Light a candle for Tibet

I have always wanted Tibet to be free, ever since I read Heinrich Harrer's account of his visit there (Seven years in Tibet).

If you want to show solidarity for Tibet, on 8th August, on the day of the opening ceremony of the Olympics, place a candle in your window for Tibet. If millions of people do this, it might get onto the news. It's also an act of global consciousness.

Other things you can do: sign the Avaaz petition; donate to one of the organisations linked below; write to your MP.

• Free Tibet Campaign
• Tibetan Government in Exile's Official Web Site
• International Campaign for Tibet
• The Tibet Society
  

olympic spirit

Well done Nick Clegg. The Lib Dem leader has written to Gordon Brown telling him that he should not attend the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Ahead of the arrival of the Olympic torch in London this weekend, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has written to Gordon Brown urging him to pull out of the ceremony in the light of China's human rights record.

He added that he did not believe the Prime Minister could attend the Beijing Games 'in good conscience', unless and until the Chinese Government took steps to 'honour the spirit of the Olympics' in its conduct from Tibet to Darfur.

He further quotes the Charter of the Olympics:

Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles."

This is all to the good, but it's not quite enough. I think Britain should withdraw from the Beijing Olympics altogether. I am sorry for the athletes who have trained for it and everything, but only withdrawal (and trade sanctions) would hit the Chinese government where it hurts the most - in their pockets.

So far the Chinese government's record on human rights has got worse in advance of the Olympics, not better.

• They have cracked down on protests in Tibet [sign Tibet petition];
  
• imprisoned Hu Jia, human rights activist [sign Hu Jia petition];
• had a general crackdown on human rights activists (Amnesty report);
  
• rounded up all the cats in Beijing (not just strays but domestic cats) and left them to die slowly in tiny cages [sign cat petition];
• sentenced a businessman to death for allegedly spying for Taiwan;
• arrested a Christian bookshop owner (December 2007); part of an ongoing campaign. (I am as irritated by Christian evangelism as the next person, but there's no need to torture and kill them.)
  

Chinese human rights activist jailed

Chinese human rights activist Hu Jia 胡嘉 has been jailed for "subversion" by the Chinese government.

He has long campaigned for the environment, religious freedom and for the rights of people with HIV and Aids.

BBC - Jail for Chinese rights activist

Sign the Reporters Sans Frontières petition.

When will the Chinese government realise that the more they suppress dissent, the more of it there will be, and the less impressed the rest of the world will be with their human rights record (both in China itself, and in Tibet)?