Jacques Rogge President International Olympic Committee Lausanne, Switzerland hric head office September 11, 2007 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite3311 New York, N Y 10118 Dear Mr. President, USA tel (212) 239-4495 When China won the bidfor the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in 2001, both the fax (212) 239-2561 International Olympic Committee (IOC) andthe Chinese government predictedthe [email protected] Games wouldhave a positive impact on human rights anddevelopmentin China. Since then, you have saidthe Olympics “can only be a catalyst for change andnot hong kong office a panacea.” We agree—there is no magic bullet for complex human rights prob- GPO P.O. Box 1778 lems. However, with greater transparency andaccountability, the Games could Hong Kong help generate lasting improvements andlaunch reforms beyond2008. tel (852) 2710-8021 fax (852) 2710-8027 Human Rights in China (HRIC) requests that the IOC make public the Host City [email protected] Contract with Beijing (the Contract), which sets out the legal, commercial and financial rights andobligations of the IOC andthe Beijing Organizing Committee eu liasion office for the Olympic Games (BOCOG). You have expressedconfidencethat Beijing rue de la Linière will host a successful Games andthat BOCOG “will fulfill these requirements and Brussels, Belgium obligations of the Host City Contract.” Without public disclosure of this Contract, tel () however, the public cannot holdthe IOC or BOCOG accountable to fulfilling fax () these requirements andobligations. [email protected] Although restrictive state secrets provisions often limit the public’s right to know, disclosing the Contract would reinforce domestic Chinese open government initia- www.hrichina.org tives underway, including a new law, the Provision of the PRC on the Disclosure www.zhongguorenquan.org of Government Information (effective May 2008). Releasing the Contract would also contribute to your efforts to groundpublic expectations regardingBeijing’s obligations as the host city. This action wouldalso follow the spirit of transparen- cy adopted by other host cities such as Atlanta, Sydney, Salt Lake City, and Athens.
As an international Chinese human rights organization, HRIC sincerely hopes that the Games will be successful andwill benefit all the Chinese people—in 2008 and beyond. We look forwardto your response andwouldwelcome an opportunity to meet with you.
Sincerely,
Sharon Hom Executive Director
directors Co-Chairs CHRISTINE LOH and ANDREW J. NATHAN Executive Director SHARON HOM Secretary CHEUK KWAN Treasurer R. SCOTT GREATHEAD Chair Emeritus ROBERT L. BERNSTEIN William Bernstein Ian Buruma Cheng Xiaonong Han Dongfang Hu Ping Li Jinjin Liu Qing Robin Munro James Ottaway, Jr. Megan Wiese
honorary directors Joseph L. Birman Marie Holzman Robert G. James Joel Lebowitz Torbjörn Lodén PaulMartin Nina Rosenwald Ruan Ming Anne Thurston
24 | AN OPEN LETTER TO THE IOC PRESIDENT