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发帖数: 441 | 1 Obama silent on China’s human rights abuses
By The Washington Times8:01 p.m., Friday, April 8, 2011
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has joined scores of other dissidents who have
simply disappeared (“Artist silenced in ‘New China,’ ” Web, Thursday).
While British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Germany Foreign
Minister Guido Westerwelle have called for his immediate release, there
is little evidence to suggest that Washington is outraged over the
incident. If anything, the insipid response of the Department of State
would suggest quite the opposite.
Writing in a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed before his detainment by Chinese
authorities, Mr. Ai said: “Most discouraging to those of us who are
fighting for increased freedom is the tendency for developed nations to
lower the bar to please China. They make excuses not to concern
themselves with violations of human rights. To espouse universal values
and then blind oneself to China’s active hostility to those values is
irresponsible and naive.”
It is clear that the current administration in Washington has played
down human rights issues. The recent visit of Chinese President Hu
Jintao to the White House revealed little evidence that the plight of
the Chinese dissidents was of any significance in President Obama’s
discussions with his Chinese counterpart. In Washington, it is simply
‘business as usual’ without regard to the consequences that have
befallen Mr. Ai and his compatriots, whose only “crime” is exercising
their rights to free speech.
BRIAN STUCKEY |
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