(Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday ducked a question about a Chinese dissident believed to be under U.S. protection in Beijing but said Chinawill be stronger if it improves its human rights record.
At a news conference, Obama appeared to be walking a fine line between not saying anything to make it harder to resolve Chen Guangcheng's case while conveying U.S. respect for human rights and U.S. appreciation for wider cooperation with China.
Chen's case arose with the U.S. secretaries of state and treasury due in China on Thursday for talks with senior Chinese officials, an annual meeting sure to be overshadowed by the fate of the blind dissident.
Chen, who has opposed forced abortions in China, escaped house arrest in rural China last week and is under U.S. protection in Beijing, according to a U.S.-based rights group, creating a situation that complicates the ties of the world's top economic powers.
Asked directly about Chen's case, Obama replied: "Obviously I am aware of the press reports on the situation in China but I am not going to make a statement on the issue."
Obama said the issue of human rights comes up every time there are senior U.S.-Chinese talks, saying the United States does so both on principle and because "we actually believe China will be stronger as it opens up and liberalizes its own system."
"We want China to be strong, we want it to be prosperous and we are very pleased with all the areas of cooperation that we have been able to engage in," he said at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
"But we also believe that that relationship will be that much stronger and China will be that much more prosperous and strong as you see improvements on human rights issues in that country," he said.
SENIOR U.S. DIPLOMAT IN BEIJING
A senior U.S. diplomat, Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, flew to Beijing to work on a solution to the Chen case ahead of this week's U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing, a source briefed on the matter said on Monday.
The U.S. State Department declined to answer questions about Campbell's whereabouts during the weekend but on Monday confirmed he was in Beijing. State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland described his trip as part of the preparations for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's talks this week.
Nuland declined to answer repeated questions about potential U.S. involvement with the Chen case or to say whether his trip had been previously scheduled. "I have nothing for you on anything to do with that matter," Nuland said.
Current and former officials have said that there appear to be two potential solutions: Chen going into exile, something he has told associates he does not want; or his being allowed to live in freedom in China.
"I think Kurt is there to negotiate one of the two more favorable outcomes, either his asylum or his exoneration by senior Chinese officials so that he can return home to Shandong and live unmolested," said the source, saying this was an inference on his part.
"I don't think either of those outcomes is going to be easy to negotiate."
Assuming it has Chen, it is inconceivable - on both ethical and political grounds - that the United States would turn him over to the Chinese authorities against his wishes, current and former officials have said.
On Sunday a top Obama administration official, White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, declined to comment on the Chen case or whether the United States was protecting the dissident, but he neatly summarized the dilemma for Obama.
"I think in all instances the president tries to balance our commitment to human rights, making sure that the people throughout the world have the ability to express themselves freely and openly, but also that we can continue to carry out our relationships with key countries overseas," Brennan said on the "Fox News Sunday" television program.
(Reporting By Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Eric Walsh)
No comments:
Post a Comment