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Human rights groups were outraged at Hillary Clinton for taking a backseat on raising human rights issues with China during her trip to Asia last week. AIUSA issued a scolding press release. Human Rights Watch expressed their disapproval on NPR. Was it really that bad? Let’s read the official transcript of her interaction with the press (search the words “human rights” to get to the problematic passage in the long transcript) and allow everyone else to be the judge.
I don’t agree with some folks saying Clinton has given up on speaking about human rights even before she landed in China. I think she made some smart decisions for her first official engagement with China as Secretary of State. She could speak more openly and freely as First Lady but it is no longer the case. There is a lot more at stake when she travels the world as the official representative of the US administration. Especially this is her first official meeting with many high ranking Chinese officials, it would be impolite to point out the shortcomings of the host before she was offered a cup of tea. There are going to be a few hand shakes and some warm ups to kick off a relationship.
Since the so-called downplay of human rights, Clinton had another interaction with the press after she met with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. Based on the transcript of this round, it sounds to me they have touched on human rights, probably not too specific and I don’t think it should be. Experts’ opinions were mixed.
By the way, Clinton was interviewed by Shanghai based Dragon TV. The AP video is a short clip of the interview. The full transcript is an entertaining read.
The House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing with Yahoo executives from last week had been widely reported in the media and digested through blogs and comments. Instead of adding my two cents to the clouds, I am listing here some relevant links:
- House Committee on Foreign Affairs:
- C-SPAN: video of hearing (RealPlayer required)
- AIUSA: Statement on Yahoo! Testimony Before Congressional Committee Regarding the Company’s Involvement in Case of Imprisoned Chinese Journalist
- Radio Free Asia – Cantonese service (Traditional Chinese): Jerry Yang apologizes to Shi Tao’s mother Gao Qinsheng
- RFA video recorded before the hearing showing Jerry Yang talking to Harry Wu, Gao Qinsheng and Yu Ling, the wife of imprisoned internet writer Wang Xiaoning
While the hearing was reported everywhere, there was almost zero reporting on the Congressional Human Rights Caucus briefing that happened the following day. Here’s the announcement of the briefing:
Congressional Human Rights Caucus (CHRC) Briefing:
China and the Internet: A Virtual Road to Prison
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Room: TBAPlease join the Congressional Human Rights Caucus for a briefing on the subject of human rights and the Internet in China. The briefing is open to the public and media, and will be held on Wednesday, November 7th, 2007, at 10:30 a.m. in the US Congress (room t.b.a.).
China has long developed one of the most sophisticated content-filtering Internet regimes in the world. The Chinese government employs sophisticated methods to limit content online, including a combination of legal regulation,”voluntary codes of conduct,” internet surveillance, and criminal sentencing to brutally suppress the free flow of information and to promote self-censorship.
Informational websites, including that of the BBC, Radio Free Asia, Voice of America and the public encyclopedia, Wikipedia, have been partially or completely blocked in China. Particularly in light of the upcoming 2008 Olympics, the Chinese government has made it very clear that it intends to crack down on any information critical of the Chinese regime and its actions. For this purpose, President Hu Jintao announced earlier in April of this year a campaign to rid the country’s sprawling Internet of “unhealthy content” and to “purify” it.
For some time human rights organizations have raised their concerns about freedom of expression and Internet censorship in China. In 2004, Yahoo came under fire for giving the personal email address of a Chinese journalist, Shi Tao, to the PRC government, which resulted in his conviction and sentence to 10 years in prison. Other Internet companies have closed down journalists’ blogs under pressure from the Chinese authorities and have self-censored their search engines and blog tools.
To discuss these important issues, we welcome as expert witnesses:**
- Lucie Morillon, Reporters without Borders
- T. Kumar, Amnesty International
- Joshua Rosenzweig, The Dui Hua Foundation
**Witness list subject to change.
At the briefing, Gao Qinsheng and Yu Ling were part of the panel speakers as reported by RFA – Cantonese Service (RFA reporting in Traditional Chinese) and its accompanied video.
Update (11-13-2007): RFA – Mandarin Service posted online last week’s in-studio interview with Gao Qinsheng and Yu Ling (Mandarin interview and English translation).
Long-time AIDS activist Dr. Gao Yaojie was not allowed to travel to Beijing to apply for a visa in order to visit the US in March for the Vital Voices‘ Global Leadership Awards. The annual event honors courageous women leaders from around the world and Dr. Gao is to be one of the honorees. She has been trapped in her home since the beginning of this month. She posted on her blog describing the police activities outside but the blog post has since disappeared. China Digital Times publicized her situation with a rough translation of her blog post.
