CYIL vol. 13 (2022)

MAX HILAIRE CYIL 13 ȍ2022Ȏ against extending the mandates of the UN missions in Haiti and Macedonia because of their diplomatic ties to Taiwan. 83 Vulnerable African and Asian countries that are heavily dependent on China for financial assistance and investment in infrastructure projects have had to cast their votes in support of China if they want to continue receiving aid from China. As China’s economic power grows, so has its influence on the United Nations and various UN agencies, including the Human Rights Council. China sees the Council as a forum to either shape the international human rights agenda or weaken the mandate of the Council. China’s human rights perspective is predicated on state sovereignty and non-interference and minimizing the universality of human rights norms, which it considers another form of western imperialism. Chinese international lawyers have simultaneously intentionally refrained from discussing the issue of universal human rights norms. Those who utter to speak out about human rights usually reject the notion of universal human rights as contrary to the principles of state sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of states. 84 China has a terrible human rights record. It imprisoned lawyers who advocate for victims of the baby formula; it banned non-sanctioned state religions and imprisoned its leaders; it forcibly disappeared anti-corruption activists, and it imprisoned human rights advocates. China protested loudly and recalled its ambassador when the Norwegian authority awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to the imprisoned human rights activist, Liu Xiaobo. China also canceled a trade agreement with Norway in protest. 85 Liu Xiaobo was later refused release on humanitarian grounds to seek treatment for cancer abroad. He subsequently died in detention and his body was buried secretly without any public announcement. This was a cruel act by the Chinese regime. Liu’s widow was not allowed to pay her last respect to her husband, and she has been under house arrest since. She has not been allowed to receive Liu’s Nobel Prize. Under Xi Jinping, China has become a more repressive and less tolerant state. Any form of dissent is met with imprisonment. It is not unusual for the Chinese secret police to engage in extraterritorial kidnapping of Chinese opponents of the regime. Western criticism of China’s human rights practices has been muted in part to avoid antagonizing China for fear it may retaliate against states that rely on Chinese investment to grow their economies, or for geopolitical reasons. 86 Neither President Bush nor Obama publicly condemned China for its human rights violations. Similarly, the Trump administration overlooked China’s human rights violations to secure a trade deal with Beijing and was only critical of China’s human rights policies in the waning days of his administration. The Trump administration took a more aggressive stance against China for its mass detention of the Uighurs and its new national security law in Hong Kong. The Trump administration imposed targeted sanctions on certain Chinese officials for their involvement in human rights violations. 87 Trump also 83 GOLDMAN, John J. China Vows to Veto Macedonia Force Renewal, at https://www.latimes.com/archives/la xpm-1999-feb-25-mn-11668-story.html; HAQ, Farthan. Haiti: China Blocks Deal to Keep U.N. Peacekeepers, at www.ipsnews.net/1996/02/haiti-china-blocks-deal-to-keep-un-peacekeepers/. 84 CHIU, H. “Chinese Attitude Toward International Law in the Post-Mao Era, 1978–1987”, 21 International Lawyer , (Fall 1987), p. 1139. 85 China Anger at ‘farce’ of Liu Xiaobo Nobel Peace Prize, at https://www.bbc.co/news/world/asia-pacific-11974187. 86 For a detailed account of China’s human rights practices and policy, see PICCONE, T. supra note 25. 87 VERMA, P., WONG, E. U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Chinese Officials Over Mass Detention of Muslims, @ https://nytimes.com/2020/07/09/world/asia/trump-china-sanctions-uighurs.html; TALLEY I., CRAYMER, L. U.S. Sanctions Chinese Officials Over Hong Kong Policy-Including Carrie Lam, @ https://wsj.com/articles/u-s-sanc tions-11-chinese-officials-over-hong-kong-policyincluding-carrie-lam-11596812481.

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