I just got an email from Paul Hilder of Avaaz.org about a Global Handshake for the China Olympics: As the Beijing Olympics begin, the world looks on with mixed emotions. It’s a moment which should bring us closer together, and Chinese citizens deserve their excitement — but the Chinese government still hasn’t opened meaningful dialogue [...]

I got this in my inbox this morning from Avaaz.org (My comments are in RED BOLD). For those of you new to the blog or who do not know me personally, I worked at Avaaz for 1 year during its initial start-up phase. I’m now at Human Rights Watch, working with their China team on [...]

The following letter ended up in my inbox today from Huang Jinming of the Central Committee of the Social Democratic Party of China. Their website is under construction and there wasn’t much I could find out about them online. However, their letter lays out some principled, well-reasoned arguments, so I thought it was worth sharing. [...]

Human Rights Watch Asia Advocacy Director Sophie Richardson on The Newshour. Human Rights Watch Media Director Minky Worden on Democracy Now! The Olympic Torch Relay dates back to the Nazi Olympics in 1936. Minky Worden: There is a wonderful new academic book called Nazi Games, which gives a concise history of this. The torch relay [...]

Protesters hold a demonstration urging US President George W. Bush to cancel his plans to attend the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing because of the situation in Tibet during a protest at Lafayette Park across the street from the White House in Washington, DC, on March 31, 2008. (c) 2008 SAUL [...]