Tens of thousands of journalists, athletes and tourists are headed to Beijing, the Olympics are about to open, the world is watching China – and still they continue to punish dissidents and rights activists.

On Monday, the trial of Beijing-based activist Ni Yulan will begin. She's a former rights lawyer who was disbarred six years ago, and has been campaigning for the rights of people kicked out of their homes to make way for the Olympics.

AFP reports:

" … Ni had spent most of this decade assisting victims of forced eviction in the Chinese capital, many of whom lost their homes to make way for Olympic facilities.

" … Human Rights Watch researcher Nicholas Bequelin said the decision to put Ni on trial the same week that the Games were due to begin was "an alarming gesture of defiance and a new setback for human rights in China" ..."

Sentence extended

Just last week, the family of well-known housing rights activist Ye Guozhu, who had been due for release from prison on 26 July, were told he would remain in custody until at least 1 October.

Police from the Xuanwu district said they would take care of Ye Guozhu, who has been in jail for four years, for the good of his family, and to keep them out of trouble during the Olympics.

Meanwhile, a school teacher has just been sentenced to one year of 're-education through labour', after criticising the construction of school buildings that collapsed in the Sichuan earthquake in May. Liu Shaokun taught in one of the areas worst hit by the quake and had been volunteering as an aid worker.

Legal procedure a mess

Radio Free Asia reports:

" …"We received a notice from national security personnel last Wednesday saying Liu was sentenced to labor camp for a year," Huang (Bangxiu, his wife) said. "The charges are inciting a crowd to cause trouble and disturbing social order. We haven't been allowed to see him ...

" …"The whole legal procedure was a mess ...The sentence didn't come from the court so we have no way to appeal. I have consulted a lawyer but the lawyer said he had never encountered this kind of case and didn't understand how the authorities were handling it." …"

What will be Beijing's legacy?

And as more evidence that there has in fact been a crackdown, Amnesty International's latest report, released yesterday, found that authorities have stepped up the repression of dissidents in their efforts to present an image of "stability" and "harmony" to the outside world.

China's hosting of the Olympic Games doesn't look like it will create a positive human rights legacy for the country – like China's officials promised it would.

Away from the stadiums, swimming pools and sports fields, what sort of legacy do you think the Beijing Olympics will leave behind?