This is not the first time Gao was not allowed to leave China to receive an award. The Global Health Council selected her for the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights in 2001 and then in 2003, she was given the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation based in Philippines (Gao’s response to the award). She could not travel out of the country for either occasions so it is not a surprise that she is experiencing the same fate again. During a regularly scheduled Ministry of Foreign Affairs press conference on February 6th, the press inquired about the reports of Gao being placed under house arrest. Spokeswoman Jiang Yu replied that she was not aware of those reports. Earlier today, another news report emerged that Communist Party officials visited Gao at home to demonstrate good will before Chinese New Year.
A four-part video about Gao was posted on YouTube this week. She has also appeared in the final episode of the PBS series, China from the Inside that was broadcasted last month.
Related news and links:
- Washington Post: Chinese Officials Visit AIDS Activist
- Reuters AlertNet: China says not aware of travel ban on AIDS doctor
- PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Jiang Yu’s Regular Press Conference on 6 February 2007
- Telegraph (UK) – Richard Spencer’s blog: Beyond the call of duty
- Washington Post: China bars AIDS doctor from U.S. for award
- Amnesty International (December 2004): Human rights defenders at risk
- Telegraph (February 2004): China’s Aids whistleblower left in limbo
- BBC News (May 2001): China bars Aids activist visiting US
- Time magazine – Asia edition: Grandmother Courage
YouTube videos: Gao Yaojie, part 1-4
There has been quite a buzz around the group of Tibetans being shot at by Chinese border control troops on September 30, 2006 because the incident was captured on video by Romanian cameraman Sergiu Matei. The video footage was originally made public through Romanian station Pro TV but it’s no longer on its website. Many people transplanted it to YouTube.
Amnesty International posted an Urgent Action in October shortly after the incident. Additional information led to another UA released this week for those who were detained and returned back to Tibet. There is also a web action through AIUSA that provides the option of emails or print a letter to be sent to the Chinese authorities. For those who are concerned about this incident, I hope you would participate in either one of the actions.
More information has surfaced the last few months. The International Campaign for Tibet published several news articles and they will release a detailed report on the incident next Monday February 12th.
Related news and links:
- ICT: Tibetan nun shot dead; other Tibetans feared killed on way to Nepal
- BBC News: Climber’s shock at Tibet killing
- BBC News: Tibetans shot ‘in self-defence’
- China Daily: In Brief, Page 2, Date: 10/13/2006 (refer to the section titled, “Tibet – Illegal border crossing” near the bottom of the page)
- ICT: New images of aftermath of Nangpa pass shooting
- Radio Free Asia: Three Detained for Allegedly Helping Tibetans Flee
- ICT: News on children detained during Nangpa Pass shooting: earlier incident of Tibetans facing gunfire in escape attempt
- Guardian Unlimited (UK): Chinese guards tortured captured Tibetans, says teenage survivor
YouTube: Interview with Sergiu Matei broadcast on Pro TV
AIUSA posted a video as a thank-you to their membership. Watching it makes me a little teary eye.
Imprisoning those who do not share the same point of views as the country leaders is not the only method to keep a person out of the public eye. House arrest is a popular strategy as we witness the many years of house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma. In China, Zhao Ziyang was kept under house arrest after the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 when he was sympathetic toward the student demonstrators. And that’s how he spent the last fifteen years of his life (he died on January 17, 2005 after multiple strokes).
Zhao’s aid is experiencing similar fate. Bao Tong was arrested shortly before the the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, 1989 and he was later sentenced to prison. After being released from prison in 1996, he was placed under house arrest. He continues to speak out for Zhao Ziyang. Recently, his essay was broadcasted on RFA’s Mandarin service.
RFA broadcast web postings of Bao Tong’s essay:
Speaking of Burma, a video of the wedding of the daughter of Burma’s military leader Than Shwe is posted on YouTube. While most Burmese are living in poverty, this video shows the exact opposite. Since internet use is restricted in Burma, only those of us outside of that country can see this.
Related links and news:
- Video posted on YouTube
- Video posted on Irrawaddy, a Thailand-based Burmese magazine
- BBC News: Burma leader’s lavish lifestyle aired
- Radio Free Asia: Fairytale Wedding of Burmese General’s Daughter
It took me a long time to really find a reason to blog. After presenting the Shi Tao case at the AIUSA WRC last weekend, I decided that my blog would be a place to post my experience as a HR activist, links to relevant info, and how technology and pop culture come into play with this work. And it would also be a good experience to find out what it is like to be a blogger speaking your mind out in the open and face the consequence no matter it’s good or bad.
There is going to be some acronyms in this blog and I don’t intend to explain them at all, nor do I have time to respond to every single comments. It’s just a place for me to rant and get the word out about HR. If you are a member of AIUSA, you will probably pick up on most of what I say. I don’t mean to be exclusive so if you are so curious, join AIUSA and you will find out for yourself what the alphabet soup is about.
Without taking any more time tonight, I will leave this post with a video, ProTV footage of Chinese soldiers shooting at Tibetan pilgrims:
