Preventing Sino- EU dialogue rights groups’ way of slamming Chinese govt: experts
Seven human rights organizations on Monday urged the European Union to cancel its human rights dialogue with China, which experts said is one of the ways used to attack the Chinese government and its human rights cause.
The European Union should cancel its human rights dialogue with China and suspend such exchanges until the meetings can bring genuine human rights progress, seven human rights organizations said on Monday. The next EU- China human rights dialogue is scheduled on Thursday and Friday.
“The EU has demonstrated no intention, compassion, or strategic vision in stemming the tide of human rights abuses in China,” Human Rights Watch said, citing Sophie Richardson, China’s director at Human Rights Watch.
The request comes after Greece blocked an EU statement at the United Nations criticizing China’s human rights record, calling it “unconstructive criticism of China.”
“Those organizations have always kept a close watch on the old problems in China’s history, and new ones as the country developed. They have never responded positively to the country’s changes and progress and always attempt to define the country based on a minority view,” Li Daojun, a professor at the Law School Research Center for Human Rights of Shandong University, told the Global Times.
“Preventing the human rights dialogue is their way of making their presence felt, a customary tactic to attack the Chinese government,” Li said.
China has achieved great success in protecting human rights, but it admits local governments still need to reflect on their problems, Li explained.
The human rights dialogue is not a tribunal for the EU to judge China’s hu- man rights cause, but serves as a platform for all countries to communicate, research, analyze and provide valuable solutions to accelerate the development of global human rights, Li added.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Monday that China has always maintained that countries should discuss human rights issues based on mutual respect, rather than use human rights issues to interfere in others’ internal affairs.