Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights

There are no independent Chinese organizations that publicly monitor or comment on human rights conditions in China. Shanghai officials, for example, have refused to register the Chinese Human Rights Association. Founders of the group were detained, but it is not clear whether their detentions resulted solely from their involvement 'in the group. The detention or incarceration of all active, prominent human rights activists confirms the Governments intolerance of such groups. For example, Wang Dan--the Tiananmen-era activist who announced in 1994 his intention to investigate China's human rights situation--was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment in October after having been held in incommunicado detention for 17 months.

Since 1991 the Government has promoted limited academic study and discussion of concepts of human rights, although activity in these areas has been less frequent since 1994. In 1993 the Government formed the China Society for Human Rights Studies as a "nongovemmental organization." Its efforts have focused largely on improving China's image abroad and responding to criticism of China's human rights record. The Society was widely regarded as the author of a March commentary published in various official newspapers and magazines entitled "A Comparison of Human Rights 'in China with Those in the United States." The article purported to refute alleged U.S. "distortions" of China's human rights record while arguing that China's human rights performance was better than that of the United States. In March the State Council's Information Office issued a VVMte Paper entitled "Safeguarding Human Rights or Interfering in Internal Affairs of China," which criticized foreign criticism of China's human rights record.

hi September the Government hosted a meeting of the Interparliamentary Union (IPU), an international organization of legislators. China played a role in efforts to draft an IPU human rights resolution, displayed greater openness on human rights issues, and agreed to a final resolution text that recognized the universality of human rights. Despite this public acknowledgment of universal human rights principles, however, Chinese officials reject in theory the universality of human rights. They argue instead that a nation's political, economic, and social system and its unique historical, religious, and cultural background determine its concept of human rights.

The Government remains reluctant to accept criticism of China's human rights situation by other nations or international organizations and often criticized reports by international human rights monitoring groups. To deflect attempts to discuss its human rights record, the Government strongly opposed and vigorously lobbied against a resolution on China's human rights record at the 1996 session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights (UNHRC). The Government also introduced a procedural motion, as it has every year the resolution is introduced, to take no action on the resolution. The motion was passed by the Commission, and the resolution was not debated by the Commission.

Nevertheless, officials no longer dismiss all discussion of human rights as interference in China's internal affairs. Chinese authorities continued to discuss human rights issues with foreign governments during bilateral visits. The Government sought to limit the Dalai Lama's influence by threatening leaders of several nations with serious diplomatic and economic consequences if they met with hi-in (see Tibet addendum). China's displeasure with those who cosponsored the UNERC resolution 'in April led it to refuse some foreign governments' requests to hold a human rights dialog.