Rights abuses take gloss off smiling Michelle Obama’s trip to China
Chang Ping laments Michelle Obama's moderate defence of freedoms after death of activist
As US first lady Michelle Obama concluded her week-long trip to China, compared the visit to similar ones made by two of her predecessors.
In 1995, then first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton angered the Chinese government by delivering a speech titled "Women's rights are human rights", as part of the UN's Fourth Conference on Women in Beijing.
Just a week before Obama's visit, human rights activist Cao Shunli died in custody while in a Beijing hospital. Cao was detained by police when she was on her way to a UN human rights conference in Geneva
Then, in 2008, Laura Bush, wife of then president George W. Bush, visited a refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border on her way to the Olympic Games in Beijing. The Chinese government, as a supporter of the government in Myanmar, condemned the trip.
During her recent visit, Obama did talk about freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the rights of ethnic minorities. But her tone was more moderate than that of her two predecessors, and she was clearly careful with her choice of words, so as to maintain cordial relations during her trip.
However, the fact that two serious human rights violations occurred around the time of her trip - one just before and one after - certainly took the gloss off. In fact, it could be said that her beaming smiles were somewhat cold-hearted.
Just a week before Obama's visit, human rights activist Cao Shunli died in custody while in a Beijing hospital. Last September, Cao was detained by police at Beijing Capital International Airport when she was on her way to a United Nations human rights conference in Geneva. Her family members suspect she was tortured during her detention but the whereabouts of her body is still unknown. People calling for an open investigation have been harassed by police.
On the second day of Obama's visit to Beijing, the United States and European Union, in a rare move, voiced concern at Cao's death during a UN Human Rights Council meeting, where China managed to block an attempt by NGOs to hold a minute's silence for Cao.
