(Clearwisdom.net) According to an Ireland online website report dated September 3, 2007, famous US movie actor Richard Gere called on the Beijing authorities to be "open" about its human rights record in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games. He also called on the Beijing authorities for a declaration of truth about the persecution of Tibetan people and Falun Gong practitioners.

According to the AFP report, on September 3, Richard Gere said when attending the 64th Venice Film Festival: "If China wants to be a host of the Olympics they also have to be open about what's going on in the country...the destruction of the Tibetan culture, abuses of minorities (and) the Falun Gong (spiritual movement)." Gere said: "The horrendous human rights situation has to be talked about."

Malaysia Star reported that Richard Gere called for a boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as part of the efforts of the international community to place pressure on the Chinese Communist Party to respect human rights.