Saturday, September 10, 2005
China, Canada and Human Rights
China is an economic powerhouse. It owns huges amounts of US debt and is currently shopping the world to buy energy and other major companies. (By it, I mean the Chinese government and its agencies, not private enterprise). We know that and we know that Canada and other nations are lining up and excited about the gravy train (rice train?). The Chinese President is in Canada this week.
China's human rights record continues to be appalling by any standards. Want some examples from 2004 via Amnesty International:
- Tens of thousands of people continued to be detained or imprisoned in violation of their fundamental human rights and were at high risk of torture or ill-treatment.
- Thousands of people were sentenced to death or executed, many after unfair trials. Public protests increased against forcible evictions and land requisition without adequate compensation.
- China continued to use the global “war on terrorism” to justify its crackdown on the Uighur community in Xinjiang.
- Freedom of expression and religion continued to be severely restricted in Tibet and other Tibetan areas of China.
"Given the different national conditions of China and Canada and given our different history and cultural traditions, it is quite normal for our two countries to have different views about human rights." - Chinese President Hu JintaoThe Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an international standard to work to for all human beings, including in China. Different views or not... Prime Minister Martin - go to it with your private chats and why not be more public with what you're passing along? Private chats have a way of well... not meaning anything.
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A neighbor who shares a common fence w/us at the back of our property has adopted 2 little girls from China (she is divorced and has all grown children and grandchildren). She is a sheriff in our township, and became active in groups that try to stop violence against women, which led to her finding out about the plight of Chinese females. Both of her adopted daughters were saved from being abandoned just after birth. 1 was saved from a trash can and the other was rescued from a public bathroom floor. She has also convinced her 2 sisters (they both have grown children and grandchildren) to adopt Chinese little girls, too. It is so heartwarming to see them all running and playing in my neighbor's back yard when you think of how their lives started out. Of course, all of these hypocritical pro-lifers in the US think nothing about gobbling up cheap Chinese products from Wal-Mart and The Dollar Tree stores as long as the price is "right" for them despite the horrific record China has on forced abortions, infaniticide, and misogyny.
I admire your neighbours a lot and am happy for the girls. I think violence against girls and women is one of the causes of our time - different face in every nation, but it's always there.
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