Eddie Romero

Eddie Romero is a United States pastor who has traveled to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games to protest Chinese human rights policies. Romero, who operates under the code name Gadfly, is the founder of the human rights group Exodus Eight One.

Fast Facts

1. Pastor: Hacienda Christian Fellowship Church
2. Professor: Mt. San Antonio Community College in Walnut, California
3. Calls his protest "The Gadfly Project"
4. Rented four hotel rooms in Beijing
5. Created effigies and staged mock killings
6. Posted videos of him painting hotel rooms with slogans on YouTube

Hotel Room Graffiti

Romero rented two hotel rooms in Beijing and painted the walls with slogans calling attention to China's human rights record. In YouTube videos, Romero recorded himself painting the walls. He also created effigies and staged mock killings.

Know Your Olympic Protests

• 1908: Irish athletes boycott Games in London to protest British refusal to give Ireland independence. The U.S. team refused to dip its flag to King Edward VII during the same Games.

• 1956: Lebanon, Syria and Egypt boycott Melbourne Games to protest the Suez Crisis; Holland, Spain and Switzerland boycotted the Games because of the Soviet Union's crushing of the Hungarian uprising that year.

• 1968 Mexico City Olympics: U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos walk barefoot to the podium to accept their medals and each raise a black-gloved fist in the air to protest the plight of black Americans.

• 1980: 62 countries boycott Moscow Olympics to protest Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the previous year.

• 1984: Soviet bloc countries retaliate and boycott Los Angeles Olympics.

• 2008 Beijing Olympics: Actress Mia Farrow called on nations to protest China's support for Myanmar during the Games.

Categories