Washington, May 17 (IANS) US President Donald Trump’s apparent reluctance to raise human rights concerns during his latest engagement with Chinese President Xi Jinping marks a significant departure from past American diplomacy toward China, according to a report by The Guardian.
According to a report by The Guardian, Trump gave a restrained response when asked before leaving for Beijing whether he would raise the case of jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai with Xi Jinping.
“I’ll bring him up,” Trump said, before adding, “It’s like saying to me, ‘If Comey ever went to jail, would you let him out?’ It might be a hard one for me.” Trump was referring to former FBI Director James B Comey, who has frequently been targeted by him politically.
According to a report by The Guardian, the limited emphasis on human rights in current US-China talks reflects broader political changes in both countries.
The report further noted that previous US presidents publicly raised issues such as religious freedom, Tibet, and political prisoners during official engagements with Beijing.
Former President George W Bush attended a church service in Beijing in 2008 to advocate religious freedom, while Barack Obama urged then Chinese President Hu Jintao to reopen dialogue with the Dalai Lama during his 2009 state visit.
"When Barack Obama made his state visit the following year, he urged China’s then president Hu Jintao to reopen talks with the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet,” the report stated.
“Both Bush and Obama have themselves been accused of war crimes and human rights abuses related to the US’s “war on terror”. But their public support for minorities and activists in China was welcomed by the country’s nascent civil society movement,” it added.
The report mentioned: “One of the most high-profile cases of US intervention came in 2012 when the Obama administration helped to evacuate a blind human rights lawyer, Chen Guangcheng, after he escaped from house arrest. (Chen later urged US voters to elect Trump, claiming he would “stand up to tyranny”.)
The report also highlights growing concerns among activists over the shrinking space for civil liberties in China under President Xi Jinping.
Since taking power in 2012, Xi has overseen a sweeping crackdown on dissent, civil society groups, religious minorities and activists.
“These are very, very difficult times for human rights defenders,” Sophie Richardson, co-executive director of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, told The Guardian. “I don’t think any democratic government has really kept pace in its interventions with Beijing.”
The report further cited disbarred Chinese human rights lawyer Ren Quanniu, who said the Chinese Communist Party now “seems immune to so-called condemnations and the international community.”
According to The Guardian, China has increasingly dismissed Western criticism as hypocritical, particularly after years of criticism of US domestic issues and foreign policy actions. The report noted that in 2021, China’s State Council released a detailed report on alleged human rights violations in the United States, opening with the phrase, “I can’t breathe,” the final words of George Floyd.
Despite concerns over Trump’s softer tone, the US President claimed that human rights issues were discussed during this week’s summit with Xi. Speaking to Fox News while returning home, Trump said he had raised both Jimmy Lai’s case and the detention of several Christian pastors in China.
Trump said Xi was “seriously considering” releasing some detained religious leaders targeted during recent crackdowns on Christians. The remarks were welcomed by relatives of detainees. Grace Jin Drexel, whose father Ezra Jin was detained last year, said, “It’s a major answer to our prayers and we’re also so grateful to everyone who has walked alongside us at the most difficult time.”
However, according to the report by The Guardian, Trump still described Jimmy Lai’s release as a “tough one,” despite the 78-year-old media mogul receiving bipartisan support in the United States.
--IANS
rs/mr
