Amnesty’s to-do list for China’s Hu Jintao

  • Published on 8/07/2008
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Two women in Beijing walk past a billboard advertising the Olympics, which start in China in a month. ©AFP/LIU Jin

One month out from the opening of the Olympics, Amnesty International has given Chinese President Hu Jintao a list of five things to do to improve human rights before the Games kick off.

Delivering on this list, which is backed by many people inside and outside China, will help officials meet their promise that the Games will improve human rights.

Amnesty's list

  1. Release all prisoners of conscience - including Ye Guozhu, Hu Jia, Yang Chunlin and any others detained in connection with the hosting of the Olympics solely for expressing their views peacefully;

  2. Prevent the police from arbitrarily detaining petitioners, human rights activists and others as part of a pre-Olympics "clean-up";

  3. Publish full national statistics on the death penalty, commit to a reduction in the number of capital crimes – especially those for non-violent offences – and introduce a moratorium on executions in line with UN General Assembly resolution 62/149 adopted on 18 December 2007;

  4. Allow full access and freedom of reporting for both Chinese and international journalists in all parts of China in line with promises of "complete media freedom" in the run-up to the Games;

  5. Account for all those killed or detained in the wake of the March 2008 protests in Tibet, particularly 116 people officially acknowledged to still be in custody, and ensure that those detained for their involvement in peaceful protests are released and that others receive a fair trial.

Negative impact

The list is included in a letter – which was published in newspapers all over the world today, including Australia's Daily Chinese Herald – from Amnesty's Secretary-General Irene Khan.

China has made efforts to address some longstanding human rights concerns, but "these developments notwithstanding, the preparation for the Olympics has actually had a negative impact in some areas of human rights", she says.

For more information about the letter check out our media release.

What do you think about the list? Does it cover all the main bases? Will China respond?

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

Comments

Comments are submitted by members of the public and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Amnesty International Australia. If you find a comment objectionable please contact the web editor.

To gain the world respect sought by hosting the Olympic Games, the Chinese government must respect all people and their right to free expression. The world knows this is not currently the case, and looks forward to the Chinese government acting with honour to restore decency and humanity to their relationships.

comment by:

Glenda Lindsay
17/07/2008
02:36 PM

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How about recognizing that the first human right is the right to live?

Each year, 1,710,000 baby girls disappear in China. This major human rights abuse seems to be an accepted travesty as no one speaks of this horrific gendercide (the singling out of baby girls for death--either before or after birth, with family ranking as 3rd or 4th birth guaranteeing death).

By the time population growth in China will reach a plateau, 133 million females would have been “missed” since infancy!!!!

For a more comprehensive analysis of infanticide in China, please view my presentation for the U.N. last year, accessible from the left bar on my home page at http://www.TaliaCarner.com

Talia Carner, author, China Doll

comment by:

Talia Carner
09/07/2008
01:58 PM

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Amnesty’s open letter was printed today in Chinese in the Daily Chinese Herald.
We hope that the message reaches the Government of China and the result is a positive one for the people of China.

comment by:

Sophie Peer
08/07/2008
06:14 PM

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