We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back- Excerpt from "I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.“International Forum: Human Rights in China and the 2008 Olympics” (the “Forum”) is an opportunity for civil rights supporters worldwide to examine the Chinese Communist regime’s appalling human rights record and help develop a framework among politicians, NGOs and international institutions to promote human rights in China by the 2008 Olympics.

The Forum will be held from February 21-22, 2008 at the Grand Hyatt Taipei, less than six months before the start of the Games. Participants will include prominent politicians, lawyers, doctors and NGO representatives from America, Asia, Australia, and Europe, including over 20 outstanding panelists.

Since Beijing was awarded the Games in 2001, rather than promoting the universal celebration of peaceful competition, in accordance with the Olympic Charter, the Chinese communist regime has intensified its crackdown of all forms of dissent. Falun Gong practitioners, Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, Uyghurs, human rights and democracy advocates, citizens who have been displaced from their homes and journalists have all been targets of repression despite Beijing’s assurances to the contrary. Externally, it has incited violence by supporting despotic regimes in Myanmar and Sudan, from which it extracts energy and natural resources.

In response, the European Parliament passed a resolution on Dec. 13, 2007 condemning China’s efforts to stifle dissent before the Olympics, and asked the International Olympic Committee to publish its assessment of China's compliance with pledges it gave in 2001 before being awarded the Games.

On Dec 18, 2007, 12 European NGOs and several Sakharov Prize laureates gathered in Brussels for a hearing on the deteriorating human rights situation in China and concluded that there been no progress since 2001.

On the heels of European leaders’ achievements, the Forum will explore and establish a global platform to strengthen China’s human rights framework and foster cooperation among politicians, NGOs and international institutions for the purpose of promoting human rights in China by the 2008 Olympics and beyond. Plans for the Human Rights Torch Relay’s entry into Mainland China will also be detailed.

We sincerely invite all Chinese people to join us in lighting the torch, a symbolic gesture that shows the world we embrace peace, justice and freedom. Let the light of the Human Rights Torch shine in every corner of China!

We would also like to invite all individuals and organizations concerned about human rights in China to come to Taiwan and participate. If you would like to participate, please email your personal information (including name, nationality, telephone, fax and e-mail) to cipfg_tw@xuite.net. Let every moment, and every action taken by the Forum spread to all people around the world!

“when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day.”(Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG)

Taiwan Cultural Foundation

Co-organizers:

Human Rights Without Frontiers
International Society for Human Rights