They will be standing beside people who will be celebrating the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games, many of them proud members of the Chinese community who oppose the protesters. The right to express this opposition would not be available if they were in China. Journalists would not be allowed to report objectively on any attempted dissent.

China has a tight grip on the domestic and foreign media. The regime regularly sends journalists, bloggers and other citizens to jail for simple communication. In a more serious incident, journalist Lan Chengzhang was beaten to death in Shanxi province in January 2007, after investigating an illegal coal mine there. Eight staff members of a Beijing newspaper which covered the same story were sacked.

In November 2007, state media reported that China was "cautiously but resolutely on the road to media freedom".

In January 2007, new temporary media regulations were introduced which promised "complete media freedom" in the run-up to the Olympic Games. They expire on October 17, one month after the Paralympics end in Beijing.

In reality, these regulations have done little to relax surveillance and control of both the media and the internet. In fact, the stranglehold has increased. The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China reported 180 incidents in 2007 in which journalists were obstructed in doing their job, assaulted or arbitrarily detained. Chinese nationals working as assistants, translators and in other capacities with foreign journalists are subjected to surveillance and pressure from the authorities.

China has broad definitions of information that could threaten "national security" or undermine its "social stability". In June last year, three editors from the Chengdu Evening News newspaper were sacked for publishing an advertisement paying tribute to the families of victims killed in the Tiananmen Square demonstration in 1989. It was reported a young employee at the newspaper approved the advertisement because she was unaware of the 1989 crackdown.

Last July, an online campaign by residents peacefully protesting against a toxic chemical plant near Xiamen prompted authorities to force internet users to register under their real names. Earlier this year human rights activist Hu Jia was sentenced to three years in prison for "inciting subversion" an accusation which continues to be used regularly to silence and imprison peaceful activists in China.

More recently, China imposed a near total media blackout on the protests around Tibet, denying foreign journalists access to areas like Lhasa, and silencing peaceful human rights activists. Even media reports of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's recent speech at Beijing University were censored. They excluded significant comments he made about the human rights situation in Tibet, which attracted international media attention.

All forms of media are restricted in China, not just the press. The internet has proved to be the new frontier in human rights. Chat rooms are monitored, blogs deleted, search results re-routed and websites like CNN are blocked. Between 30,000 and 50,000 cyber police monitor the internet in China, with the aid of foreign-owned technology. Users accessing the internet in cafes are required to hand over their full name and identification card before using a computer. All video material on the web such as that on YouTube must be approved by a government regulatory body.

Earlier this year Beijing-based groups working on HIV/AIDS became the latest targets in the crackdown. Reports suggest that information controls are also being extended to cover SMS text messaging in Beijing.

Amnesty International continues to call upon China to apply new media laws equally to domestic and foreign journalists. The authorities should cease the unwarranted censorship of broadcast, print and online media in China and take urgent measures to prevent the arbitrary detention, harassment and unfair dismissal of journalists.

It is also crucial that the international community, including the International Olympic Committee, sponsors and world leaders who will attend the Games take a stronger stance with the Chinese authorities to bring an end to human rights abuses.

Next week, Australians will have a chance to have their say about censorship in China as Amnesty International's huge yellow "walls" representing the Chinese internet censorship regime known as the Golden Shield or the Great Firewall of China make their way across the country.

People will be able to tear down the wall of censorship brick by brick and send a message to internet companies complicit in human rights violations.

More than 20,000 accredited media personnel are expected to attend the Olympic Games. It is an unprecedented opportunity to highlight human rights abuses in China, and take steps towards creating a more transparent society. The torch relay is a part of this process, and it provides for concerned Australians to peacefully express their opinion. To not support this right only serves to perpetuate the conspiracy of silence which pervades in China.

Claire Mallinson, is the national director of Amnesty International Australia