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Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition News and Article Release Issue: A28-O7
中国民主运动海外联席会议新闻与文章发布号：A28-O7
Release Date: September 18, 2003
发布日：2003年9月18日
Topic: Wei Meets Craner and Calls Members to prepare for next UNHCHR in
Geneva
标题：魏京生与克莱纳助理国务卿会谈细节，并号召联席会议成员为明年春的联合国人权年会作准备
Editor's note:
On August 19, as I was driving to Washington, DC to participate in an
upcoming meeting with Mr. Craner the next day, I heard the news of the
explosion at the UN headquarters in Baghdad and that Mr. Sergio Vieira de
Mello was hurt. A few hours later, he died. Great sadness overwhelmed me for
the rest of my driving hours.
Only four months ago, I met him in Geneva where he served as the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (see our newsletter A13-G5). The
photos we took together were the only ones of hundreds that I took this year
that did not come out quite right (the photo link: http://weijingsheng.org/pic/newsletters/newsletters2003/UN0304deMello.jpg
. The third from left is Mr. De Mello; the fourth from left is Ciping Huang).
So even a physicist had to say: "I hope it was not an omen."
It has not been easy as a human rights defender. The day I called myself as a
human rights defender was the day I realized the additional danger I had to
face. The danger comes with the path we choose, not bad luck. In our struggle
for other's freedom and peace, we are paying the price of our own freedom and
peace.
Now, after years have passed, all the struggling has made me learn that the
path is not just very difficult, but dangerous, even deadly. We have received
oral and written threats for what we have done, threats even to our lives,
even on the USA soil. Consciously, one has to bravely prepare for tragedy and
death with expectation, instead of with fear. Nevertheless, when a fellow
human rights defender falls, the sense of loss and sorrow is only greater.
That day, I had a close call of an accident myself. It made me further
realize that human life is fragile, but not the human spirit.
Hereby, I want to dedicate this issue to the lives lost during the August
19's bombing, especially to Mr. De Mello, this leader and martyr of the human
rights defenders.
-- Ciping Huang
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Wei Jingsheng Meets U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Lorne Craner and Calls
Coalition Members to prepare for the next UNHCHR in Geneva, Switzerland
On August 20, 2003, Mr. Wei Jingsheng met with the US Assistant Secretary of
State Lorne Craner to exchange information and discuss Chinese human rights
issues. Mr. Wei again urged the top official of the State Department in
charge of human rights to push for Chinese human rights improvements,
especially to make an effort to bring a resolution condemning the Chinese
government's human rights record to the United Nations' higher commission on
human rights (UNHCHR) in Geneva, Switzerland.
(Since he regained his freedom, Mr. Wei has been in Europe every spring
except this year, attending the annual human rights commission in Geneva and
lobbying the US and other democratic nations in an effort to bring a
resolution to condemn the Chinese government's human rights record. Although
a resolution has not been passed, we have received significant feedback from
dissidents in China reporting the positive outcome of such an effort.)
During the meeting, Mr. Craner told Mr. Wei that the US government has been
very disappointed with the Chinese government for its poor human rights
records, as well as the pledges they did not fulfill. The whole State
Department knows such a fact, and they do not like it, Mr. Craner told Wei.
Mr. Craner told us in detail that not only has the Chinese government not
realized a list of pledges they made to the US government regarding
improvement of their human rights conditions, they simply behave as if
without knowledge of such pledges which were made during a meeting that
several dozen people attended. It was exactly these promises that in part
made the Bush government not pursue a resolution against the Chinese
government this year. So presently, the US government is considering bringing
the China resolution to the table for the next year UNHCHR and is actively
seeking cooperation and co-sponsorship elsewhere.
