Dear International Olympic Committee Members: We urge you to reject Beijing’s bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics as China is now facing a human rights crisis with a scale of violations that is unprecedented since 2008.

As we write this letter, the Chinese government is carrying out an unparalleled attack on civil society. More than 250 Chinese human-rights lawyers, legal assistants, activists and their family members have been arrested, interrogated, put under house arrest and made to disappear since July 9. The youngest is 16 and the oldest 81.

Beijing has been using the Olympic Games to promote the Chinese Communist Party. If the International Olympic Committee awards Beijing the 2022 Winter Olympics, a great event intended to promote solidarity, brotherhood and human development will once again serve a corrupt dictatorship. It will endorse a government that blatantly violates human rights. Awarding Beijing the Olympics is a contradiction of the Olympics’ goal of “promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.”

The 2008 Summer Olympics made a mockery of the fine principles that the Olympics stands for, and brought more humiliation than dignity and more sadness than joy to the people in China.

In the name of the Olympics, Beijing forcibly relocated 1.5 million residents and evicted thousands of households. Hundreds of petitioners—as well as handicapped people—were detained in secret detention centers as part of the government’s effort to “clean up” the capital for the games. To put forth a good face for the Olympics, Beijing covered up a nationwide powdered milk scandal, which seriously affected the health of some 360,000 babies in China by 2008. The government also banned record-holding athlete Fang Zheng from the Paralympics because his legs were crushed by a tank in the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre.  

To win the 2008 Olympics, China promised to allow space for Chinese citizens to protest during the games. Spaces were allocated, but those that applied for permission to hold protests were actually arrested, making a mockery of China’s promises to the IOC. We expect similar abuses to take place should you award China the 2022 Winter Olympics.

We feel utterly ashamed of such a notorious human rights record, which not only contradicts Beijing’s own promises, but also severely tarnishes the reputation and spirit of the Olympic Games.

Beijing promised to improve press freedom in order to win the 2008 Olympics. Instead, the Chinese media have experienced even more censorship and crackdowns. China has been denying work visas to a number of foreign journalists who cover “sensitive” issues. The country is the world’s largest jailer of journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Allowing Beijing to host the 2022 Winter Olympics would send the world a message that China’s human rights abuses are being endorsed by the IOC, making the 2022 Games look strikingly similar to the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

We believe that the pure Olympic dream should never serve political oppression by a host government. We dream that one day the sacred Olympic flame will cast a light on a free China. For now, under this government, any more Olympic games would go down in history as the Shame Games, and make the IOC an accomplice in the abuse of human rights in the name of the Olympics.  

反对北京申办2022年冬奥会——致国际奥委会公开信

 尊敬的国际奥委会委员： 我们敦促您投票反对北京申办2022年冬奥会，因为2008年以来，中国人权史无前例的恶化。

我们在写这封信的时候，中国政府正对公民社会展开一场全面进攻。自从7月9日，超过250名维权律师、法律助理、活动人士和他们的家庭成员被逮捕、审问、软禁和或失踪，年龄最小的只有16岁，最年长的81岁。

北京已将奥运会用于宣传中国共产党。如果国际社会同意北京申办2022年冬奥会，那么一场基于团结、兄弟情谊和人类发展的盛事将再次服务于一个腐败的独裁政权，支持一个无耻侵犯人权的政府，这将和奥林匹克宪章中“增进社会和平、促进人类尊严”的宗旨矛盾。

2008年夏季奥运会对奥林匹克原则是一次嘲讽，给中国民众带来的羞辱多过尊严、悲伤多过喜悦。

以奥运之名，北京强拆了150万居民的住宅，并将几千个”钉子户“赶出家门。在为奥运”清理“首都的行动中，数百上访者和残疾人被拘留在秘密地点。为了办奥运的面子，北京掩盖了全国性毒奶粉丑闻——而毒奶粉到2008年为止导致36万婴幼儿患病。北京禁止金牌选手方政参加残奥会，因为在”八九六四“被坦克碾断了双腿，从而成为天安门屠杀的活见证。

