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22.03.2005Chinese human rights activists support EU embargoMore than five hundred Chinese human rights activists, both exiles and dissidents inside the PRC, have signed an open letter to the European Union, calling on it to maintain its embargo on arms exports to China until the PRC respects human rights. They note that Beijing needs to uphold international human rights standards and reevaluate the 1989 pro-democacy movement, for whose brutal suppression the embargo was imposed.The full text of the letter follows below. March 22, 2005 Javier Solana Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Council of the European Union Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat, 175 B-1048 Brussels Belgium José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission The European Commission Headquarter B-1409 Brussels Belgium Dear Secretary-General Solana and President Barroso: Sixteen years ago, the European Union set specific human rights conditions when it imposed a set of sanctions on China for its military crackdown on pro-democracy protest in June 1989. Despite continued human rights abuses, and specifically, the Chinese government’s refusal to be accountable for the crackdown, the EU is considering lifting the arms embargo, the last and most significant of these sanctions. While the EU has temporarily postponed its decision, it should not resume the discussion until China meets specific conditions of human rights. We, the former leaders in the 1989 pro-democracy movement and families of victims of the Tiananmen massacre, would like to respectfully remind the EU of the enduring relevance of the events of 1989 to the Chinese people. We request that any future discussion about ending the embargo be conditioned on improving human rights in three particular areas: 1. A general amnesty of all prisoners of conscience, including those imprisoned in connection to peaceful protest in 1989, and public trials by independent courts for those charged with “criminal” acts. 2. A reversal of the official verdict on the 1989 movement as a “counter-revolution riot,” allowing an independent “truth commission” to investigate and provide a comprehensive account of the killings, torture, and arbitrary detention, and bringing to justice those responsible for the violations of human rights involved. 3. Adoption and implementation of the International Covenant on Civil Political Rights, taking concrete actions to enforce other international human rights conventions and treaties that China has joined. Contrary to the claims made by some European leaders recently, the human rights situation in China has not undergone any fundamental change since 1989. The regime’s position – that peaceful demonstration to demand democracy and freedom was “counterrevolutionary,” hence justifying brutal suppression and even use of deadly force - remains unchanged. Public commemoration and demands for re-evaluating this official verdict remain punishable offenses. In the last few months alone, police detained, beat and put under house-arrest several dozen people, including members of the Tiananmen Mothers and former student leaders, who openly demanded the government to reverse its verdict on June 4th and release the more than 250 political prisoners jailed for their roles in the1989 movement. Sixteen years after Tiananmen, the Chinese state remains highly repressive despite its calculated token gestures to avoid international censure. Rapid economic growth has not been translated into improvement of social economic rights and has resulted in new patterns of rights abuses. The state continues to incarcerate people for expressing their ideas or organizing to defend their own rights, detain people in Re-education Through Labor camps without judicial review, persecute practitioners of officially unsanctioned religions, use torture to extract evidence, and engage in widespread and arbitrary use of the death penalty. The Chinese government has made use of sophisticated technology to infringe upon freedom of expression and information. In 1989, the imposition of the arms embargo and other trade sanctions sent a clear message to the Chinese government to censure its bloody crackdown on peaceful protesters. They demonstrated Europe and other democratic nations’ strong commitment and firm support for the arduous struggle of the Chinese people for human rights and democracy. While the impact of easing non-military trade sanctions is ambiguous due to possible distress of such sanctions on the life of ordinary Chinese, lifting arms embargo is unjustifiable on similar ground due to its impact on regional security. Given the EU’s commitment to promoting human rights, democracy, and rule of law in China, we hope the EU will not let business interest stand in the way of advancing its “core values.” We believe it is imperative that the EU make concerted efforts to pressure the Chinese government to meet the three minimal conditions specified above before reconsidering whether to lift the embargo. Doing away with this sanction without corresponding improvements in human rights would send the wrong signal to the Chinese people, including especially those of us who lost loved ones, who are persecuted, and for all Chinese who continue to struggle for the ideal that inspired the 1989 movement. Respectfully yours, Signed “The Tiananmen Mothers” in China: Ding Zilin, Zhang Xianling, Zhou Shuzhuang, Li Xuewen, Xu Yu, Xing Min and one hundred twenty five others (who lost family members in the June 4th massacre). Student leaders and activists of the 1989 Tiananmen movement: Wang Dan, Liu Gang, Jiang Qisheng, Tong Yi, Wang Youcai, Li Hengqing, Pan Qiang,Yu Houqiang,Yao Yongzhan, Zhang Lun, Shao Jiang,Yi Danxuan, Wang Chaohua, Liu Junguo, Chen Pokong, Lixin Tuo,Yan Jin. And other pro-democracy and human rights activists: Liu Binyan, Fang Lizhi, Su Xiaokang, Gao Han, Che Hongnian, Xu Wenli, Zhang Weiguo, Yuan Qiang, Guo Luoji, Deng Huanwu WangYu, Lin Xinshu, Fan Ziliang, Li Xian, Guan Pingfei, Du Zhifu Za Xi, Zhang Qing, Mao Guoliang, Pan Qing , Chen Weijian , Mo Li, Chen Weiming, Ding Qiang, Li Xiaorong, Sun Fengqi, Marie Holzman , Huang Heqing, Wei Lin, Zhu Xueyuan. As well as about four hundred activists on the “Zhao Ziyang Memorial Committee.” (The above is a partial list of supporters to this letter. Many names are withheld for the safety of those living in China.) CC: Josep Borrell Fontelles President of the European Parliament Julian Priestley Secretary-General of EU Parliament Ambassador Julien Alex COHOM President Ambassador Martine Schommer COPS President Jacques LeCarte Principal Administrator, Committee on Foreign Affairs * “Zhao Ziyang Memorial Committee” seeks accountability and justice for the June 4th 1989 massacre and strives for fundamental democratic reform and human rights protection in China. The group was formed after the Chinese government suppressed efforts calling for reversing the official verdict on 1989 at the occasion of the death of Zhao Ziyang, the former Party Secretary General, who died on January 17 after sixteen years’ house arrest for being sympathetic with the student movement. Chinese Rights Defenders is a network of volunteers assisting grassroots human rights activism in China. |
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