Can China ban the color orange? That is the question that is being asked by the Color Orange Project.

Launched by artist Jens Galschiot, the Color Orange Project was created to highlight the violations of human rights in China for the 2008 Olympic Games. The Idea is that the strict censorship in China will limit traditional signs of protest but that it will be impossible for the government to ban the color orange.

As much as I love paraphrasing I'd rather let you read what the creators of the project have to say about it.

The Color Orange Project: Appeal

Can China ban The Color Orange?

Take part in checkmating the Chinese regime and making a global manifestation for human rights.

We hereby encourage you to join the initiative TheColorOrange.net with the aim of showing China - during the Olympics in August 2008 - that we are many people who are keeping an eye on China's human rights violations.

The idea is both sophisticated and simple. By using something with the color orange during the Olympics - both inside and outside of China - you are sending a signal to the world that something is wrong in China. It can be anything, like an orange hat, camera bag, tie, pen, paper, dress, suit, bag etc. Even pealing an orange will be considered a pronounced statement.

No political or religious movement can claim to have a monopoly of the initiative. By participating in the project you show that you support the fight for human rights in China.

The Chinese Government wants to present the Olympics as perfect and streamlined to billions of television viewers around the globe with the aim of promoting China as a modern and efficient society. They will do anything it takes to avoid getting criticized on television. However, by using the Color Orange we are exactly capable of breaking with the harsh censorship and embitter the joy of the regime. At the same time, millions of oppressed Chinese people will have a voice during the Olympics 2008.

The Olympic Charter stipulates as fundamental Olympic principles: "the respect for universal fundamental ethical principles" and the promotion of "a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity". Nobody can fairly claim that the Chinese regime is living up to these standards. On the contrary, the usage of the orange color will be an ethical and non-political statement that is indeed in deep harmony with the fundamental principles of the Olympic movement.

The initiative can only succeed if a lot of people are aware of the significance of the Color Orange. This would normally require a publicity budget of million of dollars. This, however, we don't have. But in stead we (might) have you. If you, and millions of others, help pass on this idea together we can create a butterfly effect blowing an orange wind over China.

Pass on this e-mail to everybody on your mailing list. Go to the website www.TheColorOrange.net and sign up to the mailing list in order for you to get continuous updates about the initiative. Report to the website with those activities or ideas in which you have used the Color Orange so that we can spread out the happy message as an inspiration to others.

Make creative use of the Color Orange in relation to Olympic events. If you practice any kind of sport or are a member of an association that supports human rights you can encourage them to use orange in their material and to publicly support the campaign.

The Dutch national Olympic team is because of their orange colors natural born members of the initiative. What about your country's Olympic heroes? Are the only heroes when it comes to sport? Imagine if the first gold winner in China wipes off the sweat with an orange handkerchief...

The Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot is the initiator of the manifestation 'the Color Orange'. The artist is independent of political and religious interests and has often made global art events in favor of humanism, among others in collaboration with the democratic movement in China.

The Color Orange is inspired by what the painter Kandinsky said when he stated that the color orange is in fact red that has been made more human by the color yellow. The Chinese color is exactly red so maybe we can support the humanistic forces in the country by introducing the Color Orange. The selection of the Color Orange is however also inspired by the color of the prison uniforms in Guantanamo, the monks in Tibet and Burma and so on.

We hope that many individuals and organizations will support this initiative and use the Color Orange.

The Color Orange

The symbolism in ‘the Colour Orange’ project:

The colour is inspired by the Tibetan and Burmese monks who use orange as part of their clothing.

The colour also evokes associations to the prison uniforms from Guantánamo.

Orange is a mixture of red and yellow. In China red is the symbol of fire and yellow is the symbol of earth; these two elements neutralize each other like some sort of Yin Yang. Orange can therefore also be interpreted as a kind of harmony; we demand that China acquires harmony and balance in their human rights 'balance sheet'.

In the book ‘the Beginners Guide to Colour Psychology’ the colour orange is related to such positive qualities as: Joy, passion, sensuality, safety, physical well-being – and to the negative qualities: Poorness, frustration, immatureness.

Background of China's Human Rights Violations

Background: China is known as a country that practices great suppression of its own people and of human rights. The examples are countless, from the annexation of Tibet to the slaughter of their own students at the Tiananmen Square. Due to the extreme violation of the Freedom of Speech, it is impossible to talk about this suppression in China.

There is no doubt that China will use the Olympics 2008 to improve its image. By carrying out a perfect and efficient Olympic game in 2008, they hope to be able to promote China as an efficient and modern country. Some have compared the Olympics in Beijing 2008 with the Olympics in Berlin in 1936 where Hitler used the games to promote Nazi-Germany as a great country where things worked fine.

Many things have changed since then, but to stop China in repeating the same ‘success’ as Berlin1936, it is necessary that everyone supports a common project that tells both China and the many millions of viewers that a modern and efficient society must contain self-determination and the respect for human rights. It is necessary to make a statement during the Olympics that this kind of respect does not exist in China.

Usually there is strict control with political and ethic expressions in relation with the Olympics – and this control will most likely be even stricter in China.

Galschiot explaining the idea of the Color Orange

Related Links, Articles and Videos:
Link: Color Orange Project
Link: AIDOH
Link: Color Orange Myspace Page
Video: Can China Ban the Color Orange
Video: Greek Police Ban the Color Orange
Article: Rights activist urges China to grant Olympic pardon (NYT)
Article: China exudes optimism despite critical new report (reuters.com)
Article: Olympic flame summits Mount Everest (NYT)