A Case for Human Rights in China

Is China Changing for the Better?

I am writing this with the risk of not being able to go to China … but nonetheless, I believe my thoughts on the topic are worth expressing.

We should all aim to be on the right side of history, in the end.

Photo by Ling Tang on Unsplash

Due to repeated human rights violations by the Chinese government in Tibet, Hong-Kong, and Taiwan, concerning domestic surveillance of journalists and opposing political actors; concentration camps where more than one million Uyghur Muslims are estimated to be held; and so forth, many countries have imposed sanctions and tariffs on China. This seems entirely necessary. The question of whether it is effective is for another post.

Human rights violations of this kind should not be tolerated for any member of the United Nations.

There certainly is a place for economic sanctioning. Many have commented that China used the trade war to cover up their human rights abuses in Hong Kong, for example. In fact, Trump had in June 2019 assured Xi Jinping in a private conversation that the United States would not criticize China’s actions in Hong Kong until trade negotiations ceased.

At one point Trump went so far as to say that “We have to stand with Hong Kong, but I’m also supporting President Jinping.”