Backsliding China gets warning from US on human rights issues
Beijing (AsiaNews) - In the annual US State Department report on human rights around the world, China has been accused of human rights abuses, saying its authorities are "quick to suppress" religious and political groups opposed to the government. The mainland has now been warned of the possibility of a UN resolution to condemn Beijing and censure China at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva in March.
Though the US agrees there has been progress in some areas, two vital areas of Tibet and Xinjiang are sited as being under overt oppression from the central government. "We began 2003 with hopes that the incremental but unprecedented progress in China seen in 2002 would be continued and expanded. However, throughout the year, we saw backsliding on key human rights issues," the report says. Specifically, the Report deplores the executions carried out without due process and the torture and arbitrary arrests in Tibet.
Mainland activists affirm the US stance. "On the surface it may seem China's human rights situation has improved, but it has worsened." Guan Zhenli, a campaigner for residents' rights in Beijing stated. "Only the tactics have changed."
Other human rights enthusiasts on the mainland agree with Guan Zhenli's position that "the US should continue to put pressure on the government to improve human rights", and that it "is the only way the government will improve." Yu Jie, author of the book Fire and Ice, a best-seller about China's globalisation challenges, views President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to be as iron-fisted as their predecessors in crushing opposition voices. While he applauded the US for its critical observance of human rights issues in China, he voiced dissatisfaction with the European Union, not hesitating to name names, "I'm particularly disappointed with French President Jacques Chirac. To curry favor with China for trade grains, Mr. Chirac has been an apologist for Chinese human rights abuses. Shame on Mr. Chirac."
"China objects to this interference in our domestic affairs," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue of Beijing stated, dismissing the report as unfounded. "We have made progress and we hope the US will objectively look at our improvements." Censorship of China will impose no penalties on the country, but will spotlight its behavior.
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