Ask NBC To Cover Uyghurs, Hong Kong and Human Rights During Beijing Winter Olympics Broadcast
Jeff Shell, Chief Executive Officer, NBC Universal
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On December 16, 2021, US Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and US Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China, sent a letter to NBCUniversal regarding its coverage of the Beijing Winter Olympics being held in the middle of a genocide.
Add your voice in demanding actions from NBC Universal and its affiliates.
Join the campaign to demand the official Olympics broadcaster to:
(1) Commit to providing background coverage on the Chinese government’s human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the suppression of democracy in Hong Kong,
(2) Press Chinese authorities to publicly affirm media and religious freedom during the coverage of the Games, and
(3) Refrain from broadcasting images of Uyghurs or other ethnic minority people that amplify Chinese propaganda messages of “happy minorities” to cover up crimes.
Petition by
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To:
Jeff Shell, Chief Executive Officer, NBC Universal
From:
[Your Name]
I am writing to you regarding your role as an official broadcaster of these Winter Olympic Games and the responsibility of your organization to address the fundamental issues of human rights of China's ongoing genocide campaign against the Uyghur population, the erosion of democracy in Hong Kong, and the removal of foreign journalists and vanishing of press freedom.
I urge NBCUniversal and its affiliates to do the following during the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics broadcast:
Publicly commit to providing background coverage on the Chinese government's actions in the Uyghur Xinjiang Autonomous Region and the suppression of democracy in Hong Kong. In addition, we ask that your broadcasts speak to the legislation that the U.S. government and other parliamentary administrations have passed to address the democracy movement in Hong Kong and the crimes against humanity in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Press Chinese authorities to publicly affirm media and religious freedom during the coverage of the Games. As a broadcast entity, your organization should be particularly concerned with the ongoing curtailing of media freedom and widespread censorship imposed by the Chinese government.
Refrain from broadcasting Uyghur or other ethnic minority people in their traditional dress or broadcasting any Chinese state-sponsored footage of the XUAR. The Chinese government and its propaganda arms use the stereotypical display of "happy minorities" to cover up for the crimes committed in the Region. Any broadcast of these images lends legitimacy to the Chinese government's version of events that go against the primary evidence from governments, researchers, and journalists from around the world that prove otherwise.
I firmly support Team USA and its athletes to participate wholeheartedly in these upcoming Games. Still, I encourage your organization not to juxtapose our athletes' stories with whitewashed Chinese government accounts that cover up the ongoing crimes against humanity.
I look forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance for your prompt attention and consideration of these matters.