HOW TO HELP BURMA?
If everybody we know emails a request (not for tickets, but for China's
action for Burma) to ticketsupport@beijing2008.cn it will significantly slow
down Olympics ticket sales and call China's attention to the matter. China
may ignore protests, hunger strikes, petitions, wearing-red shirts, etc. But
China cannot ignore these emails, which get in the way of processing
Olympics ticket requests.
Please see the template at the bottom. Please also pledge to send the same
email every 6 hours, or every time you check your email. If they get tens of
thousands of email a day, they will have to do something about it.
WHY?
China should use its leverage to bring reconciliation and peace in Burma.
However, it recently vetoed a Security Council resolution on Burma. Yet with
the threat of Olympics boycott, China has yielded significantly to condemn
Sudan's genocidal regime.
Please note that this action is NOT a call to boycott the Olympics.
============================================
Send to ticketsupport@beijing2008.cn every 6 hours, or every time you check
your email.
Subject: re: tickets
Dear Sirs/Madams,
I am very interested in purchasing tickets to some of the events at next
year's Olympic games.
However I cannot, in good conscience, attend the Beijing Olympics unless
your government uses its influence to improve the political situation in
Burma. China has substantial economic interests in the country, provides
large amounts of economic aid, and invests heavily in infrastructure
projects there. Additionally, your government
provides extensive logistical support to Burma's military government. All
this make China uniquely placed to influence it.
The people of Burma have, in a very peaceful manner, insisted that their
rights be respected. I ask no more of your government than that it cease its
support for the current regime, and encourage dialog with the democratically
elected representatives of the Burmese nation.
I, the Burmese people, and the world would be grateful for your assistance
in this matter. Your courage will go a long way towards making the 2008
Olympics a success.
With sincere thanks,
(your name)
Do you really think that will have any impact whatsoever?!?!
A boycott of the Olympics by competitors as a result of government intervention will have an impact, this will not.
Its just one of many forms of action #1-they will know the world is watching if enough do it. Its also something people can do relatively easily and has captured a popular imagination via Facebook etc.
I also support a boycott of the olympics though I have no belief any government will really support it if thats what you mean by "government intervention".(This is not a comparable situation to 1980-Burma doesnt figure in global power plays as the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan did)
The point is to build a campaign around it and keep the pressure up.
Yes #2 by government intervention i mean the government saying that the competitors cannot go there, similar to what the Australian government said to their cricketers re their tour to Zimbabwe, and what the British government was too scared to say to the English cricket team when they wanted to cancel that tour but faced a whopping great big fine. I can see a boycott happening, but the situation would have to get worse and with China still vetoeing everything at the UN.
Facebook and other networking sites are useless, people just join them because they're popular at the time and they gain the 'street cred' amongst their friends and think they might get laid as a result!
OK Meats well lets keep the call for an olympics boycott going and see what gives.
Dont agree about Facebook -up to a week ago I didnt know what it was! but I'm very happy to see so many (largely) young people engaging politically -and if they get laid in the process well good for them.
This would have no effect whatsoever.
First of all, all the Chinese would have to do is create a filter removing duplicate emails from the server or a filter with with any given word in that template and problem solved. I mean really, they would laugh at this. Not to mention, even IF this would slow down their server, they wouldn't say "Hmm well we've got a problem on our hands, better bring the sledgehammer down on the junta." You know what they would do? Hire more people to handle the emails. It's China. Think about it.
It is encouraging to see the desire to find creative ways to protest what is going on in Myanmar, but pragmatism is more important than intention.
Everything which brings attention to this tragedy is good. Too bad some hackers don't hack the Chinese Olympic site, constant harassment would probably help get the point across. The Chinese seem to be constantly trying to hack sites such as the US pentagon and defense sites. It would be good if a hacker could give the Chinese a taste of their own medicine by hacking the Olympic ticket site.
It is the threat of a boycott that will get the Chinese attention to put more pressure on the junta. Keep writing your representatives in whatever country you reside.
ANY HACKERS OUT THERE, besides Chinese, maybe some Chinese disidents even could do it.
Sarah,
Thank you so very much for this info. It will indeed have an effect. Change is slow in coming and takes a lot of many types of effort. To expect immediate solutions from an email is not the point.
It was debated on another board what the benefit of signing a petition would be, with general consensus that the best leverage in this situation is the 2008 Olympics, and China's desire for it to go well. So yes, making noise in this very specific format is going to have an affect if the numbers are high enough. And as to hiring more people to handle the emails: yes, start making more work. If this happens, then start jamming the fax machine.
Please, please, put your cynicism on a shelf for a half-second, people.
Hundreds of Burmese have just been murdered for speaking out and organizing and marching. You dishonor their memory by deciding on this little chatboard that you can't be bothered to take 5 minutes to send an email because it won't make a difference anyway. When you don't have any proof that it won't make a difference.
No one will hunt you down and kill your family for sending an email. Yet so many Burmese have risked just that, or have been murdered. Or are being tortured in jail as we speak. They didn't ask whether it would "make any difference" to speak out.
Thanks everyone. Please do not fall into apathy because instant solutions are difficult to see. Apathy is a luxury some don't have, the least you can do is not indulge in it.
#7 do you have any proof that it would work? Sending what is effectively fake emails re the Beijing Olympics will have no effect. Doing things like this is just wasting everyone's time. You might feel better for doing it but have you achieved anything? No. People who want to see the Olympics won't be put off by what's happening in Burma and i'm guessing that the TV deals are already signed (so money will be coming in from those). The only way a boycott will happen is by the various governments refusing travel to China, both for their competitors and nationals.
last time China took any notice was when NATO bombed chinese territory
There waer days of mourning The US consul in Chegdu was wrecked
I was there andd to show the ignorance in land where Tian Anmen didnt happen !(its not on google in China Christains Uighers
gays Tibetans and anyone one else who promotes democracy(Taiwan,free trade unions etc ) is threatened beaten or butchered
Shame on Google Sky etal with blood on their hands bowing before these butchers
There is no doubt there are human rights abuse WMDs and abus of minorities
Hello NATO UN can we help?
We need a boycott as aminimum and Cuba style boycott of GreatWallMart etc
Of course short term greed means its all going the other way
Sorry you are not white enough for W democracies to care
Brown will bomb Basra but not help barefoot monks how many oil deals can they do
Bush will risk kill maim 1000s of yanks forHalliburton starving Kayin Shan or Karen kids are left to die
Fortunately these moral lepers will nodoubt re-incarnate as worms along with Perl Cheny Muedoch Blair and the Chinese regime
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