U.S. Department of State" <usstatebpa@subscriptions.fcg.gov> wrote:

Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2008 13:46:26 -0500 (CDT)
From: "U.S. Department of State" <usstatebpa@subscriptions.fcg.gov>
Subject: East Asia and the Pacific: China: Verdict on Activist Hu Jia
To: editor@vietamreview.net

East Asia and the Pacific: China: Verdict on Activist Hu Jia
Thu, 3 Apr 2008 15:13:23 -0500

Press Statement
Tom Casey, Deputy Spokesman
Washington, DC
April 3, 2008

China: Verdict on Activist Hu Jia

The United States is dismayed by the sentence of three and a half years in prison announced today in the case of prominent Chinese human rights activist Hu Jia under the specious charge of “inciting subversion of state power.”

Mr. Hu has consistently worked within China’s legal system to protect the rights of his fellow citizens. These types of activities support China’s efforts to institute the rule of law and should be applauded, not suppressed or punished.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pressed Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi for Hu’s immediate release during her February visit to China, and U.S. officials continue to take every opportunity to raise our concerns about Mr. Hu’s case with Chinese officials at all levels, both in Beijing and in Washington, D.C.

In this Olympic year, we urge China to seize the opportunity to put its best face forward and take steps to improve its record on human rights and religious freedom.

2008/244

 

Released on April 3, 2008

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Interview by the BBC World Service

Christopher R. Hill, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Jakarta, Indonesia
April 4, 2008

QUESTION: The situation in Tibet has drawn the attention of your government recently. Yesterday China jailed a human rights activist for three and a half years. Where do you stand on the position of China’s hosting of the Olympics now? It was supposed to improve their human rights track record, and it doesn’t seem to have done that.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Well, first of all, we’re obviously very concerned about the developments in recent weeks. We’ve been especially concerned about the outbreak of violence and the apparent lack of restraint we’ve seen. The amount of destruction in Lhasa was certainly cause for great concern. We would like to see a much greater effort in dialogue. We know there were some efforts in the past between representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese authorities. We think this is the way to go, and we’d like to see some greater restraint.

With respect to the Olympics, our President has been pretty clear that we don’t think it is appropriate to be boycotting Olympics or Olympic ceremonies. We don’t think this is going to solve a problem. And, as Secretary Rice made clear, we think that sort of activity can really be taken as great insult by the Chinese people, by 1.3 billion Chinese people. And I think it’s very important for people outside of China to understand the degree to which the Chinese are very proud of hosting these Olympics. This is not some government issue versus a popular issue. Everyone in China is very proud of this. And so people who sort of put this issue at play -- that is, talk about boycotting the Olympics in some respects -- need to understand that they are doing so in a way that could really cause problems with the sensitivities of Chinese people at large, not just the Chinese government.

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editorial opinion from Jean Libby, VietAm Review

The dismay that greeted Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill's contradiction of the 2007 U. S. State Dept. country report on Vietnam is well expressed by Vo Van Ai of Que Me, Action for Democracy in Vietnam:

PARIS, 13th March 2008 (Vietnam Committee) - Only one day after the US State Department roundly condemned Vietnam's human rights record in its 2007 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Christopher Hill gave a contradicting evaluation of Vietnam's "expanded" religious freedom at a US Senate Hearing on Wednesday 12 March 2008. Assistant Secretary Hill, who recently visited Vietnam, was testifying before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs at a Hearing on "U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Relations". This important Hearing is held as the Senate prepares to vote on the Vietnam Human Rights Act (H.R. 3096), passed overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives last September, which would link US-Vietnam trade relations to the respect of human rights.

 
Shocked by Mr. Hill's remarks that "religious freedom in Vietnam has expanded significantly" and that "Vietnam no longer qualifies as a serious violator of religious freedom", Mr. Vo Van Ai, President of Quê Me: Action for Democracy in Vietnam and International Spokesman of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) sent a letter today to Senator Barbara Boxer, Chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs expressing deep concern that Mr. Hill's testimony "gave an incorrect and misleading assessment of Vietnam's alleged "progress" on religious freedom". In view of the upcoming vote in the Senate, Mr. Vo Van Ai drew Senator Boxer's attention to the following "grave errors and omissions" in the State Department's official's testimony:  (see full article)

 http://vietamreview.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2008/3/13/3578636.html 

Perhaps Christopher Hill, a career diplomat, is waiting for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's appointment to be finished at the end of the Bush administration this year.  Then he won't have to pay attention to what she says at all -- unless she is in a higher office! 



Jean Libby, editor
VietAm Review