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US deeply concerned over rising China detentions
WASHINGTON -- The United States said Monday it is "deeply concerned" about the rising trend of disappearances and arrests of human rights activists in China after one of the country's most famous artists was detained.
| We're deeply concerned. The Chinese jug the activists anyway. This is what happens when your opponents don't respect you. |
Ai Weiwei, 53, an avant-garde artist who helped design the futuristic Bird's Nest stadium at the Beijing Olympics, has been missing since he was stopped Sunday while preparing to fly to Hong Kong. Police also raided his Beijing studio.
| The Olympics are over, so he's not needed any more. |
Dozens of Chinese lawyers and activists have vanished, been detained or held under house arrest since February when online calls for protests similar to the pro-democracy uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa started cropping up. At least three people have been indicted for subversion. No major public protests have taken place in China.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner called for the immediate release of Ai, an outspoken government critic who has been keeping an informal tally of the detentions on Twitter, where he has more than 70,000 followers.
"We obviously continue to be deeply concerned by the trend of forced disappearances, extralegal detentions, arrests and convictions of human rights activists for exercising their internationally recognized human right for freedom of expression," Toner told a news conference.
"Our relationship with China is very broad and complex but it's an issue where we disagree and we continue to make clear those concerns," he said.
| We dare not interrupt the flow of goods from China to the U.S., and dollars from the U.S. to China, and the trade for those dollars for U.S. Treasuries. That's what he just said, right? |
During a January state visit to Washington, Chinese President Hu Jintao said that his country needed to "do more" on human rights. The White House played up the significance of that admission and said it would be watching to see the Chinese government acted on those words.
Detentions of rights activists have since increased.
| Get the message, Mr. President? |
Posted by: Steve White 2011-04-05 |
