Mr. Arthur Sawchuk
Chairman of the Board
Manulife Financial Corporation
200 Bloor Street East
Toronto, ON M4W 1E5
Dear Mr. Sawchuk,
We write to you because Manulife Financial controls John Hancock Funds, and
that company is a key sponsor of the Beijing Olympics. We write in the name of
Toronto-based China Rights Network, and on behalf of millions of people in China
and its "autonomous" regions that suffer grave human rights abuses.
We are aware that your company and other sponsors of the Games have been
challenged to take a stand regarding China's support for the government of Sudan
– a government that bears responsibility for over 300,000 deaths in Darfur.
China's complicity in that civil war disturbs us deeply, as we expect it concerns
you. However, we are even more disturbed by a frightening array of rights abuses
that impact the lives of Chinese rights and democracy advocates, Tibetans,
Uyghurs and Falun Gong practitioners, among others.
Amnesty International, a member of our coalition, has exhaustively reported on
the human rights situation in China. An excellent overview is provided by the
2007 Report on China by Amnesty, which can be found at
http://www.amnesty.org/en
It makes for harrowing reading about torture, cultural and religious repression,
and harsh treatment of dissidents and human rights defenders.
As the world – and Manulife – prepares for the Beijing Olympics, we feel that
China must be held to the promises that numerous officials made in order to get
the Games. In 2001, for example, Liu Jingmin, Vice-President of the Beijing
Olympic Bid Committee, stated:
"By allowing Beijing to host the Games you will help the development of
human rights". The sad truth, according to Amnesty, is that the human rights situation in China
has deteriorated over the past five years.
So what is Manulife's responsibility? We feel strongly that Manulife/John
Hancock and other corporate sponsors must ask Chinese officials why they have
failed to deliver the promised improvements in human rights. We hope your
company will cite reports such as those authored by Amnesty International and
Human Rights Watch, all of them online, in order to make the point that China
will not deserve the world's applause in Beijing this summer unless it takes its
human rights pledges seriously.
We feel that you should do this because you respect the rule of law; because,
without it, international commerce would be chaotic and unprofitable. The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related Covenants are fundamental to
the rule of law. Hence, you have a responsibility to promote human rights
wherever you do business.
We do not demand that you pull out of China, though that would be an option. We
simply ask that you use every communication avenue at your disposal to tell the
Chinese government that civilized nations do not abuse citizens who protest
peacefully or seek respect for their culture or religion.
Above all, please be aware that ignoring human rights abuses plays into the hands
of the Chinese leadership, bestowing legitimacy on the government and its
policies. In short, tolerating abuse, turning a blind eye, is an endorsement of
repression.
We would like to know if Manulife/John Hancock has formulated a policy for
dealing with the quagmire that is human rights in China. We would greatly
appreciate a response to the above requests.
Yours sincerely,
Chair, China Rights Network
Federation for a Democratic China
Falun Dafa Human Rights Assoc.
Toronto Assoc. for Democracy in China
Tibet Women's Assoc. of Ontario
Students for a Free Tibet
Uyghur Canadian Association
Taiwanese Human Rights Association
以上信件同时发送给如下公司：
Above letter also sent to:
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Martin Winterkorn
Chairman of the Board of Management
Volkswagen AG
Brieffach 1972
38436Wolfsburg
Germany
Mr. Jeff Immelt
Chairman and CEO
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
General Electric Company
3135 Easton Turnpike
Fairfield, CT 06828-0001
William C. Weldon,
Chairman, Board of Directors and CEO
Johnson & Johnson Inc.
One Johnson & Johnson Plaza,
Room WH 2133,
New Brunswick, NJ 08933
Mr. E. Neville Isdell,
Chairman and CEO
The Coca-Cola Company
1 Coca Cola Plaza NW
Atlanta, GA 30313-2420
Mr. Antonio Perez
President and CEO
Eastman Kodak Company
343 State Street
Rochester, NY 14650-0001
Mr. Ralph Alvarez
President and CEO
McDonald's Corporation
2111 McDonald's Dr
Oak Brook, IL 60523
Arthur Sawchuk
Chairman of the Board
Manulife Financial Corporation
200 Bloor Street East
Toronto, ON M4W 1E5
Mr. Herbert Hainer, CEO
Chairman, Executive Board
Adidas-Salomon AG
Adi-Dassler-Strasse 1
91074 Herzogenaurach
Germany
Joseph W. Saunders
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Visa Inc.
P.O. Box 8999
San Francisco, CA 94128 - 8999
没有评论:
发表评论