China stifles protest during Olympics

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

BEIJING: When Gao Chuancai slipped into the capital last week hoping to stage a one-man rally against corruption in his village in northeast China, he knew his chances of success were slim.

During his decade-long crusade, Gao, a 45-year-old farmer from Heilongjiang Province, had been jailed a dozen times. Two beatings by the police left him with broken bones and shattered his teeth, he said, but did little to temper his drive for justice.

The government's recent announcement that pre-approved protests would be allowed at three sites during the Olympic Games gave him a wisp of hope. Two weeks ago he mailed in his application, and last week he came to Beijing to follow up.

During a visit to the Public Security Bureau on Wednesday, the police interviewed him for an hour and then told him to return in five days for his answer. "They'll probably arrest me when I go back," he said afterward.

Gao did not have to wait very long. A few hours later, he was picked up by the authorities and escorted back to Heilongjiang. On Monday, his son, Gao Jiaqing, in the family's village of Xingyi, said he had not heard from him.

A man who picked up the phone at the Wanggang police station, near Xingyi, acknowledged that Gao Chuancai was being detained at a local hotel. "He's under our control now," said the officer, Wang Zhuang.

Gao's ill-fated odyssey is not unlike to the journeys of several other would-be demonstrators who responded to the government's notice that protest zones would be set up during the Games. At least three other applicants are in custody. Two, Ji Sizun and Tang Xuecheng, were seized during the interview process at the Public Security Bureau, according to human rights activists.

Ten days into the Games, the government has yet to permit a single demonstration in any of the three official protest zones. According to a report Monday by Xinhua, the official news agency, 77 applications have been received since Aug. 1, from 149 people.

All but three of those applications, however, were withdrawn after the authorities satisfactorily addressed the petitioners' concerns, Xinhua said. Two of the remaining requests were turned down because the applicants failed to provide adequate information. The last was rejected after the authorities determined it violated China's laws on demonstrations.

Demonstrations are not illegal in China, but they require advance government approval, a prospect that often dissuades citizens, daunted by excessive bureaucracy or potential retaliation. Posters and slogans must be submitted to the police, and each participant must apply in person. Any rally deemed a threat to "social stability and public order" can be denied permission, and most are.

Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher at Human Rights Watch in New York, said he and other rights advocates had been skeptical that China would fulfill its pledge to allow greater free speech during the Olympic Games.

Still, he said, the International Olympic Committee should be held accountable for not pressing China on the issue. "The IOC seems oblivious to the fact that they're holding the Games in a repressive environment," he said.

Giselle Davies, spokeswoman for the IOC, said she hoped Beijing would follow the path of other host cities and allow demonstrations to take place in designated areas but that the issue was one for local officials to decide.

For Gao, the five days he spent in Beijing were both nerve-racking and exhilarating. He said he knew the police from Heilongjiang were on his trail, but he was buoyed by the possibility that a foreign reporter might tell his story. "With the Olympics here, now is the best time to remind the world that China still has problems that need to be solved," he said.

His handwritten poster listed a series of grievances against Xingyi and Wanggang officials. He accused them of stealing money meant to compensate farmers after their land was confiscated and described how he was jailed and beaten for publicizing his allegations. Last year, he wrote, his wife swallowed a fatal dose of pesticides at the Wanggang government building in the futile hope she might shame officials into releasing the money.

The police arrested Gao, saying he had given her the poison. A court released him, but the police warned him against continuing his campaign. Gao said the police told him that if he caused trouble again, he could be killed.

He was not deterred. When he arrived in Beijing, he slept in a different hotel or bathhouse each night, hoping to evade security officials who often trace people through their registration information.

In a telephone interview, Gao's son said he was worried about his father but also expressed resignation.

"I used to try to stop him but now I don't bother," the son said. "He has been through so much, but he keeps on chasing his dream of justice."

He sighed, then added, "I fully support him."

Tang Xuemei and Zhan Yingying contributed research.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/18/asia/protest.php

[MichelleN 0]

Wow....my dad mentioned something like this happening but I didn't believe him. I wonder how much squirming the Olympic committee is doing over this whole charade.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I wonder if the Communist regime has collected more data on all these protesters? They'll probably be a spike in executions after the Olympics. Sadly.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Wow....my dad mentioned something like this happening but I didn't believe him. I wonder how much squirming the Olympic committee is doing over this whole charade.

Probably none--they're too busy enforcing "copyright violations" to notice such issues.

Analogous to a park cop who is too busy enforcing "keep off grass" to even notice open muggings in broad-daylight along park pathways.

(not entirely facetious, I actually saw such stupidity in IOC officials in 1988--in Calgary)

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

** China.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Not really surprising - they made concessions to the pay lip service to the international community, but they're still playing the same old game.

The IOC blundered badly in allowing the Olympics to be held in such an environment.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Not really surprising - they made concessions to the pay lip service to the international community, but they're still playing the same old game.

The IOC blundered badly in allowing the Olympics to be held in such an environment.

Yup.

[LaGreenEyes 0]

Not really surprising - they made concessions to the pay lip service to the international community, but they're still playing the same old game.

The IOC blundered badly in allowing the Olympics to be held in such an environment.

Definitely.....and the whole world there with bells on...

and Americans can't travel to Cuba Because????...............

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Not really surprising - they made concessions to the pay lip service to the international community, but they're still playing the same old game.

The IOC blundered badly in allowing the Olympics to be held in such an environment.

Basically a repeat of 1980 Moscow--showing how much IOC learned from it.