Mr. Wei told Mr. Craner that this resolution is our goal and he will add his
effort to lobbying other organizations and other nations' governments as
well. Mr. Wei also told Mr. Craner that the very fact of the possibility of
presenting such a resolution would help the hard fighting Chinese people
inside China. The last two years have been very difficult for our fellows
inside China from the lack such a resolution. (One example illustrating the
effect of a resolution: An Jun was the founder of the China Corruption
Monitor. His writings were used as evidence of anti-state activities and he
was sentenced 4 years. An's verdict was not announced until April 19, 2000,
the day after the UN high commission on human rights failed to pass a US
sponsored resolution to condemn Chinese human rights abuses.)
Mr. Wei pointed out that such a failure of the Chinese government's pledge is
not due to personnel changes or leadership transition, it is really the
strategy of the Chinese government which had no sincerity but was just trying
to pass another year with its lies and deception. We must not to trust what
the Chinese government says but watch what it does. After all, hooligans will
not honor a gentlemen's bargain, unless they have to.
As our coalition members know, despite our effort, the last two years have
been the most disappointing and difficult years for us in Geneva, not just
due to the deterioration of human rights in China, but also due to the lack
of pressure applied to the Chinese government during the annual UNHCHR. This
failure was partially due to inadequate preparation, lack of any operation
money, but largely due to the undesirable international atmosphere especially
when other political considerations were put above human rights, even at the
UNHCHR where one would think human rights should be the first priority.
The result was that not only human rights conditions in China got worse; even
our own members were intimidated and harassed by Chinese government agents
both in Geneva during the UNHCHR session and when they returned back to
China.
We welcome the US government's considering presenting a resolution condemning
the Chinese government's human rights record next spring. We urge our friends
and members to continue our quest and effort to reach such a goal. The more
pressure we apply to the Chinese government, the more relief our countrymen
will feel back in China.
Hereby, as the Chairman of the Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition, Mr. Wei
Jingsheng urges the members of our coalition, especially those in Europe, to
