The New York Times

Wednesday, September 16, 1998

UN RIGHTS OFFICIAL, BACK FROM CHINA, SEES BETTER ATTITUDE

By Elisabeth Rosenthal

BEIJING - At the end of what she called "a successful but not always easy first visit to China," Mary Robinson, UN human rights commissioner, said Tuesday day that despite continuing human rights abuses, she had sensed among Chinese leaders a new willingness to discuss the country's human rights record.

Mrs. Robinson said she had been told by Chinese officials that they were prepared to sign the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights next month. She said that the Chinese government had also signed a letter of understanding with the Human Rights Commission requesting technical assistance on human rights issues.

"China has human rights problems, major problems," Mrs. Robinson said at a press conference Tuesday morning in Beijing. But, she added, "I was interested in the awareness of and willingness to admit human rights problems among China's leaders."

Mrs. Robinson praised China's willingness to allow the Human Rights Commission to work in the country, since China has previously rejected what it regarded as outside interference in its internal affairs. "It has to be apparent what a ground-breaking visit this is," she said. "Human rights not talked about here."

But human rights groups reacted with only cautious optimism, noting that the ultimate success of the Commissioner's visit hinges on whether China's avowed commitment to human rights leads to concrete changes in a country where people are still imprisoned without trial and cannot speak out against the government.

Mike Jendreczyk, Washington Director of Human Rights Watch Asia, said the commitments are a step forward, but what remains to be seen is whether China takes specific actions as a result of the trip." He and others expressed disappointment that Mrs. Robinson had not met with dissidents or their relatives.

Indeed, Mrs. Robinson's 10-day trip was punctuated by poignant reminders of the contradictions in China's human rights policies, where scattered signs of liberalization

are often offset by harsh repression.

During the visit, dissidents from two provinces said they had gotten encouraging signals when they applied for permission to organize an opposition political party, an act that had landed dissidents in jail just three months ago. And, at a seminar, Mrs. Robinson heard Chinese lawyers criticize the lack of protection defendants have under Chinese law.

But that same week, officer of Beijing's Public Security Bureau arrested and allegedly beat an imprisoned dissident's wife, Chu Hailan, as she tried to deliver a letter to Mrs. Robinson. And a liberal journalist and editor, Shi Binhai, was taken from his home and 10 days later was still being held without explanation or charges.

Such contradiction were not lost on Mrs. Robinson, who said that she had called the Chinese Foreign Ministry to demand Mrs. Chu's release after she heard about the arrest. Mrs. Chu was released that same evening. Mr. Shi's status is still unclear.

Mrs. Robinson said that during her visit she had received a number of faxes, letters and oral messages regarding individual cases. "I have become aware of a number of cases that I will bring up with authorities back in Geneva," she said.

Mrs. Robinson said that in meetings yesterday with President Jiang Zemin and Deputy Prime Minister Qian Qichen she had inquired about the whereabouts of the 9-year-old boy decreed by the Dalai Lama to be the reincarnetion of the Panchen Lama, the second-ranking spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists. China has said the boy and his parents are under its protection at an undisclosed location, and has selected its own youth as the Panchen Lama.

The Commissioner also urged President Jiang to meet with the Dalai Lama and asked for a review of the sentences of those arrested in connection with the 1989 pro-democracy protest in Tiananmen Square.

Mrs. Robinson traveled to Beijing and Shanghai, discussing a broad range rights issues, from dissidents to China's justice system to discrimination against women. She also made a brief visit to Tibet, which she characterized as "very restrictive and very difficult, as many opportunities in the country are."

Nonetheless, she defended her work there - which included passing out copies of the United Nations Universal Declaretion on Human Rights in Tibetan school - as a step in the right direction.

Mrs. Robinson repeatedly said that the main goal of her trip was merely to "start a process of cooperation" and did not say if she had gotten any concrete commitments for change during her lengthy meetings with Chinese leaders.

Many human rights experts say are anxious for details. While they say they are happy that China has now given a timetable for signing the convents and has committed to further cooperation with the United Nations, they note that Beijing has not always lived up to such promises.

The International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights, which China plans to sign next month, along with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, signed last year, are comprehensive documents protecting rights from freedom of speech to freedom to form trade unions.

But China's governing bodies still have to ratify both documents and might try to attach caveats that would blunt their impact, Mr. Jendrzeczyk said.

Some dissidents said that Mrs. Robinson visit as well as a slight loosening of official policy had already helped their cause.

"China is beginning to acknowledge the existence of human rights through this visit and through these convenants," said Wang Youcai, a dissident from Hangzhou who was arrested in July for trying to form a political party."I think the likelihood I'lle be re-arrested now is small."