Letter to Yang Jiechi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Re: Reinstate Visa for US Olympian and Humanitarian, Joey Cheek
Letter
Letter to Yang Jiechi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Re: Reinstate Visa for US Olympian and Humanitarian, Joey Cheek
Durbin Asks Chinese to Reinstate Visa for US Olympian and Humanitarian, Joey Cheek
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs today, asking him to reconsider the decision to revoke the visa for U.S. Olympic gold medalist, Joey Cheek. Cheek, a widely respected athlete and humanitarian, had his visa revoked yesterday without comment by the Chinese government. It is thought that the revocation of his visa was in response to Cheek's efforts to end the conflict in Darfur.
"The Chinese government has not provided any justification for revoking Mr. Cheek's visa and I am concerned that this decision was a result of Mr. Cheek's efforts to end the conflict in Darfur," Durbin wrote. "Prohibiting Mr. Cheek from attending the 2008 Olympic Games and supporting fellow athletes undermines the Olympic principles of fair play and respect for all athletes that China has pledged to uphold. I strongly urge you to reconsider your decision to revoke Mr. Cheek's visa and allow him to attend the 2008 Olympic Games."
Mr. Cheek is a widely respected Olympian and humanitarian. He represented the United States as a member of the U.S. Speedskating team at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where he won the gold medal in the 500 meter race and the silver medal in the 1000 meter race. Mr. Cheek donated the $40,000 awarded to him to Right to Play, an international aid organization that brings the benefits of sport to disadvantaged children.
Mr. Cheek is also the co-founder of Team Darfur, an international coalition of athletes committed to raising awareness about and bringing an end to the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. He recently testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, which Durbin chairs, on his work to raise awareness about human rights abuses in Darfur.
Durbin is a leader in the Senate in trying to bring an end to genocide in Sudan. In addition to speaking out regularly on the crisis in Darfur, Durbin's Subcommittee on Human Rights and the law has held two hearings on the matter. Durbin has also been critical of Chinese restrictions on freedom of speech and expression.
Text of the letter appears below:
August 6, 2008
The Honorable Yang Jiechi
Minister of Foreign Affairs
People's Republic of China
No. 2, Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyang District
Beijing, 100701
Dear Mr. Yang:
I write to request that you reconsider the decision to revoke the visa of Joey Cheek, an Olympic gold medalist who was planning to attend the 2008 Beijing Games. The Chinese government has not provided any justification for revoking Mr. Cheek's visa and I am concerned that this decision was a result of Mr. Cheek's efforts to end the conflict in Darfur.
Mr. Cheek has repeatedly said that he was attending the Olympics to support his fellow Olympians and to promote peace and reconciliation. As he explained:
I still remain convinced of the great role the Olympics can play as a force for promoting peace around the world, including in still raging crisis in Darfur. Yet, despite the fact that I've always spoken positively of the Olympic ideal, and never called for a boycott or asked an athlete to break an IOC rule, my visa was revoked less than 24 hours before my scheduled departure.
According to press reports, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Visa is a sovereign affair of one country, according to Chinese laws and regulations, and based on host countries' practice on previous Olympics and other large scale events, China has made appropriate arrangements for foreign entry visas during the Olympic Games" (emphasis added). However, I am unaware of any previous instance in which a host country has denied an Olympian a visa to attend the Olympic Games.
Mr. Cheek is a widely respected Olympian and humanitarian. He represented the United States as a member of the U.S. Speedskating team at the 2006 Olympics, where he won the gold medal in the 500 meter race and the silver medal in the 1000 meter race. Mr. Cheek donated the $40,000 awarded to him to Right to Play, an international aid organization that brings the benefits of sport to disadvantaged children. Mr. Cheek's fellow athletes in the U.S. delegation honored his achievements by selecting him to carry the U.S. flag during the closing ceremonies.
Mr. Cheek subsequently co-founded Team Darfur, an international coalition of athletes committed to raising awareness about and bringing an end to the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. He recently testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, which I chair, on his work to raise awareness about human rights abuses in Darfur. I was impressed by Mr. Cheek's commitment to bringing peace and reconciliation to Darfur.
As Mr. Cheek said, "The Olympic Games represent something powerful: that people can come together from around the world and do things that no one thought were possible." Barring an Olympian from the Olympic Games violates this spirit. Prohibiting Mr. Cheek from attending the 2008 Olympic Games and supporting fellow athletes undermines the Olympic principles of fair play and respect for all athletes that China has pledged to uphold. I strongly urge you to reconsider your decision to revoke Mr. Cheek's visa and allow him to attend the 2008 Olympic Games.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
U.S. Senator
Cc:
Condoleezza Rice
U.S. Secretary of State
Clark T. Randt, Jr
U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China
Zhou Wenzhong
Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the United States
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