in a letter sent from 11 Members of Congress to Secretary Kerry<\/a> in March asking Kerry to raise Thabkhe Gyatso and other Tibetan political prisoners\u2019 cases with his Chinese counterparts.<\/p>\nThe joint NGO letter also asks the U.S. delegation, while in Beijing, to meet with human rights defenders and representatives of China\u2019s civil society, including Tibetans and Uyghurs, as President Obama recently did in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis final S&ED for the Obama Administration is an ideal opportunity for the U.S. to push the Chinese government forcefully and publicly on human rights issues in China and Tibet, and we hope that the U.S. delegation will make full use of this opportunity to do so while in Beijing,\u201d said Matteo Mecacci, president of ICT.<\/p>\n
The joint NGO letter was prepared and signed by:<\/p>\n
Amnesty International USA
China Aid
Freedom House
Human Rights in China
Human Rights Watch
Initiatives for China
International Campaign for Tibet
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Uyghur Human Rights Project
World Uyghur Congress<\/p>\n
For the full text of the letter:<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"NGOs\"](\"http:\/\/www.savetibet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ngo-logos-0602-600x351.jpg\")
June 2, 2016<\/p>\n
The Honorable John F. Kerry
U.S. Department of State
2201 C St NW
Washington, DC 20520
Via Fax: 2026472283; 2026477350<\/em><\/p>\nThe Honorable Jacob J. Lew
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20220
Via Fax: 2026220073; 2022620417<\/em><\/p>\nRe: The 2016 US-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue<\/strong><\/p>\nDear Secretary Kerry and Secretary Lew,<\/p>\n
As the Administration prepares for its final US-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue (S&ED), which will convene in Beijing June 6-8, 2016, we urge you to use this opportunity to call on the Chinese government to withdraw legislation it has adopted that denies human rights to citizens of the People\u2019s Republic of China. Further, we urge the United States to make a strong public statement expressing the U.S. government\u2019s deep concern about the human rights situation in China, and publicly call on the Chinese government to release all individuals who have been unjustly imprisoned or disappeared for peacefully expressing their fundamental human rights.<\/p>\n
The downward slide of human rights and rule of law in China since Xi Jinping became president is well documented. The State Department noted this trend in its most recent annual human rights report on China: \u201cRepression and coercion markedly increased during the year against organizations and individuals involved in civil and political rights advocacy and public interest and ethnic minority issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
We applaud the U.S. government for taking the lead on the joint statement issued by 12 countries at the 31st session of the UN Human Rights Council in March, expressing concern about China\u2019s deteriorating human rights record. As China becomes increasingly aggressive and dismissive of the rules-based international order, it is imperative that the U.S. confront Beijing as robustly on the universality of human rights as it does on cybersecurity or the South China Sea. Few aspects of the bilateral relationship can fully succeed unless Chinese authorities respect the free flow of information, remove the judiciary from Communist Party control, and tolerate peacefully expressed ideas, no matter how critical of the Party-state. Moreover, Chinese authorities\u2019 increasing proclivity to carry out abuses beyond China\u2019s borders stands to further complicate ties.<\/p>\n
Therefore, we urge you to build on the momentum of the March joint statement, and press forcefully on human rights in this high-profile and wide-ranging diplomatic gathering.<\/p>\n
Specifically, we urge that you:<\/p>\n
\n- Meet with human rights defenders and representatives of China\u2019s civil society, including Uyghurs and Tibetans and individuals from other ethnic minority communities and religious groups, as President Obama did recently in Vietnam. If such a meeting is not possible during the S&ED, commit publicly to a meeting outside China with representatives of those communities.<\/li>\n
- Explain unequivocally to your Chinese counterparts that China\u2019s new National Security Law, Counterterrorism Law, and Foreign NGO Management Law will obstruct bilateral cooperation on a range of issues, from law enforcement cooperation to various \u201cpeople-to-people\u201d programs. Press the Chinese government to either withdraw these laws, or at a minimum, substantially revise them to bring them into compliance with international human rights standards, and stress that the U.S. opposes all carve-outs (i.e., exemptions from the restrictive law only for activities that the Chinese government deems \u201cacceptable,\u201d for example, in the areas of education, health, etc.).<\/li>\n
