On the Table at Last : U.S.-China dialogue on human rights sparks ray of hope

There were no promises but there was a willingness to continue talking. In the difficult U.S.-China dialogue on human rights, that’s real progress and reason for hope.

When Chinese officials met with Richard Schifter, the State Department’s top human-rights envoy, in Beijing last week, it was the first time they discussed the human-rights issue in detail with a U.S. official. Schifter, assistant secretary of state for human rights and humanitarian affairs, said Chinese officials appeared to accept human rights as a legitimate factor in Sino-U.S. relations.

The talks occurred as Chinese authorities were preparing to try leaders of the Tian An Men demonstrations, which ended in a bloodly government crackdown in June, 1989. China has long insisted that its handling of the dissidents was an internal affair. It had sought to underplay the human rights issue by currying U.S. favor in supporting, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, most of the resolutions on Iraq. Congress has been urging the Administration to take a tougher stance with China before removing all sanctions imposed after Tian An Men.

Schifter said he told the Chinese that the estimated 400 political prisoners who did not commit violent acts should be released. He presented a list of 150 prisoners, including students, workers, Tibetans and Catholic priests whose cases the United States would like to discuss. He also asked that the U.S. Embassy be notified when the trials of Tian An Men dissidents begin and that the embassy be allowed to send an observer if proceedings are open.

Now it’s up to China to provide a basis for new trust. “Attitudinally you’ve got a sea change,” said U.S. Ambassador to China James R. Lilley. “Whether this ends up in concrete results remains to be seen.”

Indeed, the United States should closely monitor whether China makes a sincere attempt to rectify its egregious human-rights record. There is no more trustworthy act than one that can be verified.