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China:
Do you believe dialogue alone can bring human rights progress in China,
or is pressure also needed?
Follow-up:
Candidates might claim that trade and investment is a
catalyst for reform in China. But does trade automatically guarantee
human rights progress when China is trying to restrict internet access,
imprisoning peaceful dissidents, and making only limited efforts at
legal reforms that exist mainly on paper?
Follow up question # 2
What does the candidate plan to do about restrictions on the use of the
Internet in China?
Answer: As the number of users in China has exploded -- all to the good --
severe restrictions have been placed on the internet when people use it
to form opposition groups or to discuss issues the government does not
want to see discussed such as human rights violations. The internet
alone will not guarantee or advance basic freedoms.
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Human Rights Watch recommends:
That dialogue be accompanied by pressure. Talks on human rights had been underway since 1991, but had produced no significant improvements. In recent years, the human rights situation has deteriorated. We believe that dialogue is only useful when combined with other tactics. We therefore are recommending a serious multilateral campaign next year at the annual meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, specific human rights conditions on Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for China, and high level lobbying by the president and vice-president with their Chinese counterparts.
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