DHRC's Campaign for Fall 2008: The Beijing Olympics

This September, the People's Republic of China will host the 2008 Olympic Games. This is a historic opportunity for China to present both its historic past and promising future to the world. The slogan for the Beijing Olympics is "One World One Dream", and Beijing organizers claim the Olympics will express "the common wishes of people all over the world, inspired by the Olympic ideals, to strive for a bright future of Mankind".

At the same time, China has been criticized for several noticeable human rights failures. Many human rights groups have called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics. There has even been a labeling of the Beijing Olympics as "the Genocide Olympics", and a comparison to the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany.

The DHRC is not calling for a boycott. Instead, we would like to take this historic opportunity to encourage China to use the upcoming Olympics to make a bold statement, by taking significant steps to champion the cause of human rights.

The DHRC is hoping to focus on three issues in which the Chinese government has been repeatedly criticized: Sudan, Burma, and Tibet.

Sudan and Burma are both governments with close economic and political ties to China. At the same time, the governments of Sudan and Burma are committing acts of genocide against their own people. China has supposedly sold weapons to both governments, and, through its economic partnerships, has essentially financed acts of mass murder.

Tibet is a part of China that was previously an independent nation. The Tibetan government-in-exile-, led by Nopel Peace Prize recipient, (HH) the Dalai Lama, alleges that China's rule over Tibet is illegitimate. Human Rights groups also claim that the freedoms of native Tibetans are being violated.

Listed below are the three campaigns; what is happening, what events we hope to organized, and most importantly, what YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW to help stop human rights abuses. We will include links to many human rights/activist groups, who will share more information about human rights abuses, as well as their own respective calls for action.

While some of our links may advocate or encourage a boycott, DHRC would like to make it clear: The Duke Human Rights Coalition is not running a politically motivated campaign. We are not calling for a boycott. We are not attempting to engage in China-bashing.

We are trying to raise awareness for the issues of human rights. We are encouraging people to put pressure on China to send out a strong, clear, and positive message regarding human rights before, during and after the Beijing Olympics. They can do this by taking measurable steps towards ending human rights atrocities within their own borders and around the world.

China hopes to become a leader on the world cultural stage with an inspiring Olympics display.
We'd like theme to become a leader on the issue of human rights, as well.