US initiates Resolution 530 against China
Geneva (AsiaNews) The United States has officially confirmed the decision passed by the U.S. House of Representatives to proceed with Resolution 530 against China at the 60th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights for abuses of the fundamental freedoms and human rights of China's citizens. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomed this decision and deplored the response by the Chinese Government, which is suspending all dialogue with the United States on human rights issues, stating that the motion for the resolution is an intrusion of the US into China's internal affairs.
"China has chosen to see the resolution as a 'confrontation' and not as a chance to demonstrate its sincerity about implementing its human rights obligations," said USCIRF Chair Michael K. Young.
"Promises made at the Human Rights Dialogue of 2002 have not been kept. Arrest and harassment of religious minorities continue. Guarantees of religious freedom within the law are not being consistently upheld. This is gravely disappointing, and even more so in view of the fact that the National People's Congress recently added the clause 'to respect and guarantee human rights' to the Chinese Constitution," the chairman indicated.
The United States also expressed its disappointment at two attempted trips to China which had been promised by the mainland as part of the 2002 U.S.-China Bilateral Human Rights Dialogue, but were postponed because of unacceptable conditions placed on the itinerary by the Chinese government.
The continuing religious persecution will be further exposed at the UN meeting on 'Religious Repression in China', where official evidence of new repressive policies and the violent persecution of unregistered Protestants and Catholics will be discussed. Testimonies from a number of persecuted Chinese believers and activists on human rights, including Harry Wu, Peter Xu Yongze, Brother Yun, Bob Fu, and Joseph Kung, will be given at the meeting on April 2nd.
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