--- Tariq Siddiqui <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- Mario Goveia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >>You are probably not aware that the >>Chinese gave up brutalizing their people quite a >>while ago, and are now all having fun making lots >>of money as budding capitalists. > >Let me guess - Dick Cheney likes the Chines >communists huh? >
Tariq, It is probably more than that. Cheney likes the freedom and democracy that China now enjoys. We, who hate freedom and democracy for others, do not appreciate that. The Amnesty International has documented how nicely the Chinese Government has given up "brutalizing their people quite a while ago". Here are their last two annual reports on China. http://web.amnesty.org/web/web.nsf/print/2003-chn-summary-eng SUMMARY Serious human rights violations continued and in some respects the situation deteriorated. Tens of thousands of people continued to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association or belief. Some were sentenced to prison terms; many others were administratively detained without charge or trial. The “strike hard” campaign against crime launched in April 2001 was renewed for a further year. According to interim figures available, the crack-down led to at least 1,921 death sentences, many imposed after unfair trials, and 1,060 executions. Torture and ill-treatment remained widespread and appeared to increase as a result of the campaign. The anti-crime crack-down also extended to people accused of being “ethnic separatists”, “terrorists” and “religious extremists” in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement. Further regulations were introduced to control access to the Internet. Labour protests increased and were frequently met with excessive use of force and arbitrary detentions. In Xinjiang, restrictions increased on the cultural and religious rights of the mainly Muslim Uighur minority. In Tibet, freedom of expression and religion continued to be severely restricted, although seven prisoners of conscience were released before the end of their sentences. http://web.amnesty.org/web/web.nsf/print/2004-chn-summary-eng SUMMARY Despite a few positive steps, no attempt was made to introduce the fundamental legal and institutional reforms necessary to bring an end to serious human rights violations. Tens of thousands of people continued to be detained or imprisoned in violation of their rights to freedom of expression and association, and were at serious risk of torture or ill-treatment. Thousands of people were sentenced to death or executed. Restrictions increased on the cultural and religious rights of the mainly Muslim Uighur community in Xinjiang, where thousands of people have been detained or imprisoned for so-called “separatist” or “terrorist” offences. In Tibet and other ethnic Tibetan areas, freedom of expression and religion continued to be severely restricted. China continued to use the international “war against terrorism” as a pretext for cracking down on peaceful dissent. Cheers, Santosh