THE United States has introduced a resolution condemning China before the Geneva-based Human Rights Commission, setting the stage for a new confrontation only hours after the conclusion of the standoff on Hainan island. Owing to a technical deadline, the resolution - sponsored by a Western nation nearly every year since the Tiananmen Square killings - had to be tabled by 1 pm yesterday.

You couldn't say they are connected,' a State Department official said. 'There was a deadline.'

China has managed to rebuff censure every time the resolution has been introduced through a combination of trade deals and hardball lobbying of the swing votes on the 53-member commission.

uman-rights experts said President Jiang Zemin's tour of Central and South America - which took him away from the crisis - was connected to defeating the US-sponsored resolution.

'All the countries he's going to, except for Chile, are on the Human Rights Commission,' said Mr Mike Jendrzejczyk, an expert on Asian issues at Human Rights Watch International.

'He's signing trade and investment agreements everywhere he's going. This is the same approach China uses every year, and it always works.'

Mr Jiang is on a whirlwind visit to Venezuela, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina and Cuba - all of which are now serving three-year terms on the Human Rights Commission, an independent UN body.

This year's human-rights resolution, like the nine before it, criticises Beijing's 'severe measures' restricting its citizens' freedom of religion, assembly and speech.

Observers believe that China will once again prevent a vote on its human-rights record. They say that this year, unlike previous years, the United States has no co-sponsors.

The US, joined by Poland, has tabled the resolution for the last two years, with a growing number of nations abstaining from a no-action vote

'China is saying dialogue, not confrontation,' said Mr Jendrzejczyk

'By offering to have bilateral dialogues, they've peeled off Canada, Australia, Japan, some of the European countries, and some of the Latin Americans.

'Developing countries get trade and investment, industrialised nations get these fairly sterile dialogues that sound good domestically but don't get tangible results.'

Interestingly enough, the date set for the vote is next Wednesday - April 18.

That is the day American and Chinese experts will begin their first inquiries into the cause of the mid-air collision off the coast of China

Straits Times article

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001

Answers

You have to admit the Chinese aren't stupid. Thanks for finding this, Brent.

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001

They sure aren't. They seem to be playing in our backyard quite effectively in South and Central America and the Carib. On the other hand, it seems that they are being allowed to do so by our "benign neglect", or maybe I would better characterise it as acquiescence. I don't remember ever hearing that the Monroe doctrine was officially repealed, but it would have to go back at least to Carter(if i recall correctly), who gave up Panama. The issue of Chinese companies controlling the Panama canal came up during the Clinton reign, and he brushed it off..
cheers,
brent

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001

Bush had discreetly called other world leaders for advice WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush had quietly telephoned a handful of world leaders to tell them he would welcome their assistance in ending the standoff with China over the US spy plane crew, a senior administration official disclosed. Mr Bush telephoned British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the aide said on condition of anonymity. He updated them on the situation and 'let them know if they wanted to join quietly in letting the Chinese government know that its actions were inconsistent with hopes for a productive relationship in the world, that he would certainly welcome that,' the aide said http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,1870,36792,00.html? If i apply a little counterspin to this article, i might conclude that Dubya was doing some lobbying as well.. cheers, brent

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001