Sending in Big John

OK so it’s like that is it!

The Chinese authorities may have relented and unblocked our website, but as an organisation we have been banned from China for years, and frankly anyone brave enough to speak out about human rights in the country faces persecution. The list of human rights defenders being attacked by the Chinese authorities is endless, and a selection of them can be viewed here.

So what have we done? We’ve sent in the Big Guy to speak up for the people of China. And when I say big, I mean big – all 6ft 9in of him.

Let me re-introduce you to John Amaechi, ex NBA player, former London 2012 BBC ambassador, a commentator for the BBC, oh and in case you didn’t know Amnesty’s Olympic Ambassador.

Big John arrives in Beijing this weekend and who better to tell you about what he’s going to be up to than the man himself. His exclusive vodcast is about to go up on the site and you can view it here first.

He was also planning to add some content to Amnesty’s Big China Debate website from Beijing but that remains blocked.

Meanwhile, our campaign director Tim Hancock is all set to hot foot it around the newsrooms this weekend raising our concerns over China’s human rights records. He should be popping up on BBC World Service tomorrow before appearing on Sky News around 11am on Sunday for a nice head-to-head with the former Tory MP George Walden. So tune in.

In the meantime, enjoy the weekend.