TAKE ACTION

President Jacques Rogge International Olympic Committee Château de Vidy 1007 Lausanne Switzerland T. + 41 21 621 61 11 F + 41 21 621 62 16

Premier WEN Jiabao Guowuyuan 9 Xihuangchenggenbeijie Beijingshi 100032 People's Republic of China

There are ways you can promote human rights in China—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. 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 the president of the International Olympics Committee, Jacques Rogge, by clicking here.

You can also write directly to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, at the address shown on the right, and urge him 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.

A summary of the main human rights issues of concern in China can be found here: http://china.hrw.org/agenda_for_reform

BLOG FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA

The Internet, and blogs in particular, have made it easier for people to express themselves to a potential audience of millions. They have also created an enormous opportunity for disseminating information about, and ending, human rights abuses around the world. If you are a blogger, you can use your bully pulpit to stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, uphold basic freedoms, protect people from inhumane treatment in wartime, and campaign to bring offenders to justice. More specifically, you can seize the historic opportunity of the Beijing Olympic Games to challenge the Chinese government to improve human rights in China.

We can help you do this. Human Rights Watch offers dozens of RSS feeds on pressing human rights issues, classified according to theme and region. We also offer a host of free e-mail newsletters in several languages. If you find this helpful, show your support for the cause of human rights for all. Display one of the following buttons on your blog and link back to http://www.hrw.org. Please also spread the word about human rights abuses by tagging your posts as related to human rights.

Speaking up takes courage. Depending on where you live, it can have real consequences. Human Rights Watch is committed to protecting the right of every individual to express opinions. Over the years, Human Rights Watch has actively campaigned for the rights of bloggers and cyber-dissidents around the world. The case of China is particularly instructive.

China’s “Great Firewall”

Critics have labeled China’s ever more sophisticated system of controls on the Internet the “Great Firewall of China.” More than sixty individuals were imprisoned at this writing for peaceful expression over the Internet.
In early January 2005, the head of the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee signaled that controls over publishing, the Internet, and short messaging systems (SMS) would be significantly tightened to ensure social stability. The Ministry of Information Industry and the State Council have introduced new regulations on Internet news which prevent distribution of any uncensored version of a news event or commentary. Internet portals, e-mail systems, and SMS were all affected.
China’s 162 million Internet users face sophisticated filters, registration of all personal domestic websites, and personal responsibility for all content. The government closes websites without warning.
Internet café users, after presenting identification, are issued user numbers which make it easy to track their web use.
In an increasing number of instances, global Internet companies have been complicit in the repression, insisting they must abide by the rules and regulations of the countries in which they operate. Google does not list links to sites banned in China; certain words may not be used as titles for Microsoft blogs; and Yahoo!, which three years ago signed a Public Pledge on Self-discipline for the Chinese Internet Industry, provided information that helped Chinese authorities arrest and convict journalist Shi Tao.

Be Safe

The Electronic Frontier Foundation http://www.eff.org/ has useful tips on and tools for blogging anonymously. Those of you living in countries particularly hostile to free expression online should be more careful. Cover your tracks and communicate with your sources in private.

Need Help?

When you blog for human rights, you're joining a community. Human Rights Watch can help put you in touch with its international network of bloggers, Internet privacy experts, free-expression activists, and human rights researchers. If you get in trouble for using your blog to campaign for human rights, we want to hear about it. Write to us at blogs at hrw dot org. We can't guarantee that we will take up every case, but we can guarantee that we will at least refer you to useful resources.