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CHINA-2008 Olympics

European parliament adopts resolution on free expression in China



Reporters Without Borders welcomes the resolution adopted by the European parliament on 13 December on the state of relations between the European Union and China and their dialogue on human rights.

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The resolution said concerns about human rights should get more attention in the preparations for the Beijing Olympics and it called on the International Olympic Committee to evaluate China's respect for the promises it made in 2001 when it won the 2008 games for Beijing. The European parliament said it was also worried about online censorship in China and urged the Chinese authorities to release imprisoned cyber-dissidents and to render the thousands of blocked websites accessible again. The resolution finally urged China to take effective measures to guarantee free speech and press freedom and voiced concern about the failure to enforce the new rules for foreign journalists working in China. The lack of any real progress on these issues eight months before the start of the Beijing games was condemned by members of the European parliament, human rights organisations and former recipients of the Sakharov prize, including Reporters Without Borders, at a news conference yesterday at the European parliament in Brussels. CHINA - 2008 Olympics IOC urged to put pressure on Chinese government European parliament vice-president Edward McMillan-Scott wrote to International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge on 10 December urging him to remind the Chinese authorities of the promises they made to improve human rights in 2001 in order to win the 2008 games. He added that the European parliament would consider boycotting the games if the situation had not improved by Christmas. Meanwhile, a petition signed by more that 11,000 Chinese citizens demanding respect for human rights in China before the games was handed in yesterday at IOC headquarters in Lausanne by dissident Wei Jingsheng. Wei was received for about 10 minutes by the IOC's head of communications, who told him that the IOC was not in a position to solve problems that had been around for many years. Wei warned that the games were becoming more and more unpopular with many Chinese. In the United States, a resolution has been submitted to congress by representative Dana Rohrabacher calling for a boycott of the games. For further information: Emily Jacquard, secretary general, Reporters Without Borders Canada, (514) 521-4111, Cell: (514) 258-4208, Fax: (514) 521-7771, rsfcanada@rsf.org


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