About the Uncensor China campaign

Deb 1 December 2008, 05:40PM

Our Uncensor China campaign was in full swing in the months leading up to the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Thank you to everyone who supported the campaign!

Our job was to keep the pressure up by reminding the Chinese Government, the International Olympic Committee and the world of China's human rights commitments.

We ran this campaign because there are people in China who need global support. In their country saying what you think, confronting authority, standing up for basic rights or just sharing information can leave you imprisoned, tortured or dead.

In its bid for the 2008 Olympics China promised that it would make life better for its 1.3 billion citizens.

Liu Jingmin, Vice-President of the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee, even said: "By allowing Beijing to host the Games you will help in the development of human rights."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has also repeatedly said it expects human rights in China to get better, as a result of Beijing’s selection as host of the 2008 Games.

No better time to deliver

China did not deliver on its promises - despite reminders as the Olympics approached. It was our demand that the Government live up to that promise and make China a free, fair and open place to live.

We needed your help to do this. A lone voice is not enough, but hundreds, thousands, and hopefully millions of people speaking up together can bring change.

Campaigning for change

We mobilised people from all over the world – from Mongolia to Denmark, from Chile to Australia – and we all called on China to change.

Our campaign focused on four areas, where we believe reform will have the most impact:

• Unwarranted Internet and media censorship
• The death penalty
• Repression of human rights defenders
• Torture and detention without trial

Here's just some of what we achieved:

• New media regulations allowing easier access for foreign journalists during the Games have been extended indefinitely.
• Our website and other major websites remain unblocked in China. Within the first three days after the ban was lifted, www.amnesty.org was visited 14,251 times from 244 cities across China.
• Bu Dongwei, a prisoner of conscience in China, was released in July 2008.
• Microsoft, Google and Yahoo! have signed a set of Principles for Conduct and Yahoo! has established a Human Rights Fund.

And here's some of the ways we did it:

• Over 30,000 people signed our pledge against internet censorship
• The 'Great Firewall of China' toured 48 cities and towns and more than 16,000 people took action

• 17,837 postcards were sent to major Internet companies - Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft, Sohu, Baidu

• Check out what we did together (PDF size=228KB)

China's legacy

Right now, our supporters are organising demonstrations and vigils, lobbying, writing letters to governments and radio stations, building alliances, exerting influence on companies and intergovernmental groups, and raising public awareness.

The aim of every word and action is to bring about change in China. We need your help.

We want the legacy of the 2008 Olympics to be more than medals and records. We want the legacy to be a China where human rights are respected and protected.

About the Author

This blog entry was created by Deb and does not necessarily represent the position or opinion of Amnesty International Australia.

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After long-term imprisonment for speaking publicly about human rights issues, Wei Jingsheng was finally released with help from Amnesty International.

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