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This News Service is posted by the
International Secretariat of Amnesty International,
1 Easton Street, London WC1X 8DJ
(Tel +44-71-413-5500, Fax +44-71-956-1157)
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News Service  54/96
AI INDEX: ASA 17/40/96
15 MARCH 1996 -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                                                            CHINA:  
BUSINESSES INVESTING IN CHINA SHOULD NOT IGNORE HUMAN
RIGHTS

HONG KONG -- At a press conference today, Amnesty
International called on businesses and governments investing
in China not to put money before lives, but to live up to
their responsibility to promote and protect human rights.

      Pierre Sane, Secretary General of Amnesty
International, also condemned attempts to silence the
organization~s message on China. This followed the detention
of Amnesty International delegates in Bangkok to launch a
worldwide campaign on human rights in China.
      ~As Amnesty members around Asia and the world take up
this campaign, there may be other attempts to silence us,~
Pierre Sane warned. ~Other governments may help to shelter
China from international criticism, but they will not stop
us.~

       Amnesty International dispelled a Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman~s comments that the organization~s
findings were ~not even worth refutation~, and that it
harboured deep prejudices against China.

      ~We are not interested in rhetoric from the Chinese
government -- we are interested in dialogue,~ Pierre Sane
said.

      Amnesty International said that it holds no prejudice
against the Chinese people. It is campaigning against the
human rights violations reported by Chinese people themselves
and pressing for reforms that will benefit all of China~s
citizens.

      The Chinese authorities~ response to Amnesty
International~s campaign is typical of China~s stonewalling
on its human rights record, Amnesty International said. The
Chinese government steadfastly refuses to countenance
legitimate international scrutiny, or to take seriously
criticism of its human rights record.

      Mr Sane called on businesses based in Hong Kong and the
rest of the world which invest in China to use their enormous
influence to help the broader community within the country,
which he said was their social responsibility and ultimately
in their own interest.

      ~Contempt for the rule of law will not distinguish
between the different fields of human and social
interactions,~ he said. ~Arbitrariness and the abuse of the
law pose a major threat not only to human rights but also to
the development and growth of a safe and sound business
environment.~

      ~All business leaders investing, trading and producing
in China should take a hard look at the facts in our report
and assess them against the long term moral and financial
interests of shareholders,~ he said.


      Amnesty International~s campaign highlights the massive
human rights violations which persist in China, despite
economic reforms. The Chinese government allows torture to
continue, uses the death penalty to try to cure social
problems, brutally cracks down on ethnic groups calling
peacefully for more independence, and detains hundreds of
thousands of people every year without charging them with any
crime.

ENDS\


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