Vancouver Sun, 07/24/08
Canadian athletes are being encouraged to speak out at the Olympics about China's human rights' record. But it's a tough thing as I've written in my column in Thursday's Sun.
But one athlete who has already made his choice is former Canadian rowing
team member David Kay. He's cycling across the country to draw attention
to China’s human rights violations and specifically its treatment of Falun Gong
members and Tibetans. You can see his YouTube by clicking here.
“It’s meant to be as much as celebration as a demonstration or a
consciousness raising event. I’m hoping from the bike ride an the attention it
brings it’s just one more reason for China to uphold the reason for getting the
Olympics in the first place,” Kay says in the video.
Kay saw the Dalai Lama when he spoke in Ottawa and was taken with his message
of non-violence. It’s not the first time Kay has done a long cycling trip. In
2000, he rode from Canada to Guatemala and back. And it’s not his first activist
role either. In his hometown of Kingston, Kay sits on an environmental advisory
board and is an athlete ambassador for Right to Play. For more information on
this cycling trip, click here.