Let The Games Begin: Critics Rounded Up In Beijing
(NYSun)
Ahead of the Olympic Games, Beijing is being emptied of political critics, underground Christian organizers, and ordinary Chinese who come to the capital to protest local government injustices. Officials in charge of security have denied they are rounding up peaceful critics and have defended their actions as necessary, given global terrorism’s scope and the publicity attacking the Olympics would bring. To squelch any threat, they are mobilizing an army of security many times greater than previous Olympics — 110,000 police, riot squads, and special forces, augmented by more than 300,000 Olympic volunteers and neighborhood watch members.
CHINA RENEGED ON RIGHTS PLEDGES
China failed to meet pledges it made when Beijing was awarded the Olympic Games to end persecution of human rights activists and lift restrictions on journalists, Amnesty International said 10 days before the opening ceremony. The report finds that in preparation for the Olympics, Chinese authorities locked up, put under house arrest, and forcibly removed individuals perceived as threatening the image of “stability” and “harmony” that officials want to present. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing declined to comment before seeing the report.
(AP)
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