Tony Perlins, FRC: Mere days before China hoped to show the world its hospitable side, the regime made a bad first impression when it was revealed that the government has denied a visa to Olympic gold-medalist Joey Cheek. The speed skater, who is cosponsoring Team Darfur to draw attention to the human rights violations in the war-torn region, hoped to attend the Games to cheer on the other 70 athletes who signed on to compete in honor of Darfur. Although the U.S. government is protesting the decision, few expect the Chinese to bend. If Cheek is banned from Beijing, it will only serve as further confirmation to those who doubted China's sincerity in welcoming Western values of free speech and religion. While Cheek is a social justice activist, he's also an Olympic champion with philanthropic ties to the Sudanese. Like many others, we encourage the International Olympic Committee to help right this wrong and pressure China to reinstate Cheek, who has more than earned the right to appear at the Games in support of this worthy cause. [China revokes ex-speedskater Joey Cheek's visa] Tags: China, Darfur, FRC, H-2B visa, human rights, Joey Chek, Olympics, Tony Perkins To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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