Olympics: “We find it abominable…”

The rally speech of the China Support Network as delivered by John Kusumi before the Chinese embassy (and hours before the Olympics' opening ceremony) in Washington DC on August 7, 2008:


An investigation must be launched, because the Olympic Games have sunk to a new low. The Olympics now celebrate genocide; honor the worlds most brutal communists, dictators, tyrants and thugs; and provide a vivid display of the priorities of world leaders. The world is faced with an abomination, a disgrace, a farce, a failure, a calamity, and a tragedy. The critics of Communist China have entirely too many things to complain about, so I can only briefly touch upon the issues that we might find abominable, and soon I will tie it back to the Olympics.


In China, they say do not talk about the “three T’s:” Tibet, Taiwan, and Tiananmen Square. Similarly, they do not want you to talk about East Turkestan, Inner Mongolia, and Falun Gong.


Why are these six topics off limits? It is because they are five places and one spiritual group where innocent people are getting a raw deal, or the short end of a stick. And actually, Tibet is both a place and a spiritual group; and East Turkestan, also known as Xinjiang province, is the home to Uighur Muslims. That is a third spiritual group. Let’s add to our discussion a fourth spiritual group, namely house church Christians. These four religions are persecuted, persecuted, persecuted, and persecuted, respectively. So, speaking for the China Support Network:


We find it abominable that Communist China invaded Tibet, and now persecutes Tibetan Buddhists. The China Support Network demands that China bestow freedom upon Tibet, and deliver to justice those CCP leaders who have wrought havoc and destruction in Tibet. Do not ask the Dalai Lama to acknowledge any special nature in Chinese Communists, if Chinese Communists themselves refuse to acknowledge any special nature in the Dalai Lama. When a prisoner is made to defecate on a picture of the Dalai Lama, Chinese jailers have gone too far!


We find it abominable that Communist China has arrayed over 1,000 ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan. Between the two, Mainland China is the larger and more powerful nation. Mainland China has no need to fear that Taiwan will attack or invade — hence, the missiles are offensive rather than defensive. The missiles are a provocation and threat to Taiwan, and the China Support Network demands that China must remove and dismantle the missiles that are threatening Taiwan.


We find it abominable that Communist China attacked the students and citizens in Tiananmen Square. The leaders do not want to talk about Tiananmen Square because it is to their shame and disgrace. It was mass murder and a crime against humanity, beamed into the world’s living rooms in full color by television. The China Support Network demands atonement to the victims of Tiananmen Square. An independent investigation, with perpetrators brought to justice, and a full accounting of victims, to victims’ families, is necessary for closure in this matter.


We find it abominable that Communist China invaded East Turkestan, and now persecutes Uighur Muslims. I find it abominable that China under the CCP has used that land for above-ground open-air testing of nuclear weapons, with insufficient protection for the health and safety of nearby residents. It is fair to say that they “nuked” East Turkestan. The China Support Network demands that China bestow freedom upon East Turkestan, and deliver to justice those Communist leaders who have abused and nuked East Turkestan.


We find it abominable that Inner Mongolia is held as a captive nation. It used to be that the Great Wall of China was the boundary of China. Inner Mongolia is on the other side of the wall. These days, Communist Chinese leaders get to have it both ways, and run the government on both sides of the wall. But, too many citizens of Inner Mongolia have suffered persecution under this Communist regime, and the China Support Network demands that China bestow freedom upon Inner Mongolia.


For that matter, we demand that China bestow freedom upon Mainland China, itself! In mainland China, we find persecution of Falun Gong, of underground Catholics and other denominations of house church Christians; and as well, we find persecution of journalists such as Shi Tao and political dissidents such as Wang Bingzhang, and of rights defending lawyers such as Gao Zhisheng. There are recent reports that Gao Zhisheng was tortured in captivity, and he remains there right now!


The pre-Olympic crackdown has made it plain that Chinese citizens are living in a police state. The existence of a police state might be old news, but it has consequences that continue to drive today’s news. The preparations for the Olympics are perhaps more newsworthy, but they are also a cause of action. I began this speech by saying that an investigation must be launched. Questions to investigate include, “What is the relationship of the Olympic Games to human rights abuses?” “In how many instances did the Chinese regime use the Olympics as a pretext for human rights abuse?” “Have earlier Olympics in other lands led to human rights abuse? And if so, can past and present Olympics be compared on quantitative measures of harm caused?”


In other words, a pattern may be emerging. Perhaps the Olympics are a repeat offender, harming the world routinely. Perhaps the IOC can be categorized as an accessory to these crimes against humanity. I would shed no tears if I saw IOC President Jacques Rogge getting prosecuted at the International Criminal Court. He certainly has a chipper and cheerful countenance for crimes against humanity. His legacy is that he is the man who smiled throughout genocide, and brought the Olympic Games to a shameful new low in the increasingly sordid history of these Games.


Genocide is more than just a word. Because it is mass murder, it has implications. And it will have consequences for its perpetrators, accessories, and enablers. Genocide should first of all be stopped, period. But secondly, for bystanders — meaning the rest of the world — we should at least acknowledge that it is reprehensible. To acknowledge the same is a matter of human decency. What does Jacques Rogge say? He says, “Uh — we’re not a political organization.” Really? Let’s be clear: Rogge tells us that mass murder is a political issue, perhaps like any other issue that can have people “for” and “against” it. We’re speaking of a clear and present and not even speculative humanitarian disaster, happening at this minute — and he would refer the topic to a debating society!


Let’s consider the weasel statement of Jacques Rogge: “We’re not a political organization.” More accurately, he should admit that the IOC is “not a human organization.” These Olympics are rewarding genocide, rewarding abuse, rewarding very reprehensible crimes against humanity. It was a mistaken bad move to put these games in the capital city of a nuclear armed, communist superpower — and Rogge’s easy countenance for genocide and crimes against humanity has added an indecent and inhuman character to these games. It’s a good thing that Mr. Rogge is not a world leader; but, oops — guess who’s coming to the Olympics’ opening ceremony? World leaders! They can’t miss this photo op with the modern day Hitlers who are hosting these Genocide Olympics! Imagine a photograph of the bent meeting with the craven, hosted by the depraved! We’ll see it in tomorrow’s newspaper!


It is abominable that the world is now asked to celebrate this boneheaded sporting event. For my part, I will be switching off NBC, staying out of McDonalds, and avoiding Coca Cola and Visa during these games. (Applause) I hope you will do the same. (Applause) Right now, the Communist Party of China is having a propaganda festival, and world leaders are having an appeasement festival, all of which adds up to a sordid spectacle. Because we can already smell the foul stench, we can anticipate the bad aftertaste that these Games will leave behind in the world’s mouth. The investigations and the blowback will begin immediately on the heels of these Games.


But, why is there a crowd of people at the Chinese embassy, here and now? We are the crowd that says, “Stop the killing!” –Because we know that killing continues at this minute in China and in Tibet and in East Turkestan and in Mongolia and in Burma and in Sudan’s Darfur region, and in Vietnam and North Korea. Those places are run by communists, dictators, tyrants and thugs, and among them right now the Chinese Communist Party is the king of the hill. The regime of Communist China qualifies it as the motherlode of evil and the godfather of dictatorships.


We are a crowd of humans, for human rights. And let me say to my fellow humans: Let’s continue to boycott communists, dictators, tyrants, and thugs. Thank you for being here, and keep the protests going!