EDITORIAL\More rights abuses in China\This time, children are the victims.CHINA once again is displaying its flagrant fla·grant adj. 1. Conspicuously bad, offensive, or reprehensible: a flagrant miscarriage of justice; flagrant cases of wrongdoing at the highest levels of government. See Usage Note at blatant. 2. disregard for human rights and world opinion. This time it's through the disturbing mistreatment mis·treat tr.v. mis·treat·ed, mis·treat·ing, mis·treats To treat roughly or wrongly. See Synonyms at abuse. mis·treat of children in its state-operated orphanages. Tragic accounts of child abuse, starvation and neglect occurring in Shanghai's orphanages are detailed in the latest Human Rights Watch/Asia report. Officials denied the accounts, and attempted to refute them by taking foreign journalists on a pre-planned tour of an orphanage. Not surprisingly, requests for records and an opportunity to inspect another facility were denied. All this comes on the heels of Beijing's antics in December, when the government convicted and sentenced pro-democracy activist Wei Jingsheng
Wei Jingsheng (魏京生：Wèi Jīngshēng) (born May 20, 1950) is an activist in the Chinese democracy movement, most prominent for to 15 years in prison and stripped him of his political rights for three additional years, ignoring an international outcry calling for his freedom. (Wei had already spent 14 of his 45 years in jail for his powerful, pro-democracy essays). In August, human rights champion Harry Wu was expelled from China after receiving a 15-year sentence on trumped-up charges. Wu, a naturalized nat·u·ral·ize v. nat·u·ral·ized, nat·u·ral·iz·ing, nat·u·ral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To grant full citizenship to (one of foreign birth). 2. To adopt (something foreign) into general use. American citizen, also is a survivor of China's notorious prison camps, having spent 20 years behind bars for speaking out against China's human rights atrocities. Add to this China's often truculent truc·u·lent adj. 1. Disposed to fight; pugnacious. 2. Expressing bitter opposition; scathing: a truculent speech against the new government. 3. stance toward Taiwan, Japan and the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , and evidence of its sale of arms and nuclear-related technology to Pakistan, Iran and others, and the picture becomes even more disturbing. We acknowledge that there isn't much - aside from voicing its displeasure - that the United States can do to change China's behavior toward its own people. We aren't, for example, prepared to suggest trade sanctions Trade sanctions are trade penalties imposed by one or more countries on one or more other countries. Typically the sanctions take the form of import tariffs (duties), licensing schemes or other administrative hurdles. , since they often make life more difficult for innocent people while doing little to inconvenience repressive governments. However, there is no reason why the United States should do anything to accommodate Beijing so long as it continues to act so atrociously. We hope that Washington will make that message loud and clear. |
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