In today’s update:
- Bush Chides China Over Human Rights on Eve of Olympics
- Athletes Put Pressure on Chinese President
- China’s Official Protest Zones a Sham
- Avaaz – The Olympic Handshake
- Did China Fake Everest Torch Ascent?
- Candle 4 Tibet

Bush Chides China Over Human Rights on Eve of Olympics
Before flying to Beijing, President Bush used some of his bluntest language yet in publicly pressing China to improve its human rights record. In a speech in Bangkok, Bush voiced “firm opposition” to China’s detention of dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists.

“The United States believes the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings,” he said. “We speak out for a free press, freedom of assembly, and labor rights not to antagonize China’s leaders, but because trusting its people with greater freedom is the only way for China to develop its full potential.”

Links:
Bush scolds China on rights day before Games (Reuters)
Heading to Olympics, Bush calls for greater rights in China (AFP)

Athletes Put Pressure On Chinese President
A total of 127 international athletes, over 40 competing in Beijing, have signed a letter to Hu Jintao organized by Sports for Peace, Amnesty International and the International Campaign for Tibet. The letter asks Hu Jintao to ‘enable a peaceful solution for the issue of Tibet and other conflicts in your country with respect to fundamental principles of human rights’.
Read the letter here

Other links:
Athletes press China on Tibet: rights groups (Reuters)
Athletes urge peaceful Tibet solution in letter to Hu (AFP)

China’s Official Protest Zones A Sham
According to Reuters, a tour of Beijing’s three official protest zones on Wednesday suggested no one had yet been able to jump through the hoops required to legally stage a protest.
‘At the Purple Bamboo Park any potential protesters there would be outnumbered by the young men in identical Olympic-themed t-shirts, some with earphones that marked them as security guards, who appeared from nowhere at nearly every turn.’
Protesters bypass China’s official protest zones (Reuters)

Avaaz – The Olympic Handshake
Online campaigning giant Avaaz.org has added its full force to efforts to make the Beijing Olympics a catalyst for positive change in China.
Read more on the Olympic Handshake

Did China Fake Everest Torch Ascent?
It was only a matter of time before conspiracy theories would emerge. Nonetheless, new reports built on testimonies from seasoned Everest climbers provide a strikingly convincing case against the Olympic Torch ever having reached the summit.

Links:
No Summit for China (Nepal Now)
Did China fake Olympic Everest summit? (news.com.au)

Candle 4 Tibet
The ATC Victorian Branch and Melbourne’s Tibetan Community joined Tibetans and Tibet supporters around the world yesterday for the global ‘Candle for Tibet’ initiative. Braving the rain around 200 hundred gathered outside the State Library of Victoria for two hours to show solidarity with those inside Tibet. See pictures on flickr