For bluer skies, clear the air on rights

Obama also spoke eloquently of American respect for free expression, rule of law and other human rights, declaring these to be “universal” values. But at the same time, the president and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have made it clear that they do not want to let human rights interfere with other major issues, such as climate change, on which they need Chinese cooperation. Clinton made this point bluntly in Beijing in February, and Obama offered a concrete concession to China's rulers when he decided to avoid the Dalai Lama in Washington in October.

But this approach is misguided in several ways. The Chinese government does not reciprocate when it is given things for free. It simply takes them and moves on. Foreigners may not know this, but to people in China it is plain as day.

More important, human rights in our society are not an isolated item that can be set aside while all else moves forward. Human rights are not just a humanitarian matter of helping a few dissidents get out of jail. They are a systemic problem that is connected to openness, rule of law, popular supervision of government and other values Obama hailed in Shanghai. Progress on many fronts will be easier if human rights are better observed.

Take climate change. How will the world be sure that the Chinese government observes any pledges it makes on global warming? Through trust?

What happened at the Beijing Olympics last year should counsel caution. Before the Games, Beijing promised “free demonstration zones” for Chinese protesters, then arrested and jailed the citizens who followed through. Officials also pledged a schedule of progress toward pollution-free “blue skies,” then “fulfilled” the pledge by shuffling their monitoring stations around.

1|2|Next Page>>

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email