Ideas@TheCentre
No one cares about human rights in China these days... except the Chinese people
Last Saturday, Chinese President Hu Jintao concluded one of the most uneventful visits between the United States and China at the head-of-government level. In fact, expectations were so low in America that for the first time, the White House declined to call a meeting between the two presidents a 'summit' even as the Chinese state press reported the dialogue as confirming Hu's growing reputation on the world stage. While the Chinese media covered Hu’s every move and word to the domestic audience, it blacked out one very public and live broadcast, which is a shame because it was probably the most interesting exchange that took place over the three-day event.
President Barack Obama granted his Chinese counterpart the full bells and whistles of a state dinner, something that had been only offered to democratic leaders under the George W. Bush administration. In return, the White House insisted that the Chinese leader endure a public press conference consisting of two (unscripted) questions from American journalists and two from China.
The first American journalist asked a two-part question, including one about the lack of progress on human rights in China: 'How do you justify China's record, and do you think that's any of the business of the American people?' The Chinese president's response was to simply ignore the question.
In an exhibition of what a free and fearless media look and sound like, the second designated American journalist phrased his question to the Chinese president this way: 'First off, my colleague asked you a question about human rights which you did not answer. I was wondering if we could get an answer to that question?'
After an awkward few seconds, millions around the world (except China) watched President Hu's aide whispering some words of advice in the leader's ear. President Hu then offered the impossible excuse that the first question was not translated to him correctly and then issued the banal admission that 'more can be done on human rights in China.'
This brings us back to the significance of this exchange and the unease of the Chinese president. Chinese leaders remain defensive and fearful when it comes to the issue of human rights ... not because it matters to Westerners but because it matters to the Chinese people themselves.
John Lee is a foreign policy Research Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies.
