Excerpted from American Family Association - OneNewsNow:
Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China, says it is "completely disingenuous" for Bush to make such a statement, and submits that by attending the opening ceremonies the president is sending a negative message to the world.
"[The opening ceremonies] is a complete political event," says Hom. "There is just no way that the head of state, the president of the United States, can attend the opening ceremonies ... [and] attend it as simply a sports fan. So we would really hope that he gets better political and foreign policy advice and that he realizes that that is ... to put it frankly, a ludicrous position."
Hom argues that the president's position is untenable. She maintains that his mere presence will demonstrate he is ignoring the communist regime's human-rights violations and crackdown on its citizens - who she points have the right under both Chinese and international human-rights laws to freely exercise their voice against those violations.
"If the president of the United States shows up [for the Games]," says Hom, "... that is sending a very damaging message about the seriousness of the United States towards supporting human rights and supporting those Chinese domestic voices [who are] raising the human-rights issues ...."
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For more information on this issue:
- HRIC Campaign:
Incorporating Responsibility 2008 Take Action Campaign - HRIC Press Statement:
Chinese Authorities Target Lawyers Offering Legal Assistance to Tibetans - HRIC Press Statement:
Chinese Lawyers Offer Legal Help to Detained Tibetans - HRIC Press Advisory:
Ethnic Minorities Remain Marginalized, Tensions Rise - HRIC Press Statement:
Five-Year Sentence of Olympics Critic Not Human Rights Progress - China Rights Forum No. 1, 2008:
One Slogan, Many Meanings: Bring Tibet to the 2008 Games - HRIC Press Advisory:
Stop Crackdowns in Tibet, Start Dialogue - HRIC Press Advisory:
HRIC Launches 2008 Take Action Website and Calls on China to Release Shi Tao - China Rights Forum No. 4, 2007:
Decline of Potala Palace - Woeser discusses the history of the Tibetan palace and the way Chinese-led economic development has changed its face. - China Rights Forum No. 4, 2007:
The Real Situation in Pre-Olympics China - Teng Biao and Hu Jia give their views about the situation on the ground in the countdown to the Olympics. - China Rights Forum No. 3, 2007:
2008 and Beyond - Articles, interviews, resource list, and campaign information focusing on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. - China Rights Forum No. 3, 2007:
A Tibetan Activist’s Beijing Blog - Lhadon Tethong kept her readers informed of her efforts to meet IOC president Jacques Rogge in Beijing, and her brief detention as a result.