In a public letter
released today,
CHRD calls on President Barack Obama to make a clear and strong
commitment to
human rights, democratization, and rule of law in China during his
upcoming visit
to the country.  President Obama is
scheduled to meet with Chinese leaders from November 15 to 18 to
discuss issues
including climate change, nuclear proliferation, and ongoing economic
concerns.  
(Source: Chinese
Human Rights Defenders, 10 November 2009)

In a public letter
released today,
CHRD calls on President Barack Obama to make a clear and strong
commitment to
human rights, democratization, and rule of law in China during his
upcoming visit
to the country.  President Obama is
scheduled to meet with Chinese leaders from November 15 to 18 to
discuss issues
including climate change, nuclear proliferation, and ongoing economic
concerns.  

The
group of activists, many of whom are based in China, warns that any
pledges by
the Chinese government to tackle climate change and other global
challenges are
likely to remain empty promises unless Chinese citizens are able to
freely
engage in the process of implementing these reforms without the fear of
repercussions.   

"Civil
society participation is critical to the United States' interest in a
genuinely
productive partnership with China on cutting greenhouse gases," said
Renee Xia,
CHRD's International Director, "and one of the primary obstacles facing
Chinese
citizens hoping to monitor government actions is official censorship,
especially
on the internet.  Mr. Obama should urge
the Chinese president: 'Mr. Hu, please tear down the Great Firewall!'"

According
to Jeffrey
Bader, the National Security Council Senior Director for East Asian
Affairs,
President Obama "will raise human rights concerns directly with
President Hu in
his meetings."  We hope that the President
will urge his Chinese counterpart to take a number of concrete actions
to
promote human rights, including:

• Releasing
  imprisoned environmentalists
  and human rights activists such as Wu
  Lihong, Sun
  Xiaodi, Hu
  Jia, Tan
  Zuoren, and Liu
  Xiaobo;
• Ceasing
  the practice of using Article
  105 of the Criminal Code to criminalize free speech;
• And
  ratifying the International Covenant
  on Civil and Political Rights. 

To read their letter to Barack Obama, please click here (CHRD website).