Dear Mr Samaranch,
I recently forwarded information to you (22/1/2001) regarding Falun Dafa. Pursuant to this I would like to raise some issues that you may be able to answer for me.
As I previously stated, I am a former Australian Olympic Swimmer - Tokyo, 1964. I am a personal friend and teammate of Dawn Fraser, whom you may approach for a reference if you have any doubts as to my character. I have always been proud of my Olympic background and all that being an Olympian stands for. I am a professional Human Resources Manager with a reputable Project Engineering Company.
I am also proud to have been a Falun Dafa practitioner for over two years and cannot speak highly enough of the practice and its positive benefits.
If I were to attend the 2004 Olympics in Athens, I would not have any concerns about being able to follow my spiritual practice, consisting of 5 sets of exercises, including sitting meditation and reading the books of philosophy which have spread to 40 countries world wide. The exercises are practiced daily in a park or garden.
I would appreciate if you could respond to the following questions so as to alleviate my concerns if China is successful in securing the 2008 Olympics.
- Will Falun Dafa practitioners be allowed to attend the Olympics - bearing in mind practitioners may not only be spectators like myself but athletes and officials as well?
- How will the Chinese Olympic Committee guarantee the safety of myself and other Falun Dafa international practitioners attending the Olympics? The number of Falun Dafa practitioners outside of China is steadily increasing and could total hundreds of millions by 2008.
- How will the Chinese Olympic Committee guarantee that our personal belongings such as Falun Dafa books and tapes of the music for exercising are not confiscated on arrival, which is the practice that occurs in China today for International Falun Dafa practitioners?
As I previously stated in my correspondence of 22/1/2001, I am not against the Chinese people being awarded the 2008 Olympics - provided all world cultures and spiritual practices are embraced by China. If they are accepting of these issues they will have to change their attitude dramatically in regards to their Human Rights issues.
At present, China's approach to Human Rights is quite unacceptable to the majority of countries who compete at the Olympics, and totally unacceptable to a former Olympian such as myself who has high standards of sportsmanship, morality, and ethics. To know that 170 of my fellow practitioners have been brutally tortured to death and thousands imprisoned without trial, treated with extreme cruelty and indignity, just for following their conscience, is heart wrenching.
I am confident that such a respected organization as the Olympic Movement will live up to it's own Olympic Charter when awarding the 2008 Olympics and give it to a country that encourages "the establishment of a peaceful society concerned with human dignity" as quoted in the Wall Street Journal.
I have included a copy of an article from the Wall Street Journal (8/3/2001) by Claudia Rosett and a copy of the letter I have written to the Chinese IOC delegate, Mr Zhenliang He. I look forward to your early response to these very important issues of concern.
Yours faithfully,
Jan Becker
