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Human Rights Watch Main Page Human Rights and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China
Tools for Activists, resources on human rights in China

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Light a Torch for Human Rights in China
Join the global, online campaign to call on China to improve its human rights record ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing by adding a banner to your Web site.

Human Rights and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing

Tools for Activists

There are many ways that people outside of China can support Chinese rights activists—by writing a letter to the government, using the Internet to help Chinese citizens get around censorship restrictions, or by linking up with other Chinese and international activists to help build the movement.
Advocacy Tools
  • Urge China to free the “Gold Medal Rights Defenders.”
  • Urge Beijing and the International Olympics Committee to allow international human rights groups into China to monitor conditions during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Currently, the Chinese government does not permit Chinese citizens to form independent human rights organizations and does not allow international groups such as Human Rights Watch to conduct research openly in China. Write to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and the president of the International Olympics Committee, Jacques Rogge, and urge them to
  • allow international monitoring by international human rights groups,
  • allow such monitoring throughout the country, without restrictions, and
  • allow monitoring especially during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
President Jacques Rogge
International Olympic Committee
Château de Vidy
1007 Lausanne
Switzerland
Tel: (41.21) 621 61 11
Fax: (41.21) 621 62 16

Premier WEN Jiabao
Guowuyuan
9 Xihuangchenggenbeijie
Beijingshi 100032
People's Republic of China
Help Chinese People Access the Worldwide Web
China's Internet firewall restricts access by users in China to all sorts of information on the Internet. These users would certainly benefit from technical solutions that enable them to circumvent these restrictions.

The current monitoring regime in China also makes it difficult for users to communicate without being monitored by official censors. Access to communication technologies enabling these users to communicate securely and anonymously in their native language would create a better environment for free expression. In the past, a number of attempts have been made in this direction. The technology-savvy community can help to introduce or fine-tune existing tools in order to expand access to information for Chinese users. These users would especially benefit from the following:
  • Tools to help Chinese users in a public-access environment (such as a cybercafe) to send or receive encrypted messages using Web browsers;
  • Automatic services that support Chinese language and that allow users to search blocked web sites by email;
  • Public access and easy-to-use anonymous web surfing facilities; and
  • A website in Chinese with up-to-date information about security and privacy on the Internet, how to use proxy servers, how to use privacy protection tools, and related issues.
  • Join the global, online “Light a Torch for Human Rights in China” campaign.
Learn About the Growing Olympic Rights Movement More on Human Rights Issues in China


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