From Human Right Appeal to Political Support

Fang Jue, a former political prisoner

10/10/2002, China

Recently, the first annual report from the US Congressional Executive Commission on China has been released. The report criticized human right condition in China, this is a satisfactory appeal.

However, such appeal has limited effect, similar reports are available on yearly basis from both the United States and Europe, and yet, the core issue - citizens’ political rights, has been continuing to deteriorate since years in China. Such reality prompts a basic question: why Western human rights policy towards China has no clear results?

The root of this abominable Chinese human rights record is from the political nature of communist dictatorship. The approach for changing human rights situation has to be with the persistence of pushing for democratization. Western policy towards China appears avoiding this issue.

Democracy in China is not a fantasy. The Bolshevik was bigger that the CCP, the Soviet army was stronger that PLA, the KGB was stranger then Chinese secret police. Nevertheless, the principal player of the cold war and founding father of the communism collapsed precisely because of internal and international democratic movement. Unfortunately, democratic countries are unwilling to promote human rights value to China; this is not that China could not establish democracy.

Democratic countries are not pressing for democratization in China; this has resulted in the slowdown of human rights amelioration, acceleration of arm proliferation, furthering China’s supports for terrorist countries and its expansionism. Consequently, a neo-communist consortium antagonist towards the democracy world by nature is emerging. This critical situation due to unwillingness has not been realized by many.

It is not that the democratic process in China has no starting point. Pressing for the CCP to hold legislative election at all levels is the essential start. Subsequently, free election will bring freedom of press, political party, demonstration and other rights in accordance with international standard will occur.

Democratic process is not a robotic process. Democratization needs democratic leaderships who understand true notions of democracy and mainstream international democratic culture. The leadership of the CCP will not produce, today or in the future, any personalities with democratic believes. High cadres of the younger generation within the CCP are nationalists, neo-totalitarian or opportunists. Chinese democrats can only occurred from out side of the CCP system. Thus, it is essential in the interests of Chinese human rights affaires to assist the Chinese democrats.

Would the Chinese dissidents be able to work in China legally, safely and without threat in accordance with the international norm? Such enterprise would be a test for the Western policy toward Chinese human rights. Democratic countries have to pressure the CCP from political, foreign policy, economic and moral aspects, so the latter would acknowledge the reality about democracy. If the Burmese military Juntas could release Aung San Suu Kyi and accept pro-democratic activities, thus there is no reason for the democratic governments to tolerate CCP’s endless oppression against the Chinese Democratic movement.

President George Walker Bush will be meeting soon with China’s highest authority for the third time. We expect the US leader not just appeals for the respect of human rights from the CCP, but also to request democratization in China as a political demand. Why a double standard policy from the US administration that calls for democratization in Cuba and not for China?

We hope that the democratic countries, after having won the war against terrorism would shift the paradigm of international affairs and security toward the pushing for a fundamental change in the communist China. The matter of fact is that the CCP is using the current time frame, the war against terrorism, to crack down the Chinese democratic movement, thus worsening its human rights record.

Some people in the west argue that the character of China is still uncertain, thus waiting for further transformation in China is needed. This is an opportunistic attitude, if democratic countries wait passively and not pushing for democratization in China, the future of China will be a very clear one: an increasingly threatening communist regime.

Western style of soft and weak appeal for human right change will never change CCP’s political nature, nor receive CCP’s sincere respond. It is time for administrations, legislatures and NGOs in the democratic countries to think seriously about how to assist politically the Chinese democrats and development of democracy in China.