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The Macomb Daily
April 13, 2008 |
Chad Selweski
Staff Writer |
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Levin seeks to Capitalize on Olympic Uproar
Lawmaker chairs panel that looks at Chinese human rights allegations |
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With worldwide condemnation growing over China's position as host of the summer Olympic Games, U.S. Rep. Sander Levin has emerged as a central figure in Washington's bid to reform Chinese human rights policies.
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As chairman of a U.S. panel that scrutinizes Chinese abuses, Levin seeks to capitalize on the uproar and exert pressure on China's leaders on several levels.
The high-profile demonstrations that disrupted the Olympic torch relay should not be discouraged, he said, so long as violence is avoided, as was the case in San Francisco on Thursday.
But Levin parts ways with the presidential candidates -- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain -- in their push for President Bush to boycott the Olympic opening ceremonies in Beijing.
"We have three or four or five avenues we can take to make them live up to their (human rights) commitments. I think the best position would be for him (Bush) to not say what he will do. That will increase the pressure," said Levin, a Royal Oak Democrat who represents most of Macomb County.
China's recent crackdown on rioters in Tibet, plus its friendly relations with Sudan despite the genocide in Darfur, has sparked a backlash from many world leaders.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the leaders of Canada, Poland and the Czech Republic have said they will stay away from the Aug. 8 ceremonies. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has cited "scheduling issues" that may prevent his attendance.
On Friday, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China which Levin chairs sent a letter to the Beijing government's leadership calling on the Chinese to take 10 steps to improve human rights. At issue are China's political prisoners, the detention of dissidents, the harassment of journalists, and a "level of hostility toward Tibetans not seen in decades."
In the March crackdown on protesters in Tibetan areas of western China last month, 953 people were reportedly detained by government security forces, including Buddhist monks.
Symbolically, the biggest step called for by the CECC is direct talks between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader who has been exiled from Tibet since 1959.
In Washington, a resolution that calls for talks with the Dalai Lama and other reforms by China was approved by the House on Thursday by a vote of 413-1.
That resolution seeks the release of the Tibetans who were arrested last month and an agreement to allow international observers, journalists and medical personnel into Tibet.
Of course, all of the demands by Congress and the CECC could be ignored by the Chinese, who have spent the past seven years preparing for an Olympic games that they envisioned as a showcase of their nation for the world.
The CECC has clout, but it has limited leverage. It is comprised of nine senators, nine House members and five senior Bush administration officials.
The ultimate attention-getting action would be for the U.S. Olympic Team to boycott the Beijing games. Levin doesn't expect that to happen and he's skeptical that any nations will boycott at this late date, with the games just four months away.
But the congressman said the opportunity must be seized to pressure China on the world stage to live up to the reforms it promised when it successfully bid for the 2008 summer games.
"This is not human rights in a theoretical sense," Levin said.
Human rights and the rule of law should be ensured, according to the CECC, if China wants to play a prominent role in the world community and as a leading trading partner with nations across the globe.
For many demonstrators, such as those in London, Paris and San Francisco who harassed the Olympic torch bearers last week, the overriding goal is bringing attention to the oppression in Tibet.
"Tibetan protests began and continue for one reason: In spite of what the Chinese government has written in its laws, in practice it has created an ethnic autonomy system that denies fundamental rights to ethnic minorities," Levin said.
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