COMMUNIST CHINA STRANGLES HUMAN RIGHTS AT HOME AND ABROAD

COMMUNIST CHINA STRANGLES HUMAN RIGHTS AT HOME AND ABROAD

The spread of Communism to mainland China compromised prospects of Freedom, Democracy, Peace, and Human Rights both inside China and in her occupied territories of Tibet, Inner Mongolia, and East Turkestan.

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

DOOM DOOMA DOOMSAYER

CHINA’S MANIPULATION OF UN HUMAN RIGHTS EFFORTS MUST BE STOPPED

Clipped from: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/09/12/chinas-campaign-to-smother-human-rights-efforts-at-un-needs-to-be-stopped.html

SOPHIE RICHARDSON, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center in Xiamen in southeastern China’s Fujian Province, Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

China’s growing appetite for global power isn’t hard to spot: military muscle-flexing in the South China Sea, the trillion-dollar New Silk Road development initiative, even its proliferation of Confucius Institutes, academic outposts to spread its version of history and politics.

What’s less easy to see is that worsening human rights violations at home are increasingly reflected in Beijing’s diplomatic agenda to undermine human rights protections abroad, including at the United Nations.

The U.N. human rights system exists to protect people whose own governments cannot or will not do that for them. The system has many shortcomings, but even so it is a vital international forum for monitoring nations’ compliance with their human rights obligations, where critical independent voices can be heard and violators at times held accountable—or at least spotlighted.

For activists who work on China human rights issues, this venue is all the more important because the country’s president, Xi Jinping, has steadily strangled domestic options for obtaining justice through the courts and engaging in peaceful dissent.

Chinese authorities have prevented mainland activists from reaching the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva and harassed them at U.N. headquarters in New York. Chinese officials in Geneva have even threatened foreign diplomats and UN. human rights experts who support scrutiny of Beijing’s record.

As a new Human Rights Watch report exposes, President Xi’s government is working hard to weaken these U.N. mechanisms. Chinese authorities have prevented mainland activists from reaching the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva and harassed them at U.N. headquarters in New York. Chinese officials in Geneva have even threatened foreign diplomats and U.N. human rights experts who support scrutiny of Beijing’s record.

Reflecting its hostility to human rights monitoring generally, China has also blocked U.N. resolutions supporting human rights defenders globally—thus undermining protections for rights groups who do not even work on China.

Beijing is also trying to manipulate U.N. mechanisms to impose its political views on others. China—along with other countries hostile to human rights—sits on the U.N. committee that grants civil society groups accreditation needed to participate in U.N. meetings. Applicants have been told that getting approval means deleting from their organizations’ materials any reference to 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo. Any references to Taiwan or Tibet must reflect Beijing’s view that those territories are part of China.

China has jailed activists who wanted to participate in U.N. activities, and even blocked a commemoration of one who died trying to do so.

In September 2013, Chinese authorities detained Cao Shunli, a Beijing-based activist, prior to boarding a flight for Geneva, where she was going to participate in China-related U.N. training sessions. While in detention Cao fell critically ill, but the authorities denied her adequate medical care. She died in March 2014.

At the next session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, nongovernmental organizations sought to hold a moment of silence in her honor, but China coolly and cruelly succeeded in getting enough other Council members—including Cuba, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela– to prevent the gesture.

U.N. officials have at times rejected Chinese efforts at intimidation and ensured that independent voices are heard. Yet on other occasions they either fail to stand firm—allowing, for example, China to dictate that experts seen as critical of China not sit on key committees—or, worse, are complicit in abuses.

In April 2017, U.N. security officers forced Dolkun Isa, an accredited activist for China’s persecuted Uyghurs, to leave the New York headquarters, where he was participating in a conference on minority rights. When challenged about this incident, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “fully aware of the situation,” but failed to offer any explanation or plan of action to change things.

To be sure, China isn’t the only government that seeks to manipulate the U.N. human rights system for its own benefit. But Beijing’s global power, ambitions, and its status as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council make it a sinister role model for other authoritarian governments.

China’s ability to block human rights initiatives is not absolute. The U.N. remains a high profile venue for countries intent on promoting human rights and for working to hold abusive governments to account. In March 2016, for example, the United States and 11 other countries issued an unprecedented joint statement condemning China’s arrest of human rights activists and attorneys.

Nonetheless, the trend is moving in the wrong direction. As Human Rights Watch’s research has shown, unless the U.N., with help from rights-respecting governments, pushes back by insisting on compliance with established human rights practices, adopting new ones to prevent future abuses, and holding China and other bad-faith players accountable, the integrity of the vulnerable U.N. human rights system—and the people around the world it helps to protect—are at grave risk.

Sophie Richardson is China director at Human Rights Watch. Follow her on Twitter at @SophieHRW.

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SEPTEMBER 21, 1949 – THE COLD WAR IN ASIA – THE BIRTH OF ONE-PARTY GOVERNANCE IN PEKING

SEPTEMBER 21, 1949 – THE COLD WAR IN ASIA – THE BIRTH OF ONE-PARTY GOVERNANCE IN PEKING

SEPTEMBER 21, 1949 – THE COLD WAR IN ASIA – THE BIRTH OF ONE-PARTY GOVERNANCE IN PEKING

On September 21, 1949 Mao Zedong revealed plan for One-Party Governance of mainland China establishing Single-Party System or Party-State. On September 21, 2017 the Communist Party of China continues to pose threat to Democracy, Freedom, Peace, and Justice in Asia.

