US seeks immediate release of protesters
The blunt criticism came just hours before the end of the games, which have largely gone to the plan of China’s leaders, who wanted a smooth-running event that would increase the country’s international prestige.
Chinese police have sentenced at least 10 foreigners to 10 days of detention for protesting during the games, including eight Americans, a German and a British citizen. The activists were among small groups of demonstrators who have sought to raise China’s tough rule in Tibet, its rights record and other issues during the Beijing Games.
Most protesters were quickly dragged away by security forces and, in the first week of the 17-day event, escorted out of China within days. But some activists caught in the past week have been kept in custody under rules that allow officials to hold them without charge for up to 14 days.
British and US officials are seeking the quick release of their citizens.
US consular officials met with eight detained Americans on Friday, the US Embassy said in a statement. They had not made any claims of maltreatment at the hands of Chinese officials, the statement said.
Ambassador Clark T Randt Jr pressed the Chinese government on Saturday to immediately release the Americans, the statement said. US officials would continue to raise concerns about the detentions with senior Chinese officials.
“We are disappointed that China has not used the occasion of the Olympics to demonstrate greater tolerance and openness,” the statement said.
It urged China to show respect for human rights, freedom of speech and religion.
Britain’s Foreign Office also issued a statement confirming the detention of a British citizen and urging the Chinese government “to respect its commitment to freedom of expression.”
Calls to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs went unanswered Sunday, and the Public Security Bureau, which handles internal security, declined to make any immediate comment on the embassy statement.
Under pressure to address human rights and free speech concerns, China said it would allow protests during the games in three designated areas. But none of the more than 70 applications to demonstrate were approved, and some people were arrested as they sought the permits, rights groups and relatives said.
Activist groups including New York-based Students for a Free Tibet staged a series of small illegal demonstrations near Olympic venues and at Beijing landmarks during the competition, unfurling banners and speaking out against alleged Chinese abuses.
The US Embassy named the detained US activists as James Powderly, Brian Conley, Jeffrey Rae, Jeff Goldin, Michael Liss and Tom Grant, a group taken into custody last Wednesday, and Jeremy Wells and John Watterberg, who were detained on Thursday.
It said Chinese authorities said the group detained Wednesday would be released on August 30. The pair detained on Thursday would be released on August 31.
Separately, the Chinese Human Rights Defenders group said AIDS activist Wang Xiaoqiao, who has been detained for nine months, has been convicted and sentenced to one year in prison in Xincai county. The organization accused the government of waiting until the Olympics, when the world was distracted by the games, to sentence Wang.
Phone calls to the Xincai county court and the news office of the county’s public security bureau were not answered on Sunday.
On Sunday, Chinese President Hu Jintao called the Beijing Games a success, and praised the athletes and volunteers. He said the event would “enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese people and the people of all other countries,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported.