"If somebody attempts to table an anti-China draft resolution again this year in Geneva, then I think the outcome will not be different than the previous seven times," Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan told a news conference.

Tang repeated what he told Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Beijing earlier this week when she raised the question of human rights after a Chinese crackdown on dissidents that began last year.

"On the question of human rights there will be no way out if you replace dialogue with confrontation," Tang said.

China's agreement to undertake a dialogue on human rights with Western governments was a key factor in their decision not to seek China's censure at Geneva last year.

However, China's arrest and jailing of a number of dissidents last year for attempting to set up an opposition political party has prompted calls for a resolution condemning China when the U.N. Human Rights Commission opens this month.

Albright issued a harsh warning to Beijing over its deteriorating human rights record, which took center stage during Albright's trip, originally aimed at paving the way for an April visit to Washington by Premier Zhu Rongji.

During her talks with China's leaders, Albright hammered home the need for Beijing to relax its grip on free expression and build a multi-party democracy.

She visited China just days after the February 26 release of a damning report on human rights in China by the State Department and a 99-0 U.S. Senate vote to urge the White House to promote an anti-China resolution in Geneva.

Last December, three veteran activists were handed long jail terms for attempting to register the China Democracy Party to challenge communist rule.

Since then, at least five other opposition voices have been sent to labor camps without trial, four on charges of hiring prostitutes.

Previous Western efforts to table anti-China resolutions at the U.N. Human Rights Commission have failed to win enough votes in the face of heavy Chinese diplomatic pressure, including threats of commercial retaliation against censure supporters.

[ Homepage ] [ NewsRoom ]



This site is maintained and updated by The Office of Tibet, the official agency of His Holiness His Holiness the Dalai Lama in London. This Web page may be linked to any other Web sites. Contents may not be altered.
Last updated: 7-Mar-99