While the USA, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have decided to diplomatically boycott the Olympic Games in Beijing, a decision from Germany is still pending.
In BILD, victims of the brutal Chinese dictatorship call on the new federal government: Boycott the Olympic Games in Beijing!
Dhondup Wangchen (Tibet)
The Tibetan activist and filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen, 47, was imprisoned for six years in 2008.
The reason: In 2008, shortly before the Summer Olympics in Beijing, Wangchen finished a film about Chinese oppression in Tibet.
“We had to do 15 hours a day of forced labor, I sewed uniforms for two years for the armies in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.” But the worst was the torture: “We had to sign false confessions, Our Holiness the Dalai Llama deny. Those who refused were tortured again every month, ”says Wangchen.
“I myself was handcuffed and handcuffed, then beaten and tortured with electric shocks in my mouth and feet.” Many of those tortured would not have survived the ordeal.
Photo: Peter Müller
“data-zoom-src =” https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/dhondup-wangchen-mit-seinem-uebersetzer-sonam-spitz-und-den-bild-reportern-shammi-haque-und-bjoern- str-6492d0b6259644af9281e54d16123fae-78508488 / image / 9.image.jpg “/> Dhondup Wangchen with his translator Sonam Spitz and the BILD reporters Shammi Haque and Björn StritzelPhoto: Peter Müller
The oppression in Tibet has gotten worse since 2008: “The whole country is like a big prison, there is massive repression against our culture and language, mass arrests.” In addition, constant surveillance: Telephones are tapped, villages are infiltrated with spies. “Everything was tightened again under Xi Jinping. He wants our culture and religion to be erased. “
Wangchen finally manages to escape to the USA, now he wants to shake up the world, travels to several countries shortly before the Olympics, tells his story.
Everywhere there was great understanding – the only exception: the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB). “The DOSB representative had no interest in human rights, it was clear that he was only interested in the profit associated with the Olympics.”
Instead, Wangchen is hoping for the new federal government: “If China withdraws the games, let them take place elsewhere. If that doesn’t work: Boycott these games! It is so clear and obvious how human rights are being trampled on in China! “
Even beyond the Olympics, Germany must find a different way of dealing with China: “I would like the new federal government to make human rights the basis of its policy and show solidarity with the oppressed. It’s not just about Tibetans – so many people are suffering from this regime. They have to do forced labor, the products are sold in the West. Germany is a free country, it should use this freedom and not become dependent on China. “
Glacier Kwong (Hongkong)
Glacier Kwong (25) is an activist of the “Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong” and lives in exile in Hamburg. Because after the passage of the “Security Law”, existing freedoms in Hong Kong will be curtailed and democracy activists will be arrested.
“The German government should at least diplomatically boycott the Winter Games,” says Kwong. “Many of my Hong Kong friends and I had to leave Hong Kong. I can’t believe the Olympics are taking place while Beijing is forcing Hong Kong to arrest or exile people. “
Eysa Imin (Xinjiang)
More than a million members of the Uyghur minority have been locked in camps by the Chinese regime, and many Uyghurs are fleeing persecution abroad. One of them is Eysa Imin (39), who was arrested twice before he was able to leave for Germany in 2017.
“During the cruel time in prison I saw how many Uyghurs were unjustly imprisoned, tortured and humiliated,” says Imin. “My sisters and brothers are still in prison, many other Uyghurs are interned in concentration camp-like camps.”
He cannot understand that the Olympic Games are to take place in Beijing. “Actually, the games shouldn’t have been awarded to China, as the communist government is responsible for the deaths of millions of Uyghurs,” says Imin. “I ask the new federal government to stand up for the freedom of my people and my relatives and to boycott the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in 2022!”
Germany and Europe should classify the crimes against the Uyghurs as genocide, he said.
The Uyghur human rights activist Mihriban Memet (47) also appeals to the federal government not to look the other way: “The Olympics should never have been awarded to Beijing.” This mistake must now be corrected. “I am glad that our new Foreign Minister sees it similarly and I expect Annalena Baerbock to pursue a different policy on China, as announced in the election campaign.”
Su Yuton (China)
The Chinese journalist Su Yuton (45) was placed under house arrest in 2010 for her work and was then able to flee to Germany.
“Shortly before the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, I worked on a lot of investigative projects,” she tells BILD. “The Chinese authorities viewed the Olympics as a political project. They tore down many people’s houses to build the Olympic venues, that’s what I found out. ”
The hope that China would become more open and democratic by hosting the 2008 Games would not have been fulfilled. On the contrary: “The Chinese Communist Party also used the Olympic Games to cover up human rights violations and corruption”.
After 2008 the reprisals got worse, besides the blogger Zhang Zhan, more than 100 other media workers are currently imprisoned for their work. “And the athletes should also ask themselves whether they can appear there if the Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai is abducted.”
Germany and Europe have a special responsibility, says Su Yuton: “In the Merkel era, China’s huge market seemed more attractive to the German government than human rights,” says Su Yuton. “I hope that the new government will join other democracies and decide on a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games in Beijing or even a total boycott.”
.