Submitted by Terri E. Marsh, Exec Dir. HRLF (Human Rights NGO), Mar 21, 2008 17:15

Just to indicate my agreement with the author and to note that the PRC has maintained
control over its citizen body in part through its crackdown on all individuals and groups who
attempt to express the rights guaranteed to them in the Chinese Constitution, including freedom of
religion, freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. Even worse, the lawyers who take up
the citizens' causes find themselves subjected to the very same illegal arrests, police
interrogations, sham trials and lengthy jail sentences. We are talking about labor groups,
abortion rights groups, internet users (the Yahoo case), Gao Zhisheng (the conscience of
China), followers of the Dalai Lama, catholic priests, followers of the Falun Gong religion, and of
course the pro-democracy movement participants (surely we have not forgotten Tiananmen Square?)

It is time for CHANGE, time for the leaders of the world to stand on principle and make clear to China that we do not intend to continue to trade the freedom of the Chinese citizens for our desire to
continue to enjoy the privileges accorded to us by the Chinese authorities, access to
their low cost labor, and the like.

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