Prior to the meeting of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier with the leaders of the state and government in China, the secretary general of Amnesty International in Germany, Markus Beeko, has accused the People’s Republic of grave human rights violations.
„China often tries to challenge and relativise the internationally recognized understanding of human rights. This is a not to be underestimated attack on the self-image of the last 70 years, „said Beeko the news agency AFP. China rejects „basic“ human rights standards.
According to Beeko, it is not enough for states like Germany to publicly denounce violations of the UN Human Rights Declaration proclaimed 70 years ago. „It would be naive to believe that any country directly affected by another country can have a direct impact.“ Nevertheless, it remains important to demand human rights standards from all states.
More promising is a combination of „confidential discussions“ and the „clear response“ of human rights violations in the international committees, said Beeko.
Federal President Steinmeier will meet with the political leadership in Beijing on Monday. China’s President Xi Jinping welcomes Steinmeier with military honors. Thereafter, a conversation between the two heads of state is planned, followed by a state banquet. A meeting with Prime Minister Li Keqiang is also planned.
Internationally, China’s disregard for human rights standards has had a profound impact, for example in Africa, where China has enjoyed strong economic presence for years, Amnesty leader Beeko said. Millions of people on the vast continent still hoped for human rights. „But Chinese discourse may be pushing African governments to question international human rights standards as well.“
China’s internal development also worries Beeko, especially with regard to the application of new technological developments. China is because of the „monitoring almost all areas of life“ and the evaluation of citizens for a social point system a clear example of a „surveillance dystopia,“ said the German Amnesty boss. „This shows very clearly which direction digital modernity would take if it were left to countries like China to set standards for it.“
The leadership in Beijing is repeatedly confronted with the charge of massively curtailing human rights in their country. The government’s actions against the Muslim minority of the Uyghurs, the house Christians and Falun Dafa practitioners are causing international criticism.
