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    February 17, 2012

Concerns Raised About Human Rights During Chinese VP Visit

   William Ide

   Trade and security issues topped Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's
   talks in the United States this week, but a wide range of concerns
   about human rights were raised during the visit as well.
   It was a visit marked by contrasts.
   Just outside the White House, protesters called for Xi Jinping's
   attention Inside, China's presumed next leader held talks with
   President Barack Obama.
   Alim Seytoff with the Uighur American Association explained what the
   protesters want. "Our hope is that when President Obama and Vice
   President Joe Biden meet with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, they
   would raise human rights issues, specifically the case of Uighur
   Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists," he said. "In addition to the Chinese
   dissidents and lawyers who have been locked up and disappeared."
   That same day, the wives of two imprisoned Chinese rights advocates
   pleaded their husbands' cases before U.S. lawmakers hosted by the
   Congressional Executive Commission on China.
   Li Jing's husband was a university professor. "My husband Guo Quan is
   currently in prison serving a 10-year sentence for peacefully
   expressing his opinions about democracy and human rights," she
   explained.
   Geng He's husband is an attorney, Gao Zhisheng. She hasn't seen him in
   nearly two years and doesn't know if he is even alive. "In September
   2007, authorities disappeared Zhisheng and held him for over 50 days
   after he wrote an open letter to the U.S. Congress exposing human
   rights abuses in China," she stated. "Policemen covered his head with a
   black mask and took him into a room where they stripped him naked and
   beat him."
   Human rights advocate Jared Genser says Gao's case is a bellwether for
   the rights situation in China. "Mr. Gao is not a traditional dissident;
   he is a lawyer. A vanguard of the 'weiquan' or 'rights defending'
   movement, Mr. Gao attempted to promote the rights of his clients from
   working within the system. His case shows the government's willingness
   to persecute those that promote the rule of law from within, but he is
   not alone," he noted.
   In a meeting with Xi Jinping, U.S. lawmakers raised Gao's situation,
   and their concerns about protests in Tibetan areas of China, marked by
   a wave of self-immolations.
   International concerns about human rights are a persistent problem for
   China.
   Gao Wenqian is with Human Rights in China and spoke with VOA via Skype.
   "Chinese authorities do not even follow their own established laws," he
   said. "And when they arrest activists or dissidents, China uses the law
   to hide its shame and its legal framework to justify its actions."
   During his White House visit, Xi defended China's human rights record,
   saying China is making progress at its own pace. But that position fell
   on deaf ears outside.