UAA Statement on Beijing's 2008 Olympic Bid
From: Jack Churchward /trinley@churchward.com

The Uyghur American Association expresses its dismay at the possible
selection of Beijing as the host city of the 2008 Olympics.    The UAA joins the numerous voices in opposition to Beijing as a host  city of the 2008 Olympic Games for the following reasons:
1. The Chinese government's record on human rights has deteriorated
in the past two years. Crackdowns on Falon Gong practitioners, the
planned and sanctioned destruction of hundreds of places of religious
worship in the year 2000, as well as the continuing well-documented
cases of torture indicate that the Chinese government has little
consideration for it's own people. How safe will attendees from other
nations be from the draconian measures exercised by the Communist
Chinese government ?  2. Money raised by an Olympics in Beijing will be used to enhance the  PRC military machine which will, in turn, be used to crush dissent  amongst it's people and increase control over Eastern Turkestan, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet. The PRC's increased military could be used
against US Forces if the Communist Chinese leadership decides to
invade Taiwan by force, which it has not ruled out. 3. Allowing the Beijing government to host the 2008 Olympics will permit them to whitewash their image as a cruel and brutal
dictatorship, without having to make any changes to it's human rights
practices. 4. Giving the Beijing government the 2008 Olympics would imply that the voices of the people in the illegally occupied nations of Eastern
Turkestan, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia mean nothing to the world. It also flies in the face of requests from Chinese people, who after being arrested, still call on the International Olympic Committee to ignore Beijing's request, as the Chinese government's continued
suppression of dissent violates the spirit of the Olympics. The Summer Games of 1936 were held in Berlin, Germany and hosted by the government of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party. Had the events of the 10th of November 1938, known now as "Crystalnacht," or the "Night of the Shattered Glass" happened before the Olympics, history would have been changed. In the past week, the Chinese government executed
two young Uyghur men and Amnesty International has documented through
official Chinese government documents that they were tortured to confess and guilty of no violent act. The PRC is the only nation on earth that executes it's dissidents and political prisoners, how can  they be rewarded with the 2008 Olympics ?   The Uyghur American Association:  - Calls on the International Olympic Committee to pressure the  People's Republic of China to release all political prisoners and abide by international standards of human rights, before Beijing is
awarded the 2008 Olympics;
- Calls on all world citizens to write personal letters to members of
the International Olympic Committee calling on them to pressure the
People's Republic of China to release all political prisoners and abide by international standards of human rights and dignity before Beijing is awarded the 2008 Olympics;

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- Calls on the US Congress to institute legislation to severely punish those American corporations that are aiding Beijing's Olympic bid and are expecting some reward in the future. It is the height of hypocrisy that US corporations are helping the Chinese government overcome public criticism of it's Olympic bid, ignoring the suffering of China's people, and whitewashing the dismal human rights record  all for the sake of profits. If the Congress is unable or unwilling,
the UAA asks shareholders to remove the corporate leaders who are
willing to trade human rights and dignity for money;  - Supports the efforts of other organizations that are against the  selection of Beijing for the 2008 Olympics.  Signed, this 15th day of January 2001  Uyghur American Association  Board of Directors