The Beijing Olympics will begin this evening, but human rights abuses have been increasing in recent weeks in Tibet and in China. The situation has became worse as the beginning of the Games approaches, which is completely against Beijing's promise to improve human rights when it bid for hosting the Olympics.
We condemned the very decision of making Beijing the host city for this summer Olympics. Officials of Beijing Games Organizing Committee and Foreign Ministry Officials have said many times that sports and politics should be separated and accused human rights organizations and individuals who are concerned about human rights situation in Tibet and China of politicizing the Games.
The Beijing Olympics Have Arrived! Human Rights Improvements Have Not!
Call to the Chinese Government: "Showcase Human Rights at the Beijing Olympics"
Now that the Beijing Olympics are about to begin, it is apparent that all the promises China made to improve human rights before the Olympics were nothing but empty rhetoric. Ample evidence exists of the human rights abuses still being committed today by the Chinese government domestically, as well as its continuing support for human rights violators around the world.
The Olympic Games are an important event for all humanity, because of the Olympic ideals of peace and friendship. Unfortunately, in the last days before the opening of the Games in Beijing, many human rights organizations have reported that human rights conditions in China have only deteriorated. When the Games were awarded, the Chinese government pledged to the international community to improve these conditions; this pledge has already been broken. The global propaganda campaign for the Beijing Games, based on the slogan "one world, one dream," is a cruel irony for all the victims of the Chinese government's actions.
由世界反死刑聯盟(World Coalition Against Death Penalty, WCADP)的執行委員湯馬士‧萊斯 (Thomas H. Speedy Rice) 教授 、亞洲反死刑網絡(Anti-Death Penalty Asian Network, ADPAN)的執行委員田鎖麻衣子 (Maiko Tagusari) 律師及國際特赦組織(Amnesty International, AI)研究部主任馬禮誠 (Mark Allison) 先生所組成的國際代表團以及台灣廢除死刑推動聯盟(Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty,TAEDP)副召集人吳志光教授、黃文雄先生、李念祖律師及林欣怡執行長一行人,於6月18日(星期三)拜會了馬英九總統、司法院賴英照院長、立法院曾永權副院長。代表團此行的目的在於向台灣朝野傳達國際間對過去兩年半來所達成的停止死刑執行的成就,表達敬意及提出建議。 他們非常期待台灣能夠在短期內廢除死刑,以做為其他還有死刑國家的模範;在廢除死刑前,也希望台灣能夠明確且正式的宣示停止死刑執行 (moratorium);此外,這些國際代表團成員更希望立法院能夠修法減少判處死刑的條文、並且批准公民及政治權利國際公約(ICCPR) ;當然,對於被害人的聲音、被害人的加強保護都是應該要更注重的。
【說明】 由世界反死刑聯盟(World Coalition Against Death Penalty, WCADP)、亞洲反死刑網絡(Anti-Death Penalty Asian Network, ADPAN)及國際特赦組織(Amnesty International, AI)所組成的國際代表團,於6月17日(星期二)~6月18日(星期三)訪問台灣。代表團此行的目的在於向台灣朝野傳達國際間對於廢除死刑議題的重視。相較於美國、日本等實際上仍在執行死刑的民主國家,台灣在廢除死刑的進程上受到國際人權團體的矚目和期待。代表團成員希望於這次訪問中能拜會馬英九總統、司法院賴英照院長、立法院曾永權副院長、法務部王清峰部長及相關單位,向中華民國政府說明國際廢除死刑運動的現況與展望及表達國際社會對台灣的期待。