With the spontaneous protests and riots in Tibet these past weeks, I do believe that now is the time to make a public stand against Human Rights abuses by the Chinese government.
The opportunity for media attention during the Olympic Games will not come again, and I call on all of us to publicly boycott the Olympics in 2008 and condemn the Chinese government's policies of torture, censure, pollution and exploitation of the people of China and Tibet.
Read the Economist's excellent summary of the problem here.
Chinese factory workers see their families once or twice a year, working 6 to 7 days a week for less than minimum wage.
Chinese mine workers risk their lives daily to extract coal that is burned at obscene rates, polluting the air with carbon emissions, all to produce $5 shoes and plastic Happy Meal toys.
Journalists are restricted from taking video, pictures, or even questioning the policies of the government, often risking imprisonment or kidnapping to reveal daily living conditions in China.
Tibetans, living under occupation since 1959, are continually arrested, tortured, and murdered for demanding free speech, freedom of religion, and free elections.
This must stop, and we have the power, as free people in democratized nations, to effect this change.
Refuse to buy products made in China, and TELL the store-owner why.
Refuse to watch the Olympic games, and TELL your cable provider why.
TELL your government to NOT send atheletes to the Olympic Games.
TAKE 1 hour of your life to go outside on the streets and merely stand tall among protesters in support of Tibet.
I had the honor of participating in a protest Friday, in Paris, simply because they were passing by where I was walking. I did not have a flag, I did not have paint on my face, I did not scream or chant. I was dressed for work, and only stayed 30 minutes, but I stood among the exiled Tibetans as they shouted for freedom, and supported the movement by being there and marching with them for at least a little while.
Click here to read about Friday's protest near the Eiffel Tower.
Know how good it feels to do what is right. To help others.
