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China: Human rights on its own terms, as censored

Rule of Law Resource Center Staff
6/23/2008 4:58:55 PM

China has gone to great lengths to prevent incidents surrounding the Olympic torch and unfettered access to its restive peoples in Tibet and Xinjiang by the foreign press.

The eyes of human rights groups were on Beijing and Lhasa as the Olympic Torch passed from one of China’s most independent regions, Xinjiang, to the heart of its most famous political protester, Tibet.

China treats its diverse and restless populace carefully; indulging regional identities by having local athletes from autonomy-minded regions carry the torch, yet reinforcing its central authority by restriction of the right to assembly and mass deployment of police and security forces. Access of the foreign press to the region is similarly treated. It is allowed, but highly restricted.

According to the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy:

“. . . six United Nations Special Procedures mandate holders issued a joint statement calling for ‘greater and unfettered access to the regions for journalists and independent observers, guarantees for the free flow of information, and full implementation of international standards in regard to the treatment of protesters and those detained,’ but all of these demands were ignored.”

What does the People’s Republic of China have to hide? Why is it afraid to allow its people to exercise their human rights? What can be done about this?

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