Chinese envoy cautions UK against talking human rights ahead of Xi’s visit/ENG

2015. október 20./Phayul.com/TibetPress

eredeti cikk

By Tenzin Dharpo

DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 17: The Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom Liu Xiaoming cautioned the UK government against preaching human rights lectures ahead of the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the UK commencing from the Oct. 20.

Speaking at a press conference in London, he remarked that nations are berating China by using human rights issues as a tool to intrude unto her domestic matters. He said, “We don’t shy away from talking about human rights. What we are against is to use human rights to interfere with other countries’ internal affairs and to try to impose your own system on to others.”

He implied that the Chinese President would feel ‘offended’ if human rights issues were raised, according to a report in The Guardian. He assured that the carrot at the end of the stick would be lucrative to the UK saying the alliance would, “herald a golden era for the relationship”.

The envoy in an attempt to pave a strictly business encounter between the two countries emphasized that Britain was fast becoming the leader of the western world although indicating Britain is “coming up from behind” as far as relations between the two countries are concerned.

That UK government is bent on accommodating a frictionless visit for the Chinese president is indicated by Prime Minister David Cameron’s turning away from meeting with the Dalai Lama during the latter’s recent visit to the UK. The current opposition leader and leader of Labor party Jeremy Corbyn has promised that he would raise the human rights issue with Xi.

“It’s very welcome that it looks like someone is going to be raising human rights directly to Xi Jinping. The UK government says they raise issues in private, but we had a meeting with them earlier this week and they would not commit to anything that was going to happen,” says Alistair Currie from the Free Tibet campaign.

Corbyn’s concern is shared by Tibet support group ‘All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet’ which is set to arrange a ‘Stateless Lunch’ a day before Xi arrives in the UK, hosting Tibetan, Uyghur as well as Chinese human rights activists and dissidents to honor them. Fabian Hamilton from the Labor Party said, “The 'Stateless Lunch' is a statement of the concern of so many of us in Britain about this government's approach to China, which is driven by commercial interests, with human rights being an irritating distraction to be ignored in public ".

"I am honored to host Tibetans, Uyghurs and Chinese individuals who will share stories of courage, highlighting the oppression in China today under Xi Jinping”, he added.

The MP also remarked that trade and vested interests should not push issues such as human rights by the side. "It is in our interests as a country for David Cameron to publicly raise human rights as a priority with Xi Jinping, in the strongest possible terms. Engagement and trade links with China are important, but not at the expense of freedom and democracy” he said.