China under fire from all sides a year ahead of Games07.08.2007 08:00 SportsBy Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - Free Tibet activists on the Great Wall, a barrage of critical rights reports, a shroud of smog hanging over Beijing -- China's government must surely have imagined a more auspicious one-year countdown for the Olympics. On top of that, the flood of food safety scandals shows no sign of abating and a group of dissidents has written an open letter to President Hu Jintao calling for the Games' slogan to be changed to "One World, One Dream, Same Human Rights." The weather is also refusing to cooperate in the run-up to the eighth day of the eighth month on Wednesday, which will start the one-year countdown to the opening ceremony. Torrential rain has brought Beijing traffic to a standstill several times, and it seems so long since the sun last broke through the pollution that some are dubbing Beijing "Greyjing". And few are convinced by government pledges to ensure media freedom. On Monday, police prevented several journalists from leaving a Reporters Without Borders conference calling for greater media freedom. They were let go two hours later, without explanation. "The ongoing harassment and detention of journalists make Beijing's Olympic pledge on media freedoms seem more like a public relations ploy than a sincere policy initiative," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said China was holding at least 29 reporters and editors behind bars because of their work. Continued... Source: reuters.comwww.alllee.com |
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