(The following text is of comments delivered by Bill Paparian, former mayor of Pasadena, at the anti-Chinese float billboard unveiling held Monday, December 3.)

I want to thank Reporters Without Borders and the Visual Artists Guild for inviting me to speak at this billboard unveiling here today. Welcoming the Beijing float in the Tournament of Roses 2008 Parade provides a public relations opportunity for China to gain acclaim for the scheduled 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing while avoiding its responsibility for the principles that inspire the Olympics.

The five interlocked rings that we typically see as the Olympics logo depicts the Olympics goal of unity through worldwide sporting competition. Ideally, the Olympics tries to use the competition in sports to bridge cultural and ethnic divides, promote tolerance and non-discrimination, reinforce social integration, and advocate healthy lifestyles.

The choice of Beijing as the site of the 2008 Summer Olympics does not bring with it the prospect of such worthy goals, and this billboard manifests our concerns for this event and the inclusion of a Float in the 2008 Rose Parade.

Americans recall the oppression of political expression in China when the world watched as the tanks rolled in and attacked student protesters in Tiananmen Square. Since that time the plight of journalists, religious leaders, democracy and labor union advocates have occasionally been brought to light in our media and on our televisions. The human rights abuse and religious persecution in China has continued unabated.

Through Pasadena’s sister-city program, in 1998 a divided Pasadena City Council was persuaded to embrace China’s city of Xicheng in what we believed to have been the beginning of a people-to-people relations program. What use is this program if we are only permitted to participate with a select audience of Xicheng’s citizens and are dissuaded from even advocating for the release of the mother of Pasadena resident Yaning Liu, who is incarcerated in China? Yaning's mother Shuying Liu was arrested in China on December 15, 2006 and sentenced to 2.5 years in a labor camp because of her religious beliefs. I was astonished to recently learn that Mayor Bogaard has refused to even write a letter demanding the release of Yaning’s mother.

The voices of our leaders must not remain silent. Mr. Bogaard’s embrace of Beijing’s leaders and his invitation to welcome them to our City of Pasadena – despite their broken promises – continues to damage the reputation of our City.

We must seize every opportunity we can to reaffirm what unites us as Americans – our love of freedom and democracy, our dedication to promoting human rights and ending all forms of discrimination. We must not turn our backs on our sisters and brothers in China who suffer for basic human rights and religious freedom – and to show our support for them, we must turn our backs on the Rose Parade’s Beijing Float of Shame.