Should President Clinton push China on human rights?
President Clinton is on a landmark visit to China. On his arrival in the country, the Chinese government said Mr Clinton’s visit heralded a new stage of development in relations between the two countries. But back home in the US, there has been pressure on the president to take a hard line with the Chinese authorities over the issue of human rights. Reports of editorial suppression in China and the detention of dissidents by the Chinese authorities have cast a cloud over proceedings. They have also pushed the issue of human rights to the forefront. Both republicans and the American public wanted the president to make an expression of world feeling at a ceremony in Tiananmen Square – where Chinese authorities killed pro-democracy activists in violent clashes in 1989. The president said he fully intended to tackle the issue of personal freedom in China. And in address to students at Beijing University, he has urged the Chinese Government to respect the basic human rights of its people, a
Related Questions
- People have often told me that since I am from the Western world, I can not understand the issues of human rights and working conditions in China. What should I tell them?
- If the presidents primary concern is national security, how do human rights issues become a priority?
- Why is China focusing on car-ownership in a report about human rights?