get prepared for the upcoming UNHCHR annual meeting, contact the NGO's and
governments of your residence, collect the information about human right
abuses in China, and prepare demonstration material for our coalition meeting
next spring in Geneva.
编者的话：
8月19日，就在我开车前往华盛顿，准备参加第二天和克莱纳先生会谈的时候，我听到了巴格达联合国总部被炸的消息。谢久．维也拉．德．梅洛(Sergio
Vieira de Mello)先生在这次事件中受伤，几个小时以后不幸身亡。后来的几小时行程中，我为此一直沉浸在沉痛和悲哀之中。
仅仅四个月前，我还在日内瓦和德．梅洛先生相见。那时他是联合国人权高级专员（见我们的新闻发布A13-G5）。我和施杰欧.迈龙先生的合影，是我一年中一堆相片中的唯一不成功的（参见网页联接：http://weijingsheng.org/pic/newsletters/newsletters2003/UN0304deMello.jpg
左起第三为德．梅洛先生，左起第四为黄慈萍）。看到这样的相片，甚至物理学家也会说：“希望这不是背运的暗示。”
每当我想到自己是一名人权的捍卫者，就会使我意识到我所面临的额外危险。但是，这个危险来自我们自己选择的道路，而不是“背运”。为了争取大众的自由与和平，我们必须先付出自己的自由与平静。
今天，多年奋斗的艰难让我明白，我们所选择的道路不仅非常崎岖，而且十分险恶，甚至是死亡之路。即使是在自由的美国的领土上，我们也收到过口头的甚止是书面的威胁，乃至扬言要我们付出生命的代价。在这种情形下，我们不是害怕，而是更勇敢地准备任何悲剧和意料中的死亡。然而，当又一个人权捍卫者倒下去，悲哀和损失的沉痛却更为强烈。
那一天，我自己也险些卷入一个事故。这更使我意识到，人的生命是很脆弱的，但是人的精神并不脆弱。
我谨将此期献给在8月19日爆炸事件中死难的人们，特别是德．梅洛先生这样一个人权运动的领袖和烈士。
-- 黄慈萍
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魏京生与克莱纳助理国务卿会谈细节，并号召联席会议成员为明春联合国人权年会做准备
2003年8月20日，魏京生先生会见了美国国务卿助理克莱纳先生，就中国人权问题交换了意见。魏先生再次敦促美国掌管人权事务的最高领导人为中国的人权状况做出努力，特别是希望能在日内瓦人权会议上提出有关对中国政府不良人权纪录的谴责案。
（自从重获自由以来，除了今年身体欠佳，魏先生每年春季都去欧洲参加日内瓦的人权年会，为谴责中国政府人权纪录的提案，游说于美国和其他民主国家。尽管提案没有被通过，我们还是收到了大量的中国持不同政见者的良好反应。不幸的是，在过去的两年中，议案没有能够再次提出，这成了中国人权状况继续恶化的原因之一。）
在会谈中，克莱纳先生告诉魏京生，美国政府对中国政府的人权记录变坏，及中国政府不兑现所做出的有关承诺的做法非常失望。克莱纳先生说，国务院上上下下对这一不争的事实都很有看法。
克莱纳先生告诉我们，中国政府曾经在几十人参加的会议上对美国政府做出了“改善人权”的具体承诺，但是之后，中国政府不仅没有兑现这一系列的承诺，而且装出根本不知道这些承诺存在的模样。而正因为这些承诺，才促使布什政府放弃了在今年日内瓦年会上提出谴责案。最近，美国政府决定提前动手，为明年在日内瓦人权年会上提交这个提案作准备，目前正在寻找合作和协作伙伴。
魏先生告诉克莱纳先生，这个提案是我们的目的，他将不懈地努力，游说各个团体组织及各国政府。魏先生说，事实上这个提案的提出的本身就会非常有效地帮助中国本土那些艰难奋斗的人们。过去两年中，因为没有这个提案，他们的处境非常艰辛。（一个事例是：安均是中国腐化监督会的创建者，他的文章被用作指责反对政府的证据，由此判了4年徒刑。但是安均的审判结果等到2002年4月19日才宣布，那是联合国人权委员会没有通过美国提出的"谴责中国政府人权纪录"提案的第二天。）
魏先生指出，中国政府对它所做的承诺的失败，既不是由于政府领导阶层的变更，也不是由于外交人员的调换，而是中国政府的一贯伎俩，他们从来没有诚意，只是用谎言和欺骗来拖过一年又一年。我们不能只听任中国政府说什么，而是要观看他们真正做了什么。毕竟，不到万不得已，痞子是不会和君子做正当交易的。
正如我们的成员所知，尽管我们竭尽全力，过去两年是我们在日内瓦年会上深感困难和极其失望的两年。这不仅仅因为中国的人权现状在继续恶化，而且还因为日内瓦年会没有能给中国政府施加压力。这样的失败固然有我们准备不足且缺少资金的原因，但主要还是因为不理想的国际气候，特别是当政治需求高于人权意识的时候。遗憾的是，即使是在日内瓦人权年会那种人权本应是第一优先考虑的地方，政治现实与较量也常常成了压倒一切的因素。
结果是不仅中国人权现状继续恶化，而且我们自己的成员也被中国政府官员、打手多次骚扰。这样的骚扰在我们的成员返国探亲的时候发生，甚至在日内瓦年会上也发生。
我们欢迎美国政府对明年春季提出有关中国政府人权纪录提案的考虑。我们希望所有朋友们和联席会议的成员们继续为达到这个目的贡献力量。我们给中国政府施加的压力越大，我们在国内的朋友的处境才会有所改善和放松。
在此，中国民主运动海外联席会议主席魏京生先生呼吁海外民运联席会议的成员，特别是那些在欧洲的成员，积极行动起来，为明春的联合国日内瓦会议作充分的准备。尽早地收集有关中国政府践踏人权的资料，汇集成文，与各民间团体及非政府组织与所居住国的政府联系，以明年能在联合国成功地提出并通过对中国政府的人权谴责案为目标而努力。除了以往的抗议活动以外，我们也打算同时在日内瓦附近举行联席会议，请大家做好准备。
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