UMA PALAVRINHA SOBRE RESPEITO PELOS DIREITOS HUMANOS

Vem isto a propósito da visita do primeiro-ministro chinês - Wen Jiabao a Portugal onde foi calorosamente recebido por José Sócrates.

Depois de ter assinado um protocolo de "parceria estratégica global" com o seu homólogo chinês, o primeiro-ministro do governo português afirmou hoje que "Portugal pode oferecer muita coisa à China, além da hospitalidade e do clima. Primeiro, afirmar-se como parceiro da China em África".

Foi apenas uma de muitas outras "ofertas" trocadas entre os dois governantes perante uma plateia de empresários.

Fica por saber se Sócrates também se ofereceu para ajudar o regime chinês a respeitar os Direitos Humanos na China.


Nós ajudamos:

"The People's Republic of China (PRC) is an authoritarian state in which, as specified in its Constitution, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP or Party) is the paramount source of power. Party members hold almost all top government, police, and military positions. Ultimate authority rests with the 24-member political bureau (Politburo) of the CCP and its 9-member standing committee. Leaders made a top priority of maintaining stability and social order and were committed to perpetuating the rule of the CCP. Citizens lacked the freedom to express opposition to the Party-led political system and the right to change their national leaders or form of government.

The Government's human rights record remained poor, and the Government continued to commit numerous and serious abuses. Citizens did not have the right to change their government, and many who openly expressed dissenting political views were harassed, detained, or imprisoned, particularly in a campaign late in the year against writers, religious activists, dissidents, and petitioners to the Central Government. Authorities were quick to suppress religious, political, and social groups that they perceived as threatening to government authority or national stability, especially before sensitive dates such as the 15th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre and other significant political and religious occasions. However, the Constitution was amended to mention human rights for the first time.

Abuses included instances of extrajudicial killings; torture and mistreatment of prisoners, leading to numerous deaths in custody; coerced confessions; arbitrary arrest and detention; and incommunicado detention. The judiciary was not independent, and the lack of due process remained a serious problem. The lack of due process was particularly egregious in death penalty cases, and the accused was often denied a meaningful appeal. Executions often took place on the day of conviction or on the denial of an appeal. (...) According to 2003 government statistics, more than 250,000 persons were serving sentences in "reeducation-through-labor" camps and other forms of administrative detention not subject to judicial review. Other experts reported that more than 310,000 persons were serving sentences in these camps in 2003.

The Government maintained tight restrictions on freedom of speech and of the press, and a wave of detentions late in the year signaled a new campaign targeting prominent writers and political commentators. The Government regulated the establishment and management of publications, controlled broadcast and other electronic media, censored some foreign television broadcasts, and jammed some radio signals from abroad. During the year, publications were closed and otherwise disciplined for publishing material deemed objectionable by the Government, and journalists, authors, academics, Internet writers, and researchers were harassed, detained, and arrested by the authorities. Although the scope of permissible private speech has continued to expand in recent years, the Government continued and intensified efforts to monitor and control use of the Internet and other wireless technology, including cellular phones, pagers, and instant messaging devices. During the year, the Government blocked many websites, began monitoring text messages sent by mobile phones, and pressured Internet companies to censor objectionable content. NGOs reported that 43 journalists were imprisoned at year's end.


RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person:

a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
b. Disappearance
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, Correspondence"


in "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2004, Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of U. S. Department of State, February 28, 2005"



Eusébio Furtado