Forty-one members of the U.S. House and Representatives, including Democratic leader Richard Gephart and Republican Whip Tom Delay, urged the International Olympic Committe (IOC) to reject China’s bid to host the 2008 Summer Games because of alleged rights violations, including the crackdown on the spiritual movement, Falun Gong.
The House resolution asserts that the Olympics should not be held in China until Beijing releases all political prisoners and observes internationally recognized human rights.
Lantos told a news conference, “this repressive regime does not deserve the internationl legitimacy this honour bestows”.
And a companion resolution will be introduced in the Senate by Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms, a Republican, and Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone.
But Mike Siegel, an aide to Senator Max Baucus, had another point of view. He said, “engagement with China on a number of levels is critical for promoting both democratic ideals and reform”. Baucus was an outspoken supporter of legislation last year to expand trade with China.
The lawmakers said China’s human rights record has continued to deteriorate, citing a recent report highlighting crackdowns against Christian groups and Tibetan Buddhists.
Lantos, was born in Hungary, and was a member of the anti-Nazi underground as a teenager. He said, “just when we thought China’s human rights situation could not get any worse, it has”.
Representative Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat said, “it is difficult to understand how China can even be considered for the Olympics”.
Lantos introduced a similar resolution in 1993 opposing China’s 2000 Olympic bid. It passed in the House with bi-partisan support. The IOC selected Sydney over Beijing for the 2000 Games.
Beijing is considered the frontrunner in the race for the 2008 Games and if its bid is rejected, Toronto could be in a very good position to host the 2008 Games, making a 2012 U.S. Olympic bid unlikely. There are several U.S. cities hoping to be selected as the official U.S. bid city.
