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Eight-year-old Fadu Die has not seen her father since she was six months old. In July 2001, he was allegedly murdered by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for following the ancient practice of Falun Gong.
“In China, thousands and thousands of families…their tears no one sees, their voice nobody hears,” said Fadu’s mother Jane.
The Dies were two of almost two dozen people who spoke at the Human Rights Torch Relay (HRTR) in City Park last Saturday.
DU organizations Never Again! and Asian Student Alliance were co-sponsors of the event.
HRTR is an international campaign “to expose the Chinese Communist Party’sB direct and indirect persecution and crimes against humanity globally,” said Vivian Lam, a coordinator of the Denver event. “Our hope is to use this event as a forum for all those concerned about human rights violations by the CCP, to come together to raise awareness and ask the world over to stand up and say, ‘The Olympics and crimes against humanity cannot coexist in China.'”
Beijing was awarded hosting rights for the Olympics in 2001. Since then, it has come under attack by groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International for its continuing human rights violations.
“We can all agree that human rights crimes are incompatible with the spirit of the Olympics.B So we hope that China will live up to its promise to stop all the human rights abuses…” said Lam.
A second event coordinator, Jim Fogarty, mirrored Lam’s beliefs: “What’s going on in China directly violates those principles (of the Olympic charter).”
Fogarty was careful to note that HRTR is not calling for a boycott of the summer 2008 Games. Instead, the group hopes to raise awareness. “These are the facts. This is what’s continuing to happen. What should we do as human beings?” asked Fogarty. “Each person can walk away from this and decide what they want to do.”
On April 4, a day prior to the rally, the Colorado State Senate and House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill in support of the alternative torch relay. Nancy Todd, who represents House District 41, was a sponsor for the resolution and spoke at the rally.
“This resolution makes a very strong statement that says we are not going to look away…we are not going to turn a blind eye to allowing China to sell illegally harvested organs of Falun Gong practitioners; we’re not going to turn a blind eye on the Chinese regime’s prohibition freedom of the press and imprisoning journalists,” said Todd.
HRTR began last August 9 in Athens, Greece. It traveled through Europe before reaching the United States and will continue through Canada before heading to its final destination, China.
The Denver relay included a 5K race, a live music concert featuring 21 Colorado performers and an evening candlelight vigil.
“The purpose of the candlelight vigil was to remember the 80+ million of people who died in the hands of the CCP the past 50+ years since they came into power,” said Lam.
Throughout the rally, the CCP was accused of torturing Falun Gong practitioners, Tibetans Buddhists, Christians and democracy activists.
Falun Gong is an ancient meditation practice. There is no membership, but followers believe in concepts of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. The CCP harvest the organs of Falun Gong practitioners while they are still alive to be sold on a profitable black market, said Lam.
Joel Portman, president of Never Again!, saw the event as strongly connected to his group’s efforts to raise awareness and activism about the Holocaust and other genocides: “Genocide begins with the removal of basic human rights,” said Portman. “We believe that China’s hosting of the Olympics creates a moral obligation for that country to work to correct its history of human rights abuses. Contrarily, China has actually escalated its abuse of human rights.B This issue then creates an obligation for citizens of countries participating in the Olympics to put pressure on the Chinese government to reverse their current trend in this area.”
Tess Cromer, one of about 20 DU students who attended the event, feels the same obligation. “I went because I think the Olympic (Committee) made a mistake in choosing China,” Cromer said. She also stated her disappointment in the U.S. and major corporations for “not putting any pressure on China to change.”
As two torchbearers stood at either side of the stage, event coordinator Carol Ferguson summed up the aim of the international relay: “Today we will make a difference in the world. Tomorrow won’t be like today,” said Ferguson. “We let our voices be heard for human rights, for human rights around the world. Not just for ourselves…for people who can speak and for people who cannot speak.”
