Hong Kong students carry signs and a tombstone, symbolizing
those who died during the
military crackdown on pro-democracy
demonstrators in
Tiananmen Square 23 years ago. The Chinese
characters on tombstone say,
'Democratic Martyr, Non-Perishable.'
Human Rights
Criticism of China a Fig Leaf for Diminishing U.S. Influence (Global Times,
China)
Is America intentionally ignoring an improving human rights situation in China so that it can continue to use the issue as a 'bargaining chip'? This editorial from China's government-run Global Times, given America's loss of financial and minitary influence, the human rights issue is Washington's last remaining 'ace in the hole.'
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announces the publication of the State Department's annual report on human rights. While regimes in North Korea and China would like America to end the practice of publishing the reports, dissidents around the world would undoubtedly dusagree.
On Thursday, the U.S. State Department issued its annual report
on human rights in other countries. This year, the
report labeled China an "authoritarian country" and said that the
human rights situation in China has "deteriorated." On the following
day, China's State Council responded by issuing its report, Human Rights Record of the United States in 2011.
Once again, it's a tit-for-tat quarrel.
The issue of human rights is a traditional American weapon used
to pressure other nations, among which China is a major target. Now that the
Chinese public has freer access to information, U.S. use of human rights
diplomacy has become easier and more effective.
The United States ought to be clear that China has been
making rapid progress in securing the human rights of its general public. But
the United States not only comments on human rights in China, it wants to
tarnish its image in the world.
Posted by Worldmeets.US
America’s method is to focus on individual cases while
ignoring the wider reality. That is why it always highlights the cases of a
small number of dissidents and labels them "representative" of human
rights in China. And the struggle of such people against China's system is
packaged in such a way as to most effectively resonate with people in the West.
The United States has skillfully packaged the cases of dissidents
such as Liu Xiaobo, Ai Weiwei
and Chen Guangcheng. In fact, these people have had experiences
that are rare in China, and their stories always mysteriously have some
connection with the West. Chinese are puzzled about whether they are really disgruntled
"dissidents" or pawns for lucky U.S. politicians.
The human rights issue has become an American bargaining
chip for dealing with China.
While China’s improving human rights situation brings no
benefit to the United States, discrediting China by finding fault with its
rights record pays important dividends. In an age when Washington is losing its
economic advantage and cannot use its military might at will, America has no ace
in the hole left other than the human rights issue.
It is enviable that the West enjoys greater wealth, but
debatable about how feasible it would be to apply its model for protecting
human rights to China.
Chinese people find it hard to understand the necessity of
adopting a new way of protecting human rights. Ordinary people will need time
to come to understand that the struggle for human rights is not in fact about
human rights at all.
China seems to be at a disadvantage in this struggle, but America’s
human rights offensive is not invincible. When seeking to resolve domestic
problems, China should adhere to the principle of seeking truth from facts, and
in this way will succeed in resisting strategic pressure from the United States.
The Chinese people are not fools, and will eventually
differentiate real human rights from the "human rights" America
demands.
