Recently signs and posters in support of the Human Rights Torch Relay have appeared in many places throughout Beijing. Some people even had their pictures taken in front of the Great Hall of the People near Tiananmen Square wearing T-shirts with slogans for the Human Rights Torch.
Some of the most ardent supporters of the torch are petitioners. On the eve of the Olympic Games many petitioners entered Beijing for a chance appeal for justice, despite the Chinese authorities’ attempts to arrest them. Some petitioners have been petitioning for many years in vain, and they have been violently suppressed during the process.
“We eagerly welcome the arrival of the Human Rights Torch,” said a petitioner. “Many of us have been deprived of everything. We certainly thirst after human rights and freedom.”
Many people from mainland China called the torch hotline, saying that the present state of human rights in China is extremely poor, and that Chinese people long to see the Human Rights Torch to be relayed throughout the country.
