China, Asia and the Development of Democracy

Speech by Graham Watson MEP on Mon 14th May 2007

• Democracy

• Human Rights

• The Rule of Law

These are Europe's values. They are also universal values. But they are values which exist in name only for many of the world's people.

Particularly in Asia where democracy and the rule of law are still the exception rather than the rule.

Human Rights Abuses

Despite adopting UN conventions and charters which promote human rights, many Asian governments protect their people in name alone.

Citizens of Burma, Nepal and North Korea have no way of enforcing their rights - despite their countries' use of democratic jargon. Vietnam and Cambodia are freer but not much better. I will come later to the People's Republic of China.

Although these are the 'black sheep' of Asian nations when it comes to enforcing democratic rights, others have come in for less sharp international criticism.

Singapore, where I was recently banned from speaking in public, has been singled out by the Asian Human Rights Commission for 'creating a society where it is impossible for people to enjoy individual rights'.

Despite its glossy image, freedom of speech and assembly are routinely abrogated.

Even in democratic countries like India, delays in the justice system and prejudice against minorities stain an otherwise enviable record of democratic stability.

For Asians to enjoy the full rights and freedoms to which their governments are signatory, there must be a step change in respect for democracy and the rule of law.

Without these two factors, commitments to upholding human rights will continue to exist just on paper.

To the detriment of the lives of 60% of the world population who live in this region.

China

China often boasts of its 'peaceful rise' to super power status.

Yet its remarkable economic growth - averaging 9.5% since Deng Xiaoping established the policy of gai ge kai feng or reform and opening two decades ago - has often been at the expense of its own population.

While China puts its best face forward for the 2008 Olympics, internal dissent is violently quashed.

The village of Dongzhou, in Guangdong Province, is a case in point.

As the locus of two major protests in two years, it has been sealed off by the Chinese authorities who have set up checkpoints at all entrypoints

• 3 people have been shot and killed

• over 20 injured

• and hundreds arrested

because local people have no recourse against corrupt and violent local authorities who have the power of life and death over their citizens.

The Chinese Constitution states 'The state respects and preserves human rights'.

Yet according to Human Rights Watch even Beijing has been marred by increasingly violent crackdowns on protestors, petitioners and human rights activists - particularly during the annual session of the National People's Congress.

Such heavy handed measures are entirely out of keeping with the expected behaviour of an Olympic host - and at odds with the international image which China seeks.

As Mahatma Gandhi said: Action expresses priorities.

It is time Europe - and the world - publicly acknowledged China's failures to protect its people, and condemned feudal values which have no place in a modern state.

2009 will be the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square uprising. I hope it will be commemorated in every capital city in Europe. Europeans must know what happened and you can all help with this.

But 2009 - twenty years on - should also be a time for reflection for campaigners such as you. Much has changed in China since most of you left. It may be time to re-evaluate your campaign strategies, looking particularly at the balance between your work in the West and your work in China itself. With a new generation of democracy activists at home, there may be new opportunities there for you.

Meanwhile, I will continue my work for the development of a common European foreign and security policy anchored firmly in the EU's professed values, so that the EU can bring maximum pressure to bear on the PRC in defending those working for the same values in China. Their bravery and commitment we should respect and support through a more courageous attitude towards China's communist bullies.

China - A Model for Asia?

Yet China could be a model for Asia and the World - as it has been for millennia past.

The Chinese should not let the mistakes of the past half century haunt them into the next.

Sun Yat Sen was a liberal republican. His legacy can again set China on course for prosperity, stability and openness.

Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao have put the country on course towards prosperity.

But only democracy can give China the security it needs to reinforce its economic progress.

Particularly since WTO membership demands that government officials face up to obligations which - as breach of IPR regulations showed - are difficult to enforce in a non-democratic state.

To fall into line with international obligations - not least on the environment, which has paid the highest price for China's rise - the country needs democratic institutions which can provide the necessary transparency and accountability it needs to succeed.

The state must also be proportional in its response to threats.

There is no excuse for the continued detention of 2000 people for their part in the 1989 Tiananmen demonstrations.

Nor for the 39 imprisoned journalists or the 48 persons imprisoned for their internet use over the past two years.

Not to mention the increasingly shrill tone of government edicts against Taiwan and the speed of remilitarisation on China's Eastern border.

Asian Democracy

At present, while China's economic growth rates may be outstripping its neighbours', it lags behind many of Asia's smallest states both socially and politically.

• Malaysia,

• Taiwan and

• The Philippines

are examples of nations which have come to terms with what are now some of China's biggest issues

• integration of minorities,

• religious tolerance,

• and social stability

cannot be achieved by force, as China is learning to its cost.

Meanwhile India, Indonesia and Japan form an arc of democracy across the South and East of the Asia Pacific region. But democracies know that coercion is no substitute for conviction.

And where governments are convinced of the value of human rights and democracy for their citizens, their economy and the country as a whole, that country will succeed.

The forum I have worked with for over ten years - The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats - is at present a democratic flagship in a sea of piracy. But I look forward to it providing a model for Asian nations in the years to come.

I hope other democratic political families will set up similar Asia-wide forums. Just as in Europe, Asian democracies can learn a lot from each other, and much can be gained from regular contact between democratically elected politicians.

Europe's role

The European Parliament can help on this. My group has made it a priority to engage with Asia. We are honoured to have our colleagues Dirk Sterckx and Ona Juknevi?ien? as chairpersons of the EP delegations for relations with China and Central Asia particularly. Our colleague Istvan Szent-Ivanyi headed an EU observer mission to elections in the region. We have sent many delegations to visit Asian countries and will continue to prioritise this work. A scheme I have established offers trainee places with the ALDE group to young people active in politics in Asia.

We need to see a similar approach from all EU political forces. We need an equivalent of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) - through which we engaged with Communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe - for communist China. The PRC has opened its doors to the world. We must not be afraid to go in and parley, with friendship and common interest as our destination, but respect for universal freedom as our lodestar.