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Help Hu Jia and his family join in the Olympic Celebrations! The Olympic Games are a time for celebration. For the host country, for the athletes who have trained so hard, and for spectators and fans of sport, the Olympics are a time to celebrate extraordinary achievements, teamwork and competition of the noblest kind. For you and I - and all who care about human rights - we know that with the Olympic Games opening in Beijing next Friday, we have an unprecedented opportunity to bring something that the whole world can celebrate: freedom for peaceful activists who have been jailed and silenced by the Chinese government.
Hu Jia is one of China’s best-known environment and HIV/AIDS activists. On April 3, 2008, he was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment for 'subverting state authority' because of his campaigning on behalf of jailed human rights defenders in China. His spouse, Zeng Jinyan, is a human rights activist who hosts a popular blog. She is now under house arrest with a baby of 2 years of age and continues to be held under tight surveillance with police officers stationed outside her apartment building. Hu Jia and Zeng Jinyan are far from the only people Amnesty International is concerned about in China.
Your financial contribution and participation in our petition will help Amnesty International to:
China still leads the world in state executions. The Chinese government still sends its own citizens to “re-education camps” without a trial. It detains human rights activists who challenge state authority. It severely suppresses the freedom of Tibetans and people from the Uighur Autonomous Region. It denies its citizens the basic freedoms that you and I take for granted in Canada: freedom of expression, freedom of religion. China made an explicit promise to the world that it would improve its human rights record if granted the Olympic Games. You and I can help make the Games truly a source of pride and celebration for all Chinese people by helping convince China to release journalists, writers, artists, and other thoughtful, courageous human rights defenders who are currently harassed or in detention. You can help us to ensure that before the closing of the Olympic Games, human rights activists like Hu Jia and Zeng Jinyan are unconditionally granted freedom. Freedom from prison. Freedom to express their opinion. Freedom to use the internet. Freedom to peacefully practice their religion. Freedom for all Chinese people is something the whole world can celebrate. PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION AND DONATE NOW TO HELP MAKE THIS HAPPEN
Alex Neve, Secretary General P.S. There have been some positive signs of change in China. More than 1,000 Tibetans who had been detained following last spring's violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators were released one day after the publication of an Amnesty report. The number of state executions in China has also dropped dramatically in the past year. These are positive signs that give us hope. Please help us do good work during the Olympics and secure the release of Hu Jia and other human rights defenders.
Amnesty International's critical human rights work is carried out independently and impartially – with no interference from government or large corporations – because of the generosity of 2 million supporters worldwide. Without caring people around the world watching and speaking out, thousands like Hu Jia and Zeng Jinyan could be forgotten. When the Olympic flame moves on after August 25, Amnesty International will continue to pursue human rights progress in China. Please help Amnesty International remain a powerful, impartial voice for human rights. Donate now. You can also donate over the phone by calling us at 1-800-AMNESTY (1-800-266-3789), or by sending a cheque c/o "Amnesty International", 312 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, ON K1N 1H9 Amnesty International is a registered charity #11878 5914 RR0001. |
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Shi Tao is a freelance writer and poet who was given a 10-year prison sentence for sending an email to an overseas colleague.
Ding Zilin is a retired professor who lost her son during the Tiananmen Square massacre and is refused the right to mourn her son in public.
15 Tibetan monks were detained last spring following China’s crackdown on peaceful protestors.
Rebiya Kadeer is a prominent businesswoman who is continually harassed for her work to defend the rights of people in the remote Uighur autonomous region.
Husein Dzhelil is a Canadian, also of Uighur descent, who is detained in an unknown location in China in spite of efforts at the highest levels by Canadian officials.
Yours Sincerely, 