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Poem ‘relay’ protests Olympics in China
A poetic protest of China’s human rights abuses traveled around the globe and reached its destination in Beijing this week, shortly before Friday’s the opening ceremonies for the summer Olympics.
The literary group PEN International organized readings and other events in 65 countries for the poem “June,” written by poet and journalist Shi Tao (seen here), who is serving a 10 year prison sentence. His poem laments the violent crackdown of the protests at Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, a subject that is now taboo in China.
The poem was translated into 98 languages in a four and a half month “virtual” trip that roughly followed the route of the Olympic torch. In the final leg of the trip, the 144-page protest petition was delivered to Chinese officials by mail. The poem and a map of its travels can be seen at www.penpoemrelay.org.
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