CHINA: Nation's human rights progress has no shortcut

By Shan Renping

After Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese activist, left the US embassy in Beijing, the case took a dramatic turn yesterday. Chen claimed that the US embassy officials lied to him and abandoned him by letting him leave. His latest request was to fly to the US on US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's plane. Both Gary Locke, the US Ambassador to China, and the US Department of State denied they had threatened Chen or that the US embassy was pressured by the Chinese government. According to US officials, Chen had "a change of heart." The US embassy has caused itself trouble after receiving Chen. Chen, who reportedly said "I want to kiss you" to Hillary Clinton on the phone, is now expressing his disappointment about the US government to the media. The clash between Chen and the US embassy shows the difficult communication between this activist and the outside world. Those who had contacted him told the Global Times that Chen rarely trusts people due to his special experiences. There are numerous instances of discontent and frictions happening at the grass-roots level. Many of these can be associated with human rights, if one claims they are. Under the instigation of the West, they could all become another "Chen case." Human rights progress cannot be isolated from other comprehensive developments in China, which has been the driving force behind the advancement of human rights in China in recent decades. But if the West insists on using it as a tool, China's human rights record will continue to be attacked. Such contradictions will keep on happening since while the country is making efforts to improve human rights, it will be smeared as a human rights violator. Western media have helped to raise some unrealistic demands about human rights standards. That is why Western-initiated human rights campaigns against Chinese authorities are often echoed by Chinese members of the public. But the scrutiny on China's grass-roots human rights practices has its benefits. It will open the field of vision of the Chinese public, and may stimulate the progress of local human rights standards. But it also has the negative effect of fostering conflicts at the grass-roots level. It is difficult to tell whether these cons are made up for by the pros. Human rights progress cannot be realized in one night through a political decision, nor can it be donated by outsiders. In every country, this process requires strenuous efforts. We should not expect a shortcut.