San Francisco Chronicle: China Bristles at U.S. Rebuke

January 29, 2001

IT DIDN'T take long for the Bush administration to ruffle China's feathers with a blast at Beijing's vicious, 18-month crackdown on the Falun Gong.

The State Department last week condemned China's treatment of religious and political dissidents after five Falun Gong members set themselves ablaze in Tiananmen Square protesting their persecution. [Editor's note: the suicide has nothing to do with Falun Gong.]

Beijing fears and despises the benign Falun Gong as a dangerous threat to communist rule. For 18 months, the government has ruthlessly tried to crush the [group].

Human rights groups say 10,000 Falun Gong followers have been jailed for their beliefs, and between 60 and 100 have died in custody. Yet, the [group] is growing and claims millions of followers across China.

While it is too early to say how the new administration will deal with China, Secretary of State Colin Powell has properly denounced Beijing's gross abuses of human rights and civil liberties.

Always touchy about outside criticism, Chinese officials went through the roof, demanding that the United States mind its own business and "stop interfering in China's internal affairs."

Even though Beijing is bristling with indignation, now is an opportune moment for the Bush administration to speak out loudly about China's dismal human rights record and press for improvements.

China is particularly sensitive to censure these days because it is trying to polish its image, hoping to improve chances of winning a bid to host the 2008 Olympics.

After a recent meeting with U.N. officials in Beijing, senior Chinese officials suggested that they might adopt the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. That would be a big step in the right direction.

With the International Olympic Committee scheduled to select the host nation during a July meeting in Moscow, the next few months may be a rare window of opportunity to press for change in China.