site builder
13 October 2008, 11:30AM

The olympics at china were really very controversial this type. they were at every news channel before the start. the torch light specially faced everything.

Online Degree
30 August 2008, 06:49AM

Thanks for all the resources, this is fantastic!

you don't deserve to know
22 August 2008, 04:35PM

very ridiculous and ignorant materials, i prey for your lost souls.

arizona pool builder
19 August 2008, 12:44AM

Ensure that human rights defenders are free to carry out their peaceful activities in line with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

DonM
17 August 2008, 06:41PM

P.S. (2) ….. ….. ….. on the countries we focus on: Amnesty International works to end human rights violations all across the world. The focus on China this year comes because Chinese authorities promised to make improvements in human rights during the Olympic bidding process. Amnesty International is holding the Chinese authorities to account on such undelivered promises. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. …..on the issues we focus on: Amnesty International is concerned with upholding universal, indivisible human rights. In campaigning for human rights in China – as with other countries – the focus is on the Chinese government, not the people of China. Amnesty International calls on governments of all countries to respect and uphold the universal principles of human rights so that all people can live the life of dignity which human rights make possible.

DonM
17 August 2008, 06:37PM

P.S. (1) ..... ..... ..... on where Amnesty International gets its information: our information does not comes from the Western media, but from independent research and from people and organisations in China.... on the role of people in China in supporting human rights: A large number of Chinese people hold deep concerns about human rights in China - people like Wei Jingsheng, Hu Jia and Yang Tongyan............. individuals in China who Amnesty International defends give their permission for us to support them. In fact, they request this support. We maintain contact with their lawyers, families and friends. We work closely with Chinese journalists, bloggers, lawyers and citizens all of whom want to see greater recognition of human rights in China.

DonM
17 August 2008, 06:33PM

Dear Derek, Thanks for making these points. Maybe we actually agree on more issues than it might look like at first. A few comments: (1) no country has an unblemished record on human rights: an obvious example is Australia and the rights of Indigenous people in this country: Amnesty International is currently developing major initiatives to support Indigenous rights. (2) human rights issues in China clearly include violations against Chinese people by people of other countriessuch as by Japan during WW2 and by Britain during the period of the Opium Wars. I recently saw that Amitav Ghosh has recently written about how Britain financed its rule in India using the Opium trade in China.

Derek
13 August 2008, 06:12PM

hi Don, Obviously you are working very hard on getting people behind you on this China human rights issue, especially our next generation. Why do you think Chinese are not happy with their human rights? Do you have any connections in China or you just heard all of these things from the Western media? Why do you think you are right while Chinese are wrong if they don't do it in the Western Way? Can I say you are not civilised if you don't eat rice by chopsticks every nite? Or Can I say there is no human right in Australia for civilians because Aussies are not properly protected by the legal system when we let pedophile like Denis Ferguson go out and hurt people after serving a short jail term everytime? Or you are working on the human rights issue hard because of some other motives? Please stop sending email to urge Aus teachers to teach human right things in China, and you need to understand it is their internal affairs, not yours.

Kate Harrison
12 August 2008, 02:05PM

I think China wants to protect their visitors and treat them very warmly without disturbance from the locals. Read Beijing Olympics Complete Medal Tally 2008 for full details and events

pdf mania
29 July 2008, 03:33PM

I can download and read the pdf file. It's okay and is interesting about these issues. China are known with very strict censorship to the contents of the internet but it's to protect their interest and protect their citizen, let's say from porn even it's a bit ridiculous.

DonM
24 July 2008, 07:16PM

P.S. You can see Internet Censorship at work at “Search For Freedom” where you can compare search results as they appear in China and in Australia. See for example an image search for “Tiananmen”: http://action.uncensor.com.au/sff/?q=tiananmen&search;_freedom_submit.x=19&search;_freedom_submit.y=20&search_freedom_submit=Go Internet censorship in China is extensively documented in Amnesty International reports: see http://www.amnesty.org/en/ai_search?keywords=china+internet+censorship+report&op=Search&form_id=search_theme_form&form_token=c23f579d37a4108e8c4a491d66abf851 For more details, see also the Sydney Morning Herald article “The great firewall of China” at http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/the-great-firewall-of-china/2008/03/18/1205602389513.html

DonM
24 July 2008, 07:15PM

Yes, internet censorship occurs in many countries. Our campaign at present focuses on China and commitments it made when bidding for the 2008 Olympics, including 'free and unrestricted media access'. The cases of Zeng Jinyan and Shi Tao in this resource illustrate how people are harassed and imprisoned for their use of the Internet. Internet access is varied in internet cafes (many now have extra firewalls following police raids), in homes, in hotels and in universities. We have reports that in recent months sites about Hepatitis B, HIV/AIDS and the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown have all been shut down. The complete media blackout following the Tibet crackdown in March is an example of the control enforced by the Chinese Government over international and domestic media. In the lead up to all major events in China (such as the National People's Congress meeting) there is always a rise in internet censorship affecting sites such as wikipedia, youtube, and foreign news outlets.

J. farrell
23 July 2008, 08:33PM

I read the curriculum resource about China, the Olympics and human rights. Interesting but some of the content is suspect and borders on being propaganda. For instance, the material on internet and the great firewall is suspect. I grant there is government official monitoring of material that can be viewed on the net. However, many governments do similar things - Australia for example. Nonetheless, when in China an internet user can view many sites related to topics such as Tibet, democracy and so on. I have spent many years working in China and used sites published in the US, GB, Australia etc - viewing material about all of the above mentioned topics. I wasn't arrested, I used some of the material downloaded as classroom resources. Exaggeration does little good at all! Regards, JRF

DonM
12 July 2008, 06:22PM

Dear Minguti, our argument is not with the Chinese people: our concern is with human rights abuses in China. Amnesty International is calling on the Chinese government to live up to promises made by Chinese officials during the Olympic bidding proces to improve human rights: see http://uncensor.com.au/uncensor/the-facts/10987 Best wishes, Don

Minguti Sinh
11 July 2008, 03:13PM

Chinese do not deserve to hold the Olympic. The Australia and the world should boycott the Olympic, in the past they have cheated in the most of the games which deprive our Australian from getting more medals. Australia leaders should take the lead to organise another Olympic at Telstra Stadium which only allow Western countries to participate.

HR Lindon
11 June 2008, 06:37PM

I can’t make up my mind if I do believe that China having the Olympics is good for the human right issues or not! Depending on how you chose to look at it you can come to different conclusions. But no matter what you may think, it is important to follow the development of this. Those who say that politics and sport should not be mixed, obviously don’t know what they talk about. The Olympics is probably the worlds biggest arena for political agitation… It will be interesting to see iv we will see any protests or political expressions from the athletes.

Hassan Mohamed Hassan
29 May 2008, 11:40PM

Thanks for the new initiative of modern world.

DonM
29 May 2008, 12:37PM

Hi Tony - hope you have now been able to download the resource - let us know if there are any issues with this. All files are in pdf format and are over 1Mb. Would be pleased to hear what you think of the resource! Thanks - Don

Tony Hill
29 May 2008, 09:36AM

I can't make a comment, I haven't been able to download it yet!!