China Still Facing Human Rights Challenges
By Anastasya Lloyd-Damnjanovic
Staff Writer
Washington - A U.S. diplomat reaffirmed U.S. support for the rise of a
"strong, stable, prosperous China" but spoke of the human rights challenges
still facing the Asian giant in a press briefing July 25 after the 17th
U.S.-China Human Rights Dialogue.
"We recognize China's extraordinary record of economic development over the
last three decades," Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights
and Labor Michael Posner said, alluding to the gradual rise in living standards
for hundreds of millions of Chinese over time. "At the same time, we see that
political reforms in China have not kept pace with economic advances. Like
people everywhere, Chinese people want to be treated with dignity."
The dialogue, which took place in Washington, brought together American and
Chinese delegations for two days of talks about human rights issues in both
countries. The U.S. delegation was led by Posner and included representatives
from the Department of State, the Department of Justice, the U.S. Agency for
International Development, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Office of the Vice
President and national security staff. The Chinese delegation was led by Chen
Xu, the director general for international organizations and conferences in the
Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The growing discourse on human rights in China was one of the central
topics of the dialogue, Posner said. The delegations discussed legal reforms as
well as restrictions on free expression and Internet freedom, the treatment of
ethnic and religious minorities and the rights of Chinese laborers.
Delegates discussed human rights issues in general and specific terms.
Noting patterns of arrest and extra-legal detention for dissidents, Posner said
the dialogue drew on many recent cases in which lawyers, nongovernmental
organization activists, journalists, bloggers and religious leaders calling for
peaceful reform have faced detention.
While Posner acknowledged that the Chinese people are concerned about
economic opportunity and jobs, he emphasized that they also want to have a
"meaningful role in the political development of their own society" as well as
lawful means of reporting legitimate grievances. He said such political change
must occur from within a society rather than from outside it.
"In China, as elsewhere, we strongly believe that change occurs from within
a society," Posner said. "These discussions, then, are ultimately about Chinese
citizens' aspirations and how the Chinese themselves are navigating their own
future. In every society, we believe it's incumbent on government to give its
own people an opportunity to voice their concerns and pursue their
aspirations."
The dialogue revolves around the application of universal human rights
standards, Posner said, and it's increasingly clear that millions of ordinary
Chinese are becoming concerned about human rights violations in their
country.
The dialogue also featured open discussion of discrimination and prison
conditions in the United States, Posner said.
"We have human rights issues in the United States, but we also have a very
strong system to respond to them," he said. "We have an open press. We have
lawyers who are ready to represent unpopular defendants, and they do so without
fear of retaliation. We have a political process that is robust, to say the
least."
While in Washington, the Chinese delegation visited the political
journalism organization Politico and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee to better understand how the free press and minority advocacy groups
operate in the United States.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs,
U.S. Department of State.)
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