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Human rights activists aim to derail Beijing’s bid for Winter Olympics ahead of decision day

Groups are urging IOC not to pick China capital

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A Tibetan demonstrator flashes a V-Sign as he denounces the Olympic Games in Beijing on August 06, 2008 outside the embassy in Belgium. Photo: AFP

Human rights activists are stepping up efforts to derail Beijing’s bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, hoping their protests and petitions can thwart what appears to be almost certain victory for the Chinese capital.

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Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics Games, hopes to beat Almaty, Kazakhstan, and win the 2022 Winter Olympics, when a decision is made on Friday in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.

But five groups opposing Beijing’s bid have appealed to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urging it not to award Beijing the Games.

“China is now facing a human rights crisis with a scale of violations that is unprecedented since 2008,” US-based Chinese rights activists Rose Tang and Gu Yi said in a letter last week to the IOC.

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Like other campaigners, Tang and Gu said human rights have deteriorated in China since Beijing held the 2008 Games. The last two years under President Xi Jinping’s administration have been marked by a sweeping crackdown on dissidents, activists and human rights lawyers.

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