Mr Xi’s visit comes as the Obama administration has publicly acknowledged that
the human rights situation in China is “deteriorating”, with a growing use
of force in Tibet and tightening controls on civil society.
With anti-China rhetoric building in an election year, US-China relations are
also strained over China’s refusal to support UN action against Syria, a
record number of trade disputes and the US “strategic pivot”, designed to
make clear it will not cede ground to China in the Asia-Pacific.
White House officials said the situation in Tibet was an “area of grave
concern” and hinted that Vice-President Joe Biden, who is officially hosting
Mr Xi’s visit, would raise Tibet with his Chinese counterpart.
As Mr Xi meets Mr Biden and the departments of State and Defence, a
Congressional committee on China will hear testimony on the case of Gao
Zhisheng, a lawyer who also described his repeated torture at the hands of
his country’s secret police, but remains in jail in China.
Dissidents and human rights advocates, four of whom met Mr Biden last week,
are fearful that the administration will continue to separate human rights
from other areas of its engagement with China, rendering much of the
dialogue on the issue meaningless.
Related posts:
Views: 0