为了获得08年夏季奥运会主办权，中国政府承诺为公民在比赛期间的抗议活动提供场地。政府的确提供了，但申请抗议的公民仍然被逮捕，这等于把政府自己对国际奥委会的承诺开了个玩笑。如果北京取得2022年冬奥会主办权，类似的滥权还会发生。 我们对如此恶劣的人权纪录感到极其羞愧——它们不但和北京的承诺相矛盾，而且严重玷污了奥运的声誉，损坏了奥运精神。

为了获得08年夏季奥运会主办权，中国政府承诺改善新闻自由。然而，中国媒体经历了更严厉的审查和打压。政府拒绝给一些外国记者发放工作签证，只因他们报道了“敏感”话题。据保护记者委员会记录，全世界关押记者人数最多的国家正是中国。

如果赞同北京举办2022年冬奥会，将给世界传达这样一个信息：国际奥委会支持中国政府侵犯人权。这样，2022年冬奥会将与1936年柏林奥运会和1980年莫斯科奥运会极其相似。

我们相信，纯洁的奥林匹克梦决不应服务于主办国政府严重的对内镇压。我们梦想着有一天，奥运圣火将照亮一个自由的中国。然而在当前、在现政府统治下，在北京再次举办奥运会将成为耻辱载入史册，也将使国际奥委会成为以奥运之名侵犯人权的帮凶。

Contacts （联系人）: Yi Gu (古懿), slmngy@uga.edu

Rose Tang (唐路),  rosetangy@gmail.com 

Signatures (签名)，listed alphatically (按姓氏字母顺序排列）: 

[China (中国)]              DU Yanlin  (杜延林); HAI Junnan (海军蓝)； HU Haibo (胡海波)； HU Jia (胡佳)； HU Junxiong (胡俊雄); HUO Xiaoxi (霍晓曦); JIANG Qiushi (蒋秋实); Pan Gu(磐古)；SHEN Liangqing  (沈良庆); SHEN Xiaofu (沈小甫); TANG Liang (唐亮); WANG Lihong (王荔蕻); WU Qiang  (吴强,); YE Du (野渡); ZHANG jing (张京); ZHANG Youwei (张有为)；

[Taiwan (台湾)]              Wu’erkaixi (吾尔开希); YAN Kefu (颜柯夫);

[USA（美国）]           CHEN Chuangchuang (陈闯创); CHEN Guangcheng (陈光诚); CHEN Kuide (陈奎德); CHEN Liqun (陈立群); CHEN Weiming (陈维明); CHENG Qiubo  (成秋波);  FANG Yong  (方勇);  FANG Zheng  (方政);   George GE (葛洵); Yi GU (古懿); HE Qinglian  (何清涟); HU Yunfei (胡云飞); LEONG, Fred F. (梁联发); LEONG, Ann H. (熊若磐); SHI Yi  (施毅); Rose TANG (唐路); TENG Biao (腾彪); WEN Yunchao (温云超); WU Renhua (吴仁华); XIA Ming (夏明); XIA Yeliang  (夏业良); YANG Jianli (杨建利); ZHANG Jing (张菁); ZHOU Fengsuo  (周锋锁);

[Germany (德国)]         LIAO Yiwu (廖亦武); SU Yutong  (苏雨桐);  

 [UK (英国)]                    FENG Yun  (封云);

[Canada (加拿大)]          HOU Wenzhuo (侯文卓); LIU Shasha  (刘沙沙); YANG Kuang  (杨匡); ZHAI Bugang (翟步刚);

 [Australia (澳大利亚)]   CHEN Qiangbao (陈强保); CHEN Weijian (陈维健); LI Juan (李隽); LI Jun (李俊); LV Yin (吕毅)；QIN Jin(秦晋)； SHEN Wenshi (盛闻世); SU Zhi (苏智); SUN Hao (孙浩); TAN Yan (谭彦); WU Lebao (吴乐宝); XIA Jiecheng (夏杰成); XIE Yi (谢怡); YANG Jia (杨伽); YU Yang (余阳); YUAN Tieliang (元铁梁)；  ZHANG Ming (张明)； ZHANG Shang (张上); ZHONG Jinjiang (钟锦江); ZHONG Wei (钟韦);