China Crisis with Tibet
According to the Human Rights Watch, when Beijing petitioned to host the 2008 Summer Olympics they made human rights promises to the international community, which they have not fulfilled. Additionally, the government has increased arrests of Tibetan protestors seeking basic human rights. A prominent human rights activist, Hu Jia, was imprisoned after a webcast testimony to the European Union "express[ed] his desire for 2008 to be 'the year of human rights in China.'" Since his arrest, Jia's wife and 2 month old daughter have been detained by the police and had their internet and phone disconnected.
Organizations worldwide hope that just as the international community was able to pressure China into partially suspending censorship on the Internet; it too will use the promise of a successful Olympics to pressure the Chinese government to enter into talks with key people (e.g. the exiled Dalai Lama) to end the occupation of Tibet. There's clearly more than just gold, bronze, or silver at stake at this summer's Olympics. Will these groups succeed? Tune in to this summer's Olympics to find out.
To find out if a particular website is accessible in China check out: www.websitepulse.com/help/testtools.china-test.html
For information on Tibetan independence, visit www.tibet.org
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