Event: Representatives from athletes, human rights organizations, Chinese democracy groups, Tibetan rights activists, religious groups, government officials, and other concerned individuals will rally and give remarks and supports to the Human Rights Torch arriving at Dallas and send out the message: The Olympics and Crimes Against Humanity Cannot Coexist in China
Sponsor: Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (CIPFG)
Contact: Shirley, 469-619-4209 shirley7239@gmail.com
The Human Rights Torch Relay (HRTR) (http://humanrightstorch.org) is a global grassroots campaign to raise awareness of, and to try to stop, the Chinese Communist regime's human rights crimes prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
On top of the recent violence in Tibet and the Chinese communist regime’s support in Myanmar and Darfur, many groups inside China are claiming that the persecutions against them have been intensified this year as well, including Falun Gong, Muslim Uighurs, underground Christians, democracy advocates, and journalists.
New York-based Falun Dafa Information Center claimed to have received reports from inside China that 1878 Falun Gong followers have been arrested since January in “preparation of Olympics”. According to Falun Gong website (clearwisdom.net), since January of this year the Chinese regime has tortured 30 Falun Gong adherents to death.
Having begun in Athens, Greece on August 9, 2007, the Global Human Rights Torch Relay has already been through more than 100 major cities in Europe, Australia, South America, and parts of the near East.
Events in both Boston and San Jose, CA kicked off the symbolic torch campaign which will run from March 29-May 18 throughout the U.S. On May 3, the HRTR will arrive at Dallas.
After spending the spring in North America, the torch will travel to Asia, including many parts of China, where Chinese citizens have pledged to openly support the relay despite the obvious danger in such actions. The HRTR will eventually span 6 continents, 40 countries, and an estimated 150 cities—including over 40 U.S. cities—to raise awareness of these issues.
