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International Secretariat of Amnesty International,
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News Service 65/96


AI INDEX:   IOR 41/09/96
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- 27 MARCH 1996


EUROPEAN UNION GAGGED BY CHINA WITH OFFERS OF TRADE DEALS

GENEVA -- The European Union (EU) is caving in to pressure
from the Chinese government not to criticise the country~s
human rights record, Amnesty International said today.
Despite agreeing to propose a resolution on China at the
United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights, EU officials
have failed to reach agreement on their position.
      ~France and Germany are pushing the EU to take a more
conciliatory approach towards China,~ Amnesty International
said. ~This follows the recent EU/Asia summit in Bangkok,
where lucrative trade deals with China were discussed.~

      ~France is the main proponent of this policy, and it is
surely no coincidence that Chinese Prime Minister Li Peng
will visit France in April,~ the organization said. ~The only
conclusion must be that in a bid to increase its business
with China, France is prepared to break with Europe~s
supposed long-standing commitment to promote and protect
human rights throughout the world.~

      The Commission will soon be half way through its six-
week meeting in Geneva and the EU is still sitting on its
hands. Other countries at the Commission are expecting a
clear signal from the EU, but the EU is lost in China~s
shadow, Amnesty International said.

      The Chinese government is acutely sensitive on human
rights and will go to any lengths to block criticism and
scrutiny of its appalling record. It seems as though the EU
is prepared to toe the Chinese line that its human rights
record should not be held up to scrutiny.
      UN experts have voiced concerns about patterns of
torture in China, have concluded that prisoners have been
arbitrarily detained in violation of international human
rights standards, and have stated their concern about
violations of the right to life in China.
      ~Despite the wealth of evidence about the systematic
violation of human rights in China, the EU seems willing to
fudge a backroom deal to let China off the hook,~ Amnesty
International said.
      ~What message does this send to the people of China?
That the EU is prepared to condone the Chinese authorities
continuing to torture them with impunity, continuing to
detain hundreds of thousands of people each year without
charging them with any offence, continuing to execute them
after blatantly unfair trials, and continuing to brutally
crack down on anyone they see as a threat to the established
order.~



      Amnesty International calls on the member states of the
European Union to publicly state that they are working for a
resolution, and actively support it.  The resolution should
explicitly call for the cessation of torture, the immediate
and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience, an
end to arbitrary arrests, imprisonment and unfair trials, and
the abolition of the death penalty.

      ~The Chinese government is not content with silencing
those who speak up in China,~ Amnesty International said.
~Their message is loud and clear: no discussion about our
human rights record. Anywhere, by anyone, at any time.~

      ~Will European Union, and in particular France, happily
accept this position and remain silent in the hope of
reaching a few more trade deals?~

ENDS.../



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