The following is an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government:
Serious human rights abuses continue in China. At a congressional hearing on human rights and China’s one-child-per-family policy, Michael Kozak, U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, said these abuses include “torture and mistreatment of prisoners, incommunicado detention, and denial of due process” of law.
The Chinese government has taken some positive steps related to fighting corruption, extending social security, and other issues. But Mr. Kozak said it is “a very discouraging development [that] we continue to see detentions and arrests of those seeking to take advantage of the space created by reforms.” Those targeted for arrest include people discussing political topics on the Internet, health activists, labor protesters, and journalists. In addition, Muslims, Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, and others seeking to practice their faith without government interference have been detained.
Human rights abuses against women also continues to be a serious problem in China. The Chinese government’s infamous one-child policy, says Mr. Kozak, has “resulted in instances of forced abortion and forced sterilization.” He listed other abuses as well:
“Its coercive family planning policies; the abuse of administrative detention, particularly the continued use of re-education through labor; the forced incarceration of citizens in psychiatric hospitals; and the use of torture to get detainees to confess alleged crimes or to recant their beliefs.”
Mr. Kozak said the case of a woman named Mao Hengfeng highlights the “particularly serious abuses” under the Chinese system. For standing up for the right to determine the size of one’s own family, Mao Hengfeng was fired from her job, confined in a psychiatric facility, given large doses of drugs while pregnant, and coerced into having an abortion. She is now is in a forced-labor camp.
The U.S., says Acting Assistant Secretary of State Kozak, is “committed to standing with those people in China who, like Ms. Mao, are struggling for their human rights.” And the U.S., he says, remains committed to working with China until the time when its policies respect fundamental rights.
