Beijing rejects all applications to hold demos during Olympics

Tuesday 19th August, 07:14 AM JST

BEIJING —

Officials in Beijing said Monday that they have rejected all 77 applications made this month to hold demonstrations at special ‘‘protest parks’’ during the Olympic Games. Seventy-four of the applications have been ‘‘withdrawn’’ because the authorities ruled the disputes should be addressed through consultation with government departments and other bodies, the Beijing Public Security Bureau said in a statement. Two applications were ‘‘suspended’’ because the correct procedure to file an application was not followed and one was vetoed because it violated Chinese law on holding protests, the statement added, although it did not give details of the applications or the reasons for refusing them permission.

Human rights group say that at least two people who applied to hold demonstrations in specially designated protest parks in Beijing during the Olympics have been detained by the authorities. They include Ji Sizun, 58, a civil rights activist from the eastern province of Fujian who was detained by the government’s Petitions Bureau after applying to hold a protest against government corruption, according to a statement released by the U.S.-based group Human Rights Watch. A spokesman for the Public Security Bureau in Beijing told Kyodo News that it had not detained Ji, but did not comment on reports that a government department had done so. The spokesman also said his department had no knowledge of rights activist Tang Xuecheng from Hunan Province who is also alleged to have disappeared after applying to hold a protest in Beijing. Nicholas Bequelin, a spokesman for Human Rights Watch based in Hong Kong, said he was not surprised that all the protest applications have been turned down by the Beijing authorities. ‘‘This is what happens in China. The reality is that there is no public right to protest here,’’ he said.

Kyodo

14 Comments

OssanULTRA at 07:20 AM JST - 19th August

Well that's one way to ensure that there won't be any demonstrations.
Terrikus at 09:05 AM JST - 19th August

What a damned Dog and pony show that was. Who's surprised?
tkoind2 at 09:27 AM JST - 19th August

Shocking!! Really!! Who could have seen this coming????

Oh wait... just about everyone who bothered to pay attention saw this coming. "I told you so" just doesn't quite express how right the critics have been and how off base the IOC and others have been in their belief in China's Olympic good will.
Kwaabish at 12:09 PM JST - 19th August

Surprise!!!! (duh...)
rajakumar at 12:32 PM JST - 19th August

One party system like china, always reject demos. I am glad of China's economic ruin to sucess story.

Hope other poor nations of world will learn and study china's sucess systems, to rise out of their economic ruin and poverty.
teaabe at 01:48 PM JST - 19th August

anything but red.

i guess free tibet is out of the question.
GW at 02:29 PM JST - 19th August

the IOC bighots need to fired immediately, what a disgrace to the human race these people are!

They will never be able to get the brown off their noses!
TonyUS at 03:02 PM JST - 19th August

no surprise. but isn’t this another renege on promises to host the Olympics??? Wow. it maybe no suprise but I find all this just unbelievable that they can be so deceptive, and it sems it just does not end. It is too bad the authorities is doing all they can to tarnish what could have been a rising moment in time for China’s so called coming out.

Where are you Blaze on this one.. It is hard to try and ecuse one thing when as soon as one does , something else comes up. This has gone on with China from hmmm forever.

Sorry Reja, other poor nations would also have to get the support of western nations to succeed as China has, as from about 2 years ago it was said China could not be self supporting with domestic demand because only 2. some percent was of domestic consumption while 9. something of its growth was from exports, maybe that has changed now but I have not seen any recent reports on that issue.. Besides that issue I believe there should be more importance focused on individual freedoms, something China still lacks far behind on as a society so the society is formed by the people and not a false face of the few in control.. That is what has kept the people of China from being easily accepted in societies around the world because of the stigma of the face of the country..
smithinjapan at 09:26 PM JST - 19th August

I wonder about the people who actually voted 'yes', that they thought the Olympics would 'bring change' to China.
Pukey2 at 09:34 PM JST - 19th August

I was a bit surprised so many people had the courage to apply, what with some of them mysteriously having disappeared shortly afterwards.

TonyUS: You'd really like to see the ordinary Chinese go back to living in their mud huts, wouldn't you? China is opening up, albeit slowly. Sure it has problems, but making the country more isolated will do no good. Just look at North Korea. The way I see it, certain countries want to continue enjoying their monopoly and power over the world, and just don't want to share it. Communism or no communism.
blaze524 at 02:48 AM JST - 20th August

Thanks for the invite Tony -- I guess you missed me already?

China is focused on export driven growth, so there is no surprise that exports would constitute a large percentage of its growth.

For all of its spectacular growth, China is still overwhelmingly a developing country. From a practical standpoint, I don't see how more individual freedoms like freedom of speech will help the people in poverty. People that are in poverty are just looking to have more food on the table first and foremost.
TonyUS at 01:21 PM JST - 20th August

Pukey... yes look at N. Korea, the master piece of China.

ANd as I have said again and again, I do not have nothing against the people of China but the government and system. If it takes only outside pressures to change China then there has been enough time feeding the commuist regime and time for the people of CHina to stand up for their own rights. I am tired of the exisiting conditions with trade barriers and the non-stop flow of produces from China a s we watch double digit growth rates as we look at a 1,9 growth rate as all our factories and jobs have relocated to China that is still a communist country and people are still kept silent. One more fact about what the US always stood for and that was freedom and democracy if you forgot PUKE

Hey Blaze !
TonyUS at 01:29 PM JST - 20th August

Blaze I do see where freedom of speech and other elements of democracy would help and that is by giving those in poverty a voice so what wealth is enjoyed by some could be distributed more equally to those just trying to feed themselves. This is where voices can send a message and also the information not being censored would be heard throughout the country and not an issue that is looked at through a blind eye or kept silent so it is not an issue of concern by the people. It is all about information and people having the knowledge of a situation, not an issue trying to be kept hidden away out of recognition by society. I really believe the long holdd on society is for the main purpose of ignoring many of the main problems in China today. I still can not agree in the least to keeping the people under thumb and silent without no input on the directionof their own land.
TonyUS at 11:54 AM JST - 21st August

Take a look at this report.. This is what is part of the system that needs to really take a change in CHina , well along with many other issues and supression of people in China over numerous issues, but these camps... Political re-education camps, this time some 70 year old women to spend a year in a labor camp for appying for a permit to protest.. come on , now even this should stir up some anger of those that try to see a bright side of the CCP, which I have not seen nothing of the sort as they are all about themselves and self serving power they try to keep grasp of with all decisions they make, good or bad.

Two elderly women ordered to spend one year in Chinese camp over protest

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2008/08/21/2003420961