CRF 2007, No. 3 - 2008 and Beyond

The current issue of China Rights Forum, "2008 and Beyond," can be read in its entirety through the links below. For subscription information and access to back issues, please refer to the main China Rights Forum page.

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This Issue's Writers

News Roundup: May to July 2007

• An Open Letter to the IOC President
  HRIC asks Jacques Rogge to publicly release the contents of the Olympic Host City Contract with Beijing.

2008 in Perspective

• Human Rights: The True Gold Standard
  He Qinglian believes opposition to the 2008 Olympics will continue to grow abroad and inside China unless the Chinese government demonstrates progress on human rights.
• The Tragedy of Athletic Politics
  Fu Guoyong warns that official emphasis on medals pulls resources away from improving the health and fitness of ordinary people in China.
• The Making of a True Athletic Superpower
  Xu Jilin went to Vancouver for the 2004 Olympics and found a society that valued sports and physical health more than counting medals.
• Two Historical Turning Points: The Seoul and Beijing Olympics
  Chen Kuide recalls how the Olympics spurred a change of values in South Korea 20 years ago, and suggests it could do the same in China.
• The 2008 Beijing Olympics: Remembering Mexico 1968
  Jean-PaulMarthoz observes that using the Olympics as a pretext for suppressing dissent can turn the Games into a catalyst for political change.
• Improving Human Rights in a Neo-Communist State
  Erping Zhang proposes a new assessment of China that might provide a more nuanced approach on the Olympics.
• Olympics Blacklist
  Some Web sites posted purported excerpts of an official document listing out categories of people barred from participating in the Olympics.

Whose Olympics?

• Where is the “Frugal Olympics”? Domestic Voices Protest Extravagance
  This HRIC Brief explores how public expressions of resentment are growing against costly publicity events promoting official prestige rather than the spirit of the Games.
• A Worm’s-eye View of the Beijing Olympics
  Wei Liu looks to the Internet for clues on how ordinary people in China feel about the Olympics.
• Time to Speak Up on the Beijing Olympics
  Liu Shui urges the international community to support the efforts of the people of China to speak up for their rights as the Olympics approach.
• “One World, One Dream” and Universal Human Rights
  An open letter by more than 40 mainland activists and intellectuals calls for measures by Chinese leaders and the international community to end human rights abuses in China before the 2008 Olympics.
• Four Chinese Bloggers Weigh In on the Olympics
  For some people in China, the 2008 Olympics has prompted reflection on China’s current social and philosophical challenges.
• 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.
• May No Other Mother Feel This Pain: An Interview with Gao Qinsheng
  Shi Ping spoke with the mother of imprisoned Chinese journalist Shi Tao soon after she received the 2007 Pen of FreedomAward on his behalf.

Going for the Green

• What Will the 2008 Olympics Bring to China’s People
  Liu Jingsheng finds that the goal of “green Olympics” has provided new means of infringing on the rights of ordinary citizens.
• Looking Beyond the 2008 Olympics
  Fan Baihua cites China’s environmental challenges as an example of how the international community needs to look beyond Beijing, and beyond 2008, to ensure that the Olympics has lasting relevance for China.
• Reflections on the Struggle for Environmental Rights
  Huo Tao salutes the people of Xiamen in their effective united stand against a polluting factory.
• The Xiamen Demonstrations and Growing Civil Consciousness
  Zhao Dagong sees the Xiamen protests as a sign that the Chinese public, and also officials, have learned some important lessons from the 1989 Democracy Movement.

Regular Features

• Take Action: 2008 and Beyond
  What issues are at stake in the Beijing Olympics, and what the international community can do to help.
• Resource List
  Web and print materials relating to the 2008 Beijing Olympics
• Olympics Advocacy Campaigns
• Reviews

  Media Dialogue: China Rashomon
  Chen Kuide responds to James Mann’s Washington Post article on the apparent invincibility of China’s rise.

  Hope Floats
  Charlie McAteer reviews Will the Boat Sink the Water?, by Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao.

  Portrait of a Survivor
  Rene Wadlow reviews Zhou Enlai: A Political Life, by Barbara Barnoin and Yu Changgen.

• Bulletin
  HRIC’s activities from June – August 2007