Dear Members of Parliament,
On behalf of the Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM), I am writing to draw your kind attention to two important issues in the parliament this week.
- Debate on Thursday 15th July of a motion relating to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Chinese Government sanctions
On Thursday 15th July, Tim Loughton MP is leading a Debate on the above subject. We urge you to take part in the debate and support Tim Loughton’s motion.
A diplomatic boycott would send a clear and strong message to the dictatorship in Beijing that their human rights abuses in Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and throughout China should not be rewarded by hosting the 2022 Winter Olympic Games (now known to many people as the “Genocide Games”).
And that the Chinese government’s ongoing sanctions against UK parliamentarians and other human rights activists will have adverse consequences.
- Early Day Motion (no. 149) sponsored by Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP
On 7th June 2021, Sir Iain Duncan Smith tabled the following Early Day Motion (EDM149). So far, only 11 MPs have signed this EDM – surprisingly few given that most MPs would presumably support holding China to account for the long-standing and industrial scale human rights abuses against Tibetans, Uyghurs, citizens of Hong Kong and throughout the country.
If you do oppose China’s human rights record, would you please give your support to EDM-149 and boost numbers? – so that parliamentarians do not unwittingly hand a propaganda victory to the Chinese dictatorship.
Motion text:
“That this House notes with concern that the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will take place alongside a rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where Uyghurs and other minority groups are subject to widespread forced labour, sterilization, political indoctrination and arbitrary detention; reaffirms its opinion that Uyghurs and other minority groups in the Uyghur Region are victims of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity; reminds the International Olympics Committee that the Olympic Charter’s principles of solidarity and non-discrimination are hard to reconcile with holding the 2022 Winter Games in a country whose Government stands credibly accused of perpetrating Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide; affirms that the International Olympic Committee’s desire to stay above politics does not permit turning a blind eye to mass atrocity crimes; urges the International Olympics Committee to initiate an emergency search process for suitable replacement facilities for the 2022 Winter Games; calls on the Government to decline invitations for state officials to attend the 2022 Winter Games so long as Beijing remains the host venue; advises the Government to discourage companies operating in the UK from acting as commercial sponsors for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics; recognises that individual athletes have the right to choose whether to participate in the Olympic Games or not and urges them to think carefully about whether they should take part; and encourages the Chinese Government to work with international partners to take verifiable steps to improve the human rights situation of Uyghurs and other persecuted groups.”
Link: UK representation at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics – Early Day Motions – UK Parliament
The background
China has once again been given the privilege of hosting a prestigious international sporting event – the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. We believe under the current circumstances and with its appalling unapologetic human rights record, China does not deserve this award. The Global Alliance for Tibet and Persecuted Minorities are campaigning for the venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics to be changed from Beijing to another world city where the Olympics motto is respected.
We would like to remind you of the Olympics Charter which states, “The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.”
Unfortunately, the Chinese State is committing crimes against humanity – against the Uyghur Muslims, Tibetans and many other minorities in China. The introduction of the so-called “National Security Law” in Hong Kong is yet another breach of the international rules based system. What we are witnessing today is China becoming a serious threat to regional as well as global peace and security.
We therefore urge you to take part and support the above two important matters related to China.
Yours sincerely,
Tsering Passang
Founder & Convener,
Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM)
Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities 