“US China policy must be unbending on human rights”
ANNE WU’S Jan. 26 op-ed “Fresh hope for US-China cooperation” suggests that former president Bill Clinton made a reasonable move in his dealings with Beijing by focusing on profits: “When President Clinton first took office, he linked China’s trade privileges to its human rights record; eventually he separated these two issues and learned to regard China as a strategic partner.”
The problem with this line of reasoning is that it can be used to justify anything at the expense of humanity. Sadly this has been the case with China.
Free trade and more manufacturing contracts with China have not helped human rights, no matter what big business would have us believe. The elite in China may have gotten rich, but the same nagging problems remain, including China’s brutal Tibetan crackdowns, its violent abuse of Falun Gong, and its constant military threats against Taiwan. This island nation and its 23 million Taiwanese must be able to democratically determine their own future and not be a victim to hostile Beijing at every turn.
America should embrace working with China and the Chinese people, but adopt an unbending policy that brings humanity and compassion to both the method and the outcome.
The writer is a human rights activist and executive director of the Snow Lion Foundation.
