In Talks With China on Human Rights, ‘Stability’ Becomes U.S. Buzzword

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U.S. officials seem to have found a new buzzword when talking about human rights in China—stability. As the two countries’ Strategic and Economic Dialogue opened Monday in Washington, both Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised the prospect of greater domestic stability in China through improved human rights.

Here is the passage from Clinton’s opening remarks:

Now, like any two great nations – in fact, I would argue like any two people – we have our differences. And like friends, we discuss those differences honestly and forthrightly. We will be continuing the discussion of the recent U.S.-China Human Rights Dialogue just held in Beijing. We have made very clear, publicly and privately, our concern about human rights. We worry about the impact on our domestic politics and on the politics and the stability in China and the region. We see reports of people, including public interest lawyers, writers, artists, and others, who are detained or disappeared. And we know over the long arch of history that societies that work toward respecting human rights are going to be more prosperous, stable, and successful. That has certainly been proven time and time again, but most particularly in the last months.

And here is Biden’s somewhat folksier take on the matter:

Now, look, as I said, I recognize that some in China see our advocacy as — human rights as an intrusion and Lord only knows what else.  But President Obama and I believe strongly, as does the Secretary, that protecting fundamental rights and freedoms such as those enshrined in China’s international commitments, as well as in China’s own constitution, is the best way to promote long-term stability and prosperity of any society.

Watching this round of Sino-U.S. talks, which are expected to include discussions on trade, U.S. debt, the value of Chinese currency, military relations, Iran and North Korea, among other topics, this use of “stability” in the context of human rights that struck me as the most novel development. While it is likely that U.S. officials have raised this approach before in talks with their Chinese counterparts, I can’t recall so many members of the Administration making this argument before. Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Michael Posner used similar language in his comments after the U.S.-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing late last month, saying, “We believe that societies that respect human rights and address the aspirations of their people are more prosperous, successful and stable.” In the past the U.S. argument has been that human rights such as free speech, freedom of religion and a right to due process are universal, and that China should uphold the protections granted citizens both in its constitution and as a signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The attitude was that the U.S. “does” human rights, and will push the issue in China and elsewhere as part of its foreign policy. Obama said as much during his visit to China in 2009. He spoke to Chinese President Hu Jintao “about America’s bedrock beliefs that all men and women possess certain fundamental human rights,” Obama said at a joint press conference with Hu in Beijing. “We do not believe these principles are unique to America, but rather they are universal rights and that they should be available to all peoples, to all ethnic and religious minorities.”

When confronted with such an argument, it’s easy for leaders in China and elsewhere to point out that the U.S. also “does” Guantanamo, renditions and multiple ongoing wars in the Middle East. It’s easy for them to point out American hypocrisy, as the Chinese government does every year when, in response to the U.S. State Department’s annual report on human rights, it publishes its own report on human rights failures in the U.S.

In promoting stability, U.S. officials have hit upon something the Chinese government truly seeks. Part of what has driven the Chinese leadership’s policy goal of a “harmonious society” is the alarming frequency of mass protests and the fear that such unrest could someday turn against the central government. Chinese sociologist Yu Jianrong has pointed out that the authorities efforts at cultivating social stability often treat the symptoms, by stifling protests and petitions, but fail to resolve the deeper causes, like anger at land confiscations by local governments. As the Arab Spring turns to summer, the Chinese government continues to stifle voices of dissent at home. For now, it’s unlikely that it will temper its crackdown in hopes of achieving a more durable form of stability.