In April of 2001, after winning the bid to hold the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Chinese authorities made a commitment to the world that China would use the Olympic Spotlight to advance human rights. Vice President of the Beijing 2008 Olympic bid committee in 2001, Liu Jingmin, had said, “. . . by allowing Beijing to host the Games, you will help the development of human rights.” Nations of the world participating in this upcoming international event hold a responsibility in making sure China’s commitment is met.
    Recently, China has been in the headlines, and not just because of the Olympic Games. Both economic and foreign relations magazines and newspapers have done numerous special edition pieces on China’s booming success. This has the United States government worried, probably for good reason. However, as China has pushed ahead economic openness and loosened regulations on businesses, their environment is in a disaster. The oppressed people of the countryside, which makes up two-thirds of the population, are dealing with a growing gap between the poor and wealthy. Among those in the shadows of China’s rising superpower are people seeking justice from atrocities by their own government officials. As much as China’s leading officials want to hide their injustices from the international eye, it is becoming less and less of a possibility.
    It was said that human rights would be pushed ahead, but could this be a lie? China’s big business has something to show off and is ready to unveil it to the rest of the world. Motivation from the Olympic Games was not fueled by the desire for better human rights standards, but rather the chance to let everyone else know that China has practiced its capitalist ventures and is ready to make a new empire for itself. First and foremost, we must not forget that the Olympic Games in Beijing also bring tremendous profit.
    The popular human rights activist group, Amnesty International has made this issue part of a large campaign. Amnesty International points out the “Fundamental Principles of Olympism” in the Olympic Charter: “The goal of Olympism is the place sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.”
    Amnesty International’s goals for the Chinese to reform are outlined in four main points. The authorities must move towards an end to the death penalty by putting statistics on executions forward. China must follow international human rights laws by providing fair trials and preventing torture. The last two points concern freedom of expression. Amnesty calls for China to acknowledge peaceful activities to be carried out under the UN Declaration of Human Rights Defenders. The final step is for internet access in China to be free of unwarranted censorship.
    A system known as Re-education Through Labor is an outdated law in which Chinese police can decide and arrest individuals who commit crimes which do not fall under criminal law. These would include minor crimes such as theft, prostitution, drug trafficking, and speaking out against the government. Police can sentence citizens to prison for up to four years. Not judges, police. The system was suppose to be but to an end last spring, but human rights groups are concerned that Beijing police will try to use it to get rid of “unwanted” citizens before the big Games.
     The internet is an quick way to research information and educate yourself on personal interests. To find more information about this issue, one might search “Amnesty International” or “human rights”. Well, those phrases have been banned and blocked when searched for in China. Even the word “freedom” is blocked. Amnesty International has found that there are close to 50 internet users and 30 journalists in jail.
    One UK journalists, Aiden Hartley, reported on Beijing’s “Black Jails”. The full video of his report can be found online under “Unreported Worlds: China’s Olympic Lie” on the Veoh Video Network. Chinese citizen have the right to file complaints at a government office in Beijing if the feel they have not been justifiably treated by their local officials. Many of these citizens have been tortured, but feel helpless. Hartley’s report shows these illegal “black jails” where people wait only to never be given a chance to express themselves. Crammed behind bars between buildings, an attempt to further hide the fact that the Chinese government is ignoring its peoples’ cries for help. Beijing police, obviously ashamed to know they are being filmed, push reporters away, manhandle Chinese who try to speak with them, and even call their translator a traitor. Hartley was bombarded with stories and papers telling of corruption, as if he could some how make their cases be heard. Generations of family homes have been brought down buy bulldozers to be replaced by factories and business buildings. Farmland is lost and the owners are left beaten and homeless. These petitioners, thousands scattered throughout the city, will likely never be heard. With any luck by Beijing officials, they will be silenced or maybe even lose hope and travel far away to return what is left of their home.
    Demonstrations take place across Beijing and the people plead to foreigners, breaking down when recalling the loses of their loved ones. The resistors are at a place of despair, but they find something inside them to keep fighting. They fight because they know living creatures should not be treated this way. They know that they have a right to justice, not because the Olympic Games have opened a door for them (when it has probably made the situation of many worse), but because all human beings have a right to equal treatment. Their rebellion from the status quo is how they will overcome, and how many before them have overcome their own oppression.
    I believe the people of China must keep fighting their government. They must fill the streets and subways of Beijing. They must not fear crowding inside “black jails”, for now there will be camera lenses on them. Foreigners will know about the wrong doings of Chinese officials. Organization is also very important. The resistors are aware of the thousands of others inside Beijing in the same situation. The Olympics are their chance to preserve human dignity, because their government has left that behind long ago.
    We must also remember that the people in Beijing are only a fraction of those under oppression. They were lucky enough to have the resources to make it to the capital city. These demonstrators are not only fighting for themselves, but for the people in their local villages. A status issue is highly involved in which laws will get carried out at the local level. The local officials get raises and more tax revenue if more money is made. Government officials in Beijing see that “progress” is being made with more factories and production. Meanwhile, the air and rivers are polluted and the workers are left with disease and poverty.
    The Chinese government has finally realized that they can no longer carry out this policy of self-destruction. Their most precious resource is dying. The lack of healthy, productive workers turn to a lack of productive factories and farms. Unfortunately, it took a threat to their country’s livelihood for China’s leaders to pay attention.
    I believe there is something we, being the international community and participants of the Olympic Games, have a responsibility to demand change and reform by the Chinese government. We must not let the enthusiasm be lost once the athletic events start in August. We must not only focus on the amazing economic growth of Chinese capitalism. There is a spotlight on China, but only on what it convenient, only on what is easy to swallow. Journalists continue to expose the stories of millions of Chinese in despair, but that is only part of the conflict. The issue of human rights is ultimately that of the oppressed Chinese. Their resistance is not only an example of how equality and true democratic ideals are principles of human nature, but something that is necessary for a new China. A new China balances human rights and economic growth. It respects the environment while acknowledging its minority populations. Let the movement aimed at the Olympic Games open the door for a more widespread movement, something that is not only felt in China, but across the world.

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