Dr. Yang Jianli Calls for Conditional Boycott of Beijing Olympics at Amnesty International Annual Conference
October 27, 2007 From Chinaeweekly.com Report Recently released prominent dissident of China Dr. Yang Jianli addressed the plenary session at Amnesty International Northeast Regional Conference and participated in its panel discussions. The annual conference was held at Boston University on October 27, 2007. An audience of more than seven hundred AI members gave Dr. Yang a standing ovation as he appeared on the stage. “It is with a joyful and thankful heart,” he began his emotional speech, “that I am here to speak to you, the most caring and loving individuals on earth.” He praised AI members for their relentless and effective efforts to care for other human beings, to rescue and save innocent lives from injustice and unfair treatment around the world. Dr. Yang thanked AI for taking three urgent actions during his five-year imprisonment, which generated thousands upon thousands letters and appeals to the Chinese authorities. He was in tears recalling how he felt when he received hundreds of AI cards in his prison cell. Most of the cards had one thing in common: a hand drawing of a burning candle encircled in barbed wire, which is the AI logo. “I thank you, my dear friends, every one of you” he said, “for you brought light to me during the darkest hour of my life.” Dr. Yang assured AI members that their work did make a difference. In conclusion, he appealed to AI activists to continue to work for the freedom of his imprisoned colleagues in China. The audience gave him another standing ovation at the end of his speech. At a panel discussion entitled “China: Human Rights Abuse, Home and Abroad,” Dr. Yang gave an opening statement in which he proposed conditional boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He believes this would be the most effective strategy for the international community to pressure the Chinese government to improve human rights in the run-up to the event. He particularly appealed to President Bush asking him to state to his Chinese counterparts his conditions under which he would attend the games. -------------------------- ---Distributed by Chinaeweekly.com |