Human rights rallies greet Hu Jintao in Spain and Germany
Hundreds of demonstrators calling for human rights in China greeted the Chinese president in Madrid. At a dinner held in his honour in Dusseldorf, he was reminded that "human rights and political liberty, along with prosperity, are today more than ever the irreplaceable foundations for stability and unity".
Madrid (AsiaNews/Agencies) Hu Jintao arrived yesterday in Spain, the last leg after England and Germany of his first European tour in his capacity as president of China. He was welcomed at the Madrid airport by Miguel Angel Moratinos, Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister. In the centre, hundreds of demonstrators awaited him; they had gathered there on Saturday night.
Several groups have joined protests calling for more human rights in China, among them Amnesty International, Reporters without Borders, and the Spanish section of the Commission for Tibet. A rally outside the Chinese Embassy has been slated for this afternoon.
During his visit to Germany, Hu was upbraided publicly, even if subtly, on the same issue by Juergen Ruettgers, head of the North Rhine-Westphalia state. Speaking before 200 guests at a dinner organized in Hu's honour, Ruettgers said he was "convinced that human rights and political liberty, along with prosperity, are today more than ever the irreplaceable foundations for stability and unity".
The politician who belongs to the Christian Democratic Union of Angela Merkel, the incoming Chancellor added that the concession of human rights as "inalienable" was not an exclusively western concept, given that the Chinese philosopher Mengzi, who died 2,300 years ago, had written: "Each man possesses within him innate dignity."
Before leaving Germany, Hu visited the Ruhr region, where he met mine proprietors and workers in the area and discussed ways in which German technology could improve Chinese mines, the most perilous anywhere in the world. Other than trade agreements signed in England for a value of 1.3 billion US dollars, the president oversaw the signing of contracts between Chinese and German firms worth more than 1.5 billion.
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09/08/2021 16:41
18/09/2020 16:33
