CHINA-OLYMPICS Beijing Olympic bid organiser says China would respect human rights during games

Record ID: 149853

  • Title: CHINA-OLYMPICS Beijing Olympic bid organiser says China would respect human rights during games
  • Date: 2nd June 2015
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (JUNE 2, 2015) (REUTERS) BEIJING WINTER OLYMPICS 2022 BID COMMITTEE NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS
  • Embargoed: 17th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABJHL7SXTHNF6K27W0CKWAOPW4
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Beijing takes seriously the Olympics anti-discrimination pledge it has signed in its bid to host the 2022 Winter Games, a senior official said on Tuesday (June 2), but denied knowledge of a recent crackdown on a prominent anti-discrimination group.
    The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said last year it would include human rights clauses in new contracts to be signed by future Olympic host cities, strengthening its anti-discrimination policy.
    China has provided the IOC with "written assurances" of its respect for human rights as part of its bid to host the winter games in Beijing, an Olympic panel said in a report on Monday (June 1).
    But spokeswoman for the Beijing bid committee Wang Hui said she was unaware of a recent crackdown several anti discrimination organisations seen since March.
    "As for these organisations or people you just mentioned, I've never heard of them, perhaps you have really good access to information, I really don't know. But what I want to tell you is China is a country ruled by law, we will deal with all affairs, including the ones you just mentioned in accordance with the law. As long as they are in line with the law we will respect (them). Of course we have to manage illegal (activities), otherwise in a country with 1.3 billion people we first of all want to make it so that more people live in a peaceful and harmonious environment," Wang told a news conference.
    In March, Chinese police raided the office of a well-known non-governmental organisation in Beijing called Yirenping, a group which works to banish gender, HIV and other forms of discrimination. The NGO had campaigned for the release of five women activists, who were detained in the same month. They were later released, but remain under close watch.
    The five women activists were planning to demonstrate on March 8, International Women's Day, against sexual harassment on public transport when they were taken into custody. They were released after a vocal campaign against their detention by the West and Chinese rights activists.
    The IOC has for years been criticised by human rights groups, especially after awarding the Olympic Games to Beijing in 2008 and Sochi in 2014.
    The latter games were tarnished by a Russian anti-gay propaganda law that opponents said curtailed the rights of homosexuals in the country.
    Activists have already expressed concern about the possibility Beijing will win, with Tibetan groups this week saying that China's rights record disqualifies it.
    Wang said that a Beijing based Olympics would protect the rights of all those who came to participate.
    "Human rights, as I just said, all of our ... our promise is to respect the Olympic charter, respect their rules, respect their customs, the human rights of athletes from all countries who come to China to take part in competitions, coaches and judges and related participants, as well as the human rights of the Chinese will all receive legal guarantees," she said.
    Chinese President Xi Jinping has overseen a broad crackdown on the country's rights community since he took office in 2013, in what some groups call the worst suppression of dissent in two decades.
    While Beijing won acclaim for its successful hosting of the 2008 Olympics, rights groups said the Games were marked by forced evictions - claims angrily dismissed at the time by the government - and other abuses.
    Beijing is competing with Almaty, Kazakhstan, in its bid to host the 2022 Games. The IOC will pick the winner in July.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register