- As the U.S. did in the March joint statement at the Human Rights Council, publicly call for the release of specific individuals detained for peacefully exercising their rights. While there are thousands of such individuals detained, disappeared, or subjected to unlawful \u201chouse arrest,\u201d we include here a handful who represent particular communities that have been targeted: press freedom advocate Guo Feixiong<\/strong> (aka Yang Maodong), who went on a hunger strike in May to protest his lack of adequate medical care and abusive and degrading treatment by prison authorities; more than 20 human rights lawyers, such as Wang Yu<\/strong> and Li Heping<\/strong>, formally arrested for crimes including \u201csubversion of state power\u201d and \u201cinciting subversion of state power\u201d as a result of the July 9, 2015 crackdown on rights lawyers; Ilham Tohti<\/strong>, prominent Ugyhur economist and writer serving a life sentence, and a finalist for this year\u2019s prestigious Martin Ennals Human Rights Award; Liu Xiaobo<\/strong>, political reform advocate and 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner; Thabkhe<\/strong> (aka Thamkey) Gyatso<\/strong>, a Tibetan Buddhist monk imprisoned since 2008, who is now severely ill; and Yang Hua<\/strong>, a house church pastor in Guiyang. We also ask that you press the Chinese government to allow veteran journalist Gao Yu<\/strong>, who has been released from prison but is in poor health, to travel to Germany to seek necessary medical treatment for heart disease and other conditions.<\/li>\n
- Publicly express the United States\u2019 concerns about restrictions on religious freedom and belief that contravene international law and the Chinese constitution. Tell your counterparts that the Chinese government must cease demolishing churches, tearing down crosses, forcing Falun Gong adherents to renounce their faith, and preventing certain Chinese citizens from gathering to worship or meditate. The vaguely worded counterterrorism and national security laws will give Chinese authorities yet another tool to criminally prosecute Uyghur Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists for virtually any manifestation of religious and cultural beliefs, in contravention of international human rights law.<\/li>\n
- Publicly express the United States\u2019 concerns about restrictions on freedom of expression in China, ranging from the Great Firewall to the Communist Party\u2019s tight control over media outlets and the harassment and jailing of independent journalists. China ranks 176 out of 180 countries on Reporters Without Borders\u2019 2016 World Press Freedom Index and ranks in last place in Freedom House\u2019s 2015 Freedom on the Net<\/em> report. We urge the U.S. to continue advocating forcefully for American journalists\u2019 access to and freedom inside China, and ask that it also do so for Chinese journalists.<\/li>\n
- Call on your Chinese counterparts to explain the legal basis on which their agents detained Swedish national Gui Minhai in Thailand, Hong Kong citizen Lee Bo in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong citizens Lui Por, Cheung Chi Ping, and Lam Wing Kee in the mainland. Explain that these detentions\u2014along with other commentary from senior Chinese officials disregarding key aspects of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law\u2014will have serious consequences for Beijing with respect to global perceptions of its willingness to adhere to binding treaty obligations. Reiterate the United States\u2019 commitment to the right to meaningful public participation in government, directly or through freely chosen representatives, in Hong Kong and in the mainland.<\/li>\n
- Press Chinese counterparts to include an explicit and robust human rights component in future S&EDs, and the U.S. delegation should report publicly, ideally from Beijing, which human rights issues and specific cases were raised during the S&ED.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
We appreciate your consideration of the concerns raised here, and stand ready to assist as needed. We also encourage you to conduct an assessment of the \u201cwhole of government\u201d approach with respect to the S&ED and U.S. China policy more broadly since 2009, and identify areas to build upon for the benefit of future Administrations, as the U.S. will face an increasingly complex relationship with China in the years ahead.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
T. Kumar<\/strong>
International Advocacy Director
Amnesty International USA<\/p>\nBob Fu<\/strong>
President and Founder
China Aid<\/p>\nMark P. Lagon<\/strong>
President
Freedom House<\/p>\nSharon Hom<\/strong>
Executive Director
Human Rights in China<\/p>\nSophie Richardson<\/strong>
China Director
Human Rights Watch<\/p>\nDr. Yang Jianli<\/strong>
President and Founder
Initiatives for China<\/p>\nMatteo Mecacci<\/strong>
President
International Campaign for Tibet<\/p>\nDelphine Halgand<\/strong>
US Director
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)<\/p>\nAlim Seytoff<\/strong>
Executive Director
Uyghur Human Rights Project<\/p>\nOmer Kanat<\/strong>
Vice President
World Uyghur Congress<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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