PARIS—On February 8, exactly 6 months before the Beijing 2008 Olympics, Reporters Without Borders, a France-based global free-press journalistic organization, held an event to promote its "Beijing 2008 Campaign" in front of Paris' Citadium, one of the largest sport stores in Europe.
Through this event the organization encourages people to show support to human rights activities in China by wearing T-shirts bearing the logo of their Beijing 2008 Campaign, a Beijing 2008 Olympics logo in which the Olympic Rings are replaced by five interlocking handcuffs.
The huge electronic display board above the gate of Citadium was continuously playing the campaign logo and the pictures of jailed Chinese human rights activists like Shi Tao, Yang Zili and Hu Jia. Volunteers at a booth in front of the store distributed campaign logo postcards and materials showing how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been trampling human rights. They also took pictures of those who were willing to respond to the human rights appeal regarding the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
At the scene, Reporters Without Borders' Secretary-General Menard and Asia Department Director Brossel told the Epoch Times reporter that posters will be posted in all 20 districts of Paris, and that other countries will hold similar activities as well. The organization tries to remind China that at the eve of the 2008 Olympics, not only human rights groups, but also the general public in Paris and all of Europe are concerned about the human rights abuse victims in China.
Brossel said that dozens of actors and athletes are also supporting and participating in this campaign, among whom are the "007" actress Carole Bouquet, actor Vincent Perez and sailing athlete Isabelle Autissier.
China Democratic Party, France Branch Vice Chairman Jiang Youlu from Hebei Province of China rushed to the scene on hearing about this event from a radio news program. When media reporters at the scene interviewed him, he said that the CCP never stopped massacring and persecuting Chinese people since the day the Party was founded. He said that the CCP is not using the opportunity of hosting the Olympic Games to promote the Olympic spirit of fairness, love and dignity, but to deceive the public both in and outside China and to intensify the persecution and consolidate its dictatorship.
A passing Chinese tourist at first accused Jiang Youlu of helping anti-China Westerners. When Jiang Youlu then explained to him about the CCP's repeated massacres and persecutions of Chinese people, and the fact that many Chinese as well as foreigners are helping Chinese people to safeguard their rights and interests, the tourist changed his attitude and said, "You are all great people!" The tourist later left with a brochure of "The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party."
In a media alert for this event, Reporters Without Borders paid tribute to Prince Charles for refusing to participate in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. Brossel said that they are encouraging French celebrities to make the same decision as Prince Charles did. He said that Prince Charles is very courageous because it is not easy to say "No" to China. Brossel also said that he thinks the Beijing authorities have underestimated the general resistance to its human rights abuses and the power of the international community.
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