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U.S. Actively Promoting Democracy and Rule of Law in China

State Department report cites U.S. programs supporting human rights

The United States actively is pursuing multiple strategies to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law in China.

In its annual report documenting U.S. efforts to promote human rights around the world, the State Department said its comprehensive strategy included bilateral diplomatic efforts, multilateral action and support through Chinese government and nongovernmental channels for rule of law and civil society programs.

The congressionally mandated report, Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record, 2005-2006, was released by the State Department April 5.

It is a companion to the State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. It takes the next step by moving from highlighting abuses to publicizing the actions and programs the United States has taken to end those abuses.

The president and other senior U.S. officials consistently urged China to respect international standards for religious freedom for people of all faiths, the report said.

President Bush emphasized the importance of religious freedom during his November 2005 meetings with Chinese leaders and by attending a church service in Beijing. That same year, Chinese officials addressed international concerns by publicly stating that minors were free to receive religious education from their parents.

The United States sought to strengthen China's judicial system, advance the rule of law, encourage democratic political reform, improve transparency in governance and strengthen civil society. To reach those goals, the report says, the United States funds a large program to promote legal reform and encourage judicial independence, increase popular participation in government and foster the development of local and civil society projects in China.

In 2005, the United States brought U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Anthony M. Kennedy to China to discuss rule of law issues with Chinese legislators, lawyers and professors. In addition, the United States government also supported seminars and training on international standards for free expression, reaching out to journalists, lawyers, judges and lawmakers.

The report notes the United States devoted significant resources and time to address other human rights concerns, including urging China, publicly and privately, not to use the war on terrorism as justification for cracking down on Uighurs, the largest non-Chinese ethnic group in the Xinjiang region of China, for expressing peaceful political dissent.

U.S. officials also pressed the Chinese government not to forcibly repatriate North Koreans and to allow the U.N. High Commission for Refugees access to this vulnerable population, as required by international conventions China has signed.

The United States called for China's compliance with international labor standards. The U.S. Embassy worked to monitor Chinese labor compliance and allegations of forced child labor. The United States also supported programs of technical cooperation to advance labor rule of law and coal mine safety as well as exchange programs of occupational safety and health.

Other U.S. programs worked against the discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS in the workplace and improved the ability of labor institutions to combat trafficking for labor purposes, the report said.

The Chinese government continued to deny citizens basic democratic rights, and law enforcement authorities continued to suppress political, religious and social groups perceived to be a threat to national stability, according to the State Department report.

The Chinese government adopted measures to control print, broadcast and electronic media more tightly and pressured Internet companies to censor and restrict the content of material available online, the report says.

Regarding Tibet, Beijing's human rights record remained poor and the level of repression of religious freedom remained high. Beijing continued to view the Dalai Lama with suspicion and tended to associate Tibetan Buddhist religious activity with separatist sympathies.

In 2005, China again was designated a "Country of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act for particularly severe violations of religious freedom. China also was designated as a Tier 2 watch list country in the U.S. Trafficking in Persons report for failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking, specifically its inadequate protection for trafficking victims, particularly foreign women (especially those from Vietnam) and mainland Chinese women routed for sex work in Taiwan.

Source: U.S. Department of State