【AFP】US congratulates China but critics abound

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US congratulates China but critics abound
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091002/pl_afp/chinapolitics60yearsusdiplomacy

by Shaun Tandon Shaun Tandon – Thu Oct 1, 9:57 pm ET


Thu Oct 1, 9:57 PM ET
A giant portrait of former Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong is carried during National Day celebrations in Beijing. The United States congratulated China as it celebrated 60 years of communist rule, but criticism was not far behind with the US Congress urging Beijing to free a prominent dissident.(AFP/Frederic J. Brown)

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States congratulated China as it celebrated 60 years of communist rule, but criticism was not far behind with Congress urging Beijing to free a prominent dissident.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent a congratulatory message to China, where thousands of troops marched to Tiananmen Square in an elaborate display of patriotism showcasing the emerging power's rise.

Clinton in a statement extended "warm wishes and congratulations" to China and noted that 2009 also marked 30 years since the United States recognized Beijing.

"In the last 30 years, China has undergone an extraordinary economic transformation, lifting millions of people out of poverty. This is truly an historic accomplishment," Clinton added.

Clinton renewed pledges by President Barack Obama's administration to seek a "positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship" with China, which has emerged as a key trading partner and the biggest holder of the ballooning US debt.

The Obama approach has generally been well-received in China but has come under criticism from human rights activists and some members of Congress who accuse the administration of pushing too lightly on civil liberties.

In a nearly unanimous vote, the US House of Representatives asked China to free dissident writer Liu Xiaobo, the co-author of Chapter 08, a bold petition issued last year calling for democratic reforms and support for human rights.

"It is the sense of Congress that China's government immediately release Liu Xiaobo and begin making strides toward true representative democracy," the resolution said.

Liu, a former university literature professor, was previously jailed for his involvement in the 1989 pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square that was crushed by the army. Related article: China's military power

But he continued to write and was detained in December just before the release of Charter 08, which was signed by hundreds of intellectuals and dissidents.

Chinese state media announced in June that Liu had been arrested for inciting subversion and the overthrow of the communist government. Related article: Internet, dissidents under watch


Representative Howard Berman, a member of Obama's Democratic Party who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, voiced fear that China could sentence Liu to up to 15 years in prison.

"The Chinese government seems unaware of the irony of its actions since its efforts to quash Charter 08 only underscore China's failure to uphold the very principles the charter advance," Berman said on the House floor.

A Republican congressman, Christopher Smith, said the administration should not have offered congratulations Thursday for the "bogus celebration" in Beijing, saying the anniversary should instead be a "day of remembrance."

He accused the Chinese Communists of deadly persecution of minorities such as Tibetans and Uighurs as well as of democracy activists and the Falungong spiritual group.

"I propose that we remember them today and resolve to pray and work that what happened and is still happening to the Chinese people will one day be stopped -- and the Chinese people can truly say 'never again,'" he said.

But in a sign of China's rising clout, President Barack Obama has no plans to meet with Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama when he visits Washington next week.
Pro-Tibet activists voiced hope that Obama would meet with the Dalai Lama later this year after he pays his first presidential visit to China in November.  Clinton on Thursday formally named a coordinator for Tibet policy -- Maria Otero, the under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs.
Clinton said Otero would "seek to foster an environment to promote substantive discussion between the Dalai Lama's representatives and the Chinese government."