[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 95 (Tuesday, July 10, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  WE MUST NOT REWARD CHINESE TYRANNY BY GIVING THE OLYMPICS TO BEIJING

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 10, 2001

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call the attention of my 
colleagues to a powerful testimonial that appeared in today's Wall 
Street Journal by three human rights heroes, Wei Jingsheng, Vladimir 
Bukovsky, and Gerhard Loewenthal who are united in opposition to 
China's bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. The authors are witnesses 
to and victims of human rights violations by three of the most brutal 
regimes of recent history, Communist China, the Soviet Union, and Nazi 
Germany. In the article, they urge the International Olympic Committee 
(IOC), when it votes on the host city for the 2008 Olympics in Moscow 
this Friday, July 13th, to avoid the shameful decision of two past 
IOC's to award the games to totalitarian states--Germany in 1936, and 
the Soviet Union in 1980.
  The Chinese leadership in Beijing has argued strenuously that 
``politics'' should be kept out of the IOC's decision. They assert that 
the potential candidates should only be judged by their ability to 
build a new sports facility, construct a new subway stop or erect more 
shining hotels. But focusing on bricks and mortar--and turning a blind 
eye to the egregious human rights violations taking place every day in 
China--does not remove politics from the Olympics. It simply permits a 
brutal regime to exploit the Olympics to prop up its faltering 
legitimacy--as Nazi Germany did in 1936 and the Soviet Union did in 
1980--by basking in the reflected glow of the Summer Games.
  Four months ago, I was joined by my colleagues from California, Mr 
Cox and Ms. Pelosi, and by Mr. Wolf from Virginia in introducing H. 
Con. Res. 73, which expresses strong opposition to Beijing's Olympic 
bid due to China's horrendous human rights record. This resolution was 
overwhelmingly approved by the International Relations Committee on 
March 27th by a vote of 27-8. Unfortunately, the leadership has failed 
to schedule a vote on the resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the entire article ``Don't Reward Beijing's 
Tyranny,'' by Wei Jingsheng, Vladimir Bukovsky, and Gerhard Loewenthal 
and published in the July 10th edition of The Wall Street Journal be 
placed in the Congressional Record. I urge my colleagues to consider 
the poignant testimony provided in this article to the tragic human 
suffering that was contributed to by granting the Olympics to Nazi 
Germany in 1936 and the Soviet Union in 1980. In the hope of preventing 
a similar travesty in 2008, I call on the leadership to immediately 
schedule a vote on H. Con. Res. 73. The House must be given an 
opportunity to express its views on this critical moral issue.

                     Don't Reward Beijing's Tyranny

        Wei Jingsheng, Vladimir Bukovsky and Gerhard Loewenthal

       The International Olympic Committee should not offer the 
     2008 Olympic Games to the one-party dictatorship of the 
     Chinese government. Such a decision would not only be harmful 
     to the interests of the Chinese people, but it could also 
     threaten the interests of China's neighbors and ultimately 
     world peace. That's hardly what the Olympic spirit is all 
     about. The IOC offered the 1936 games to Nazi Germany. Adolf 
     Hitler and his party exploited that opportunity to fan their 
     political fanaticism, and ultimately initiated a war that 
     caused tens of millions of deaths. Although the Olympic Games 
     were not the cause of World War II, they were indeed one of 
     the tools Hitler used for his purposes. Does the IOC feel no 
     shame for offering the games to a regime that killed six 
     million Jews and many millions more? I, Gerhard Loewenthal, 
     am one of the witnesses and victims of that tragedy.
       The IOC offered the 1980 games to the Communist Soviet 
     Union, which cruelly oppressed its own people and the Eastern 
     Europeans, and sought control of the rest of the world too. 
     The Soviet Communist Party used the games as an opportunity 
     to shore up faith in their system. Moscow also started a war 
     in Afghanistan that resulted in many Soviet and Afghan 
     deaths. Only the effort and unity of various peace-loving 
     parties turned back that aggression and stopped the spread of 
     the war. Does the IOC feel regret for helping the Soviet 
     dictators? I, Vladimir Bukovsky, witnessed the disaster of 
     the former Soviet Union and the Eastern European countries.
       Apparently ignorant of history, the IOC may now be on the 
     verge of giving the Chinese Communist dictatorship the honor 
     of hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. The Chinese Communist 
     government is already using this opportunity to whip up 
     extreme nationalism and fanaticism in China, in an effort to 
     encourage and prepare for military aggression that could 
     threaten China's neighbors and ultimately world peace.
       Beijing will surely use this opportunity to oppress those 
     Chinese who fight for human rights and democracy. This 
     oppression will delay China's democratic progress and extend 
     the life of a dictatorial and corrupt government. I, Wei 
     Jingsheng, have seen what the Chinese people have had to 
     suffer for the last half century. I protest the wrongful 
     deaths of 80 million Chinese under the Communists. I do not 
     want to see more disasters in the future.
       All three of us are pleading with you, the members of the 
     IOC, to cast your votes for the 2008 host city with your 
     conscience, to avoid the regret you may have when the future 
     replays the nightmares we had.
       Mr. Wei spent 18 years in Chinese prison for dissident 
     activity. Mr. Bukovsky spent 12 years in Soviet prison for 
     opposing the government. Mr. Loewenthal, a Jew, is a German 
     TV journalist and a concentration camp survivor.