"Asked before he departed for Beijing if he would raise with the Chinese president the case of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy activist jailed in Hong Kong, Donald Trump said: I'll bring him up. But, the US president added: It's like saying to me, If Comey ever went to jail, would you let him out?' It might be a hard one for me. Trump was referring to James B Comey, a former FBI director and a frequent target of Trump's ire."
"Trump's flippant attitude towards human rights comes as no surprise. Since he took office, his administration has launched widespread attacks on civil liberties, from immigration raids to attacks on gender-based healthcare to cutting funding for civil rights groups. But the near-total absence of human rights from current US-China dialogue is a marked departure from the diplomacy of previous generations reflecting both the transformation of the US in the Trump era and China's increasing confidence on the world stage."
"When George W Bush visited Beijing in 2008, he insisted on attending a Sunday church service to press his case for religious freedom in China. When Barack Obama made his state visit the following year, he urged China's then president Hu Jintao to reopen talks with the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet. Both Bush and Obama have themselves been accused of war crimes and human rights abuses related to the US's war on terror."
"One of the most high-profile cases of US intervention came in 2012 when the Obama administration helped to evacuate a blind human rights lawyer, Chen Guangcheng after he escaped from house arrest. (Chen later urged US voters to elect Trump, claiming he would stand up to tyranny.) Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy activist jailed in H"
Donald Trump said he would raise Jimmy Lai’s case with the Chinese president, but compared it to a hypothetical situation involving James B. Comey, signaling a dismissive attitude toward human rights. The Trump administration has pursued actions that reduce civil liberties, including immigration raids, attacks on gender-based healthcare, and cuts to civil rights group funding. Human rights are also largely missing from US-China dialogue, marking a departure from earlier diplomacy. George W. Bush pressed for religious freedom in China during a 2008 visit, and Barack Obama urged reopening talks with the Dalai Lama in 2009. The Obama administration also helped evacuate human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng in 2012 after his escape from house arrest.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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