China revokes visa of US Olympic medalist and activist

Chinese authorities have abruptly revoked the visa of 2006 winter Olympic gold-medalist and Darfur activist Joey Cheek, prompting a protest by the US government and further marring the start of the Beijing games. Cheek is the president and co-founder of Team Darfur, a group of athletes formed to nudge China into helping end the ethnic killings in Sudan without derailing the Olympics. Cheek, who won the 2006 winter Olympic speed-skating competition, said his visa was yanked hours before his slated departure for China. "I didn't see it coming," Cheek told the Associated Press. "That was a big shock." White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the US would formally object to the move against Cheek, which came hours before President Bush prepares to publicly criticize China's human rights record. Bush plans to put the US on record "in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists" during a speech tomorrow in Thailand, according to an advance copy released to the media. But his remarks may be too little, too late for activists who have expressed dismay at the president's decision to shrug off calls for a boycott of the Olympic opening ceremonies. Congressional Democrats who have been especially critical of Bush's trip to Beijing urged the president to fight for Cheek to enter China. "China's decision to revoke Joey Cheek's visa undermines the spirit of the Olympic Games and China's role as host," Democratic senator Russell Feingold said in a statement. Nancy Pelosi, the House of Representatives speaker condemned by Chinese leaders for her pro-democracy activism, called Cheek "a magnificent athlete and an optimistic young man." "It is simply wrong for him to be banned from the Olympics," she added. The ongoing violence in the Sudanese region of Darfur, where more than 200,000 have been killed and millions driven from their homes, is the centerpiece of Cheek's activism. Beijing has aided Khartoum and protested recent war crimes charges filed against Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir. Still, other human-rights campaigners are using the Olympics to play up China's alignment with the abusive military regime in Burma and its suppression of independent protests in Tibet. Cheek–who has urged the Sudanese government to abide by the centuries-old tradition of an "Olympic truce" from fighting–has lambasted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for not permitting athletes to speak out on political issues. "I've been pretty unimpressed with the IOC's efforts in protecting athletes, for giving them any options," Cheek told the Associated Press.