11. Oct 2006
China dissidents urge IOC to press Beijing on rights
(Reuters) More than 180 Chinese dissidents and human rights activists have signed a letter urging the International Olympic Committee to press China to improve its human rights record ahead of the 2008 Beijing Summer Games. The open letter to IOC President Jacques Rogge, circulated on the Internet, said the human rights situation in China had worsened in past months with a series of jailings of reporters, rights activists and lawyers. "Less than two years to go before the Olympics ... the Chinese government needs to mute critical voices in advance", the letter said. "That's the very reason they have been suppressing grassroots rights-defending movements on such a full scale". The letter was signed by veteran Chinese dissidents such as Wei Jingsheng and Wang Dan, who are in exile in the United States, and advocates within China, such as Hu Jia and Zhao Xin. They said they were not opposed to the Beijing Games altogether. "But the 'harmony' of the Games should not come at the cost of Chinese people being deprived of human rights and the silencing of China's human rights cause", the letter said.