“It is an honor to welcome Madame Wu, whose visit will continue our ongoing effort to strengthen relationships between Hawai’i and China, as well as expand our cooperative economic partnerships.”
What she didn’t say:
Since the early 1970s, U.S. officials and business leaders have been saying that stronger economic ties would lead to better respect for human rights in China. Yet the latest U.S. State Department human rights report for China—released Mar. 8, 2006—describes the country as an “authoritarian state” whose “human rights record remained poor.” Don’t worry—it gets better. “[T]he government continued to commit numerous and serious abuses,” continues the report. “There was a trend towards increased harassment, detention, and imprisonment by government and security authorities of those perceived as threatening to government authority.” Good thing Lingle got us those new tourism agreements.
-Anthony Pignataro
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