Washington D.C., Feb 25, 2009 / 16:04 pm
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s remarks that human rights concerns should not “interfere” with U.S.-China cooperation on economic, environmental and other issues drew criticism from several Congressmen and a former political prisoner who argued the comments ignore the regime’s practices of coerced abortion, religious persecution and forced labor.
Speaking to reporters in Seoul, Korea on Friday, Secretary Clinton noted past U.S. administrations’ focus on human rights issues and issues such as Chinese action in Tibet.
“We have to continue to press them but our pressing on those issues can't interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crises. We have to have a dialog that leads to an understanding and cooperation on each of those,” she said.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) called the remarks “a shocking display of pandering” and argued they make clear that the Obama Administration “has chosen to peddle U.S. debt to the largest dictatorship in the world over combating torture, forced abortion, forced labor, religious persecution, human sex trafficking, gendercide, and genocide.”