immediately. We will not let the Tibetan people. We will not let the Chinese people. We will not let ourselves be condemned by our silence. We ask the international community,working in joint hands?with?us Chinese huaman rights and democracy advacates,?to induce the Chinese government to renounce its strategy of violent repression and to immediately enter into a dialogue with the united forces of opposition with goal of bringing true democracy to all the people of China. God save all suffering people. God save humanity. Initiatives for China 公 民 力 量 Yang Jianli 杨 建 利 President 主席 20 Park Plaza, Suite 1104 Boston, MA 02116, USA Tel: (617)350-8677 Fax:(617)350-8678
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