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

DOOM DOOMA DOOMSAYER

MAO ZEDONG OUTLINES THE NEW CHINESE GOVERNMENT – SEPTEMBER 21, 1949

Clipped from: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mao-zedong-outlines-the-new-chinese-government?

Cold War

1949

At the opening of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Peking, Mao Zedong announces that the new Chinese government will be “under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.”

The September 1949 conference in Peking was both a celebration of the communist victory in the long civil war against Nationalist Chinese forces and the unveiling of the communist regime that would henceforth rule over China. Mao and his communist supporters had been fighting against what they claimed was a corrupt and decadent Nationalist government in China since the 1920s. Despite massive U.S. support for the Nationalist regime, Mao’s forces were victorious in 1949 and drove the Nationalist government onto the island of Taiwan. In September, with cannons firing salutes and ceremonial flags waving, Mao announced the victory of communism in China and vowed to establish the constitutional and governmental framework to protect the “people’s revolution.”

In outlining the various committees and agencies to be established under the new regime, Mao announced that “Our state system of the People’s Democratic Dictatorship is a powerful weapon for safeguarding the fruits of victory of the people’s revolution and for opposing plots of foreign and domestic enemies to stage a comeback. We must firmly grasp this weapon.” He denounced those who opposed the communist government as “imperialistic and domestic reactionaries.” In the future, China would seek the friendship of “the Soviet Union and the new democratic countries.” Mao also claimed that communism would help end reputation as a lesser-developed country. “The era in which the Chinese were regarded as uncivilized is now over. We will emerge in the world as a highly civilized nation.” On October 1, 1949, the People’s Republic of China was formally announced, with Mao Zedong as its leader. He would remain in charge of the nation until his death in 1976.

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PRESIDENT TRUMP’S DEFINING MOMENT – ARE YOU FRIEND OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY?

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S DEFINING MOMENT – ARE YOU FRIEND OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY?

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S DEFINING MOMENT – ARE YOU FRIEND OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY?

On Tuesday September 19, 2017, President Trump will address the UN General Assembly. It will be President Trump’s defining moment. He has to prove his credentials to the world.

On behalf of Special Frontier Force, I ask Mr. President, "Are You Friend of Freedom and Democracy?"

Trump must verify his love, hate relationship with American Values. While defending Freedom and Democracy, the US lost its battle in Vietnam. Now, I have to know as to how President Trump plans to "WIN" ‘The Cold War in Asia’.

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA 48104 – 4162

SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

TRUMP’S LOVE, HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNITED NATIONS – ABC NEWS

Clipped from: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-trumps-love-hate-relationship-united-nations/story?id=49925472

Evan Vucci/AP

President Trump will make his first speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. Will he bring the world together or sow division? Will he embrace an institution that he has previously called weak and incompetent?

His relationship with the New York-based global organization is long and complicated.

Trump, the candidate, says UN “not a friend of freedom”

During his March 23, 2016 speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s conference, then-candidate Trump issued some of his toughest commentary, speaking of the “utter weakness and incompetence of the United Nations.”

“The United Nations is not a friend of democracy. It’s not a friend to freedom,” Trump said. “It’s not a friend even to the United States of America, where, as you know, it has its home. And it surely is not a friend to Israel.”

Though a 2016 Global Attitudes Survey by Pew Research Center showed that 64 percent of Americans had a favorable view of the United Nations, Trump’s campaign promises for a protectionist economic policy and an aggressive approach to China come into conflict with the goals of multilateralism and the UN charter. His promotion of interrogation techniques “worse than waterboarding,” his push for a temporary ban on Muslims from entering the U.S. and his decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords have also put Trump at odds with UN allies.

Last December, Trump continued his assault on the institution, tweeting: “The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!”

Trump, the real estate magnate: “I’m a big fan” of the UN

In 2005, Trump testified before a subcommittee looking at UN spending, calling himself a “big fan of the United Nations and all it stands for.” He told lawmakers the institution was one of the reasons he chose to build Trump World Tower, one of his luxury residential properties, where he did in 1998.

“If the United Nations weren’t there, perhaps I wouldn’t have built it in that location,” said Trump. “So it means quite a bit to me.” When Trump was planning the building, many UN officials, including Secretary General Kofi Annan, expressed disapproval of the massive construction project.

Trump’s renovation hopes

At a 2005 hearing, a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee was looking at renovations at the UN New York headquarters and estimated development costs for similar projects in New York. Trump had met with UN officials to pitch his services, but they were refused. He told members he thought the project could cost $700 million, and he predicted the UN would end up spending upwards of $3 billion.

“You have to deal in New York City construction to see what tough people are all about,” Trump said at the time. “I listen to these people and they’re very naive, I respect them, but they’re very naive in this world. I might be naive in their world. But in this world, they’re naive.”

He also noted at a 2005 hearing that it was a dream of his to move the United Nations headquarters to the World Trade Center.

Seven years later, he shared another UN preoccupation, tweeting on Oct. 3, 2012: “The cheap 12 inch sq. marble tiles behind speaker at UN always bothered me. I will replace with beautiful large marble slabs if they ask me.”

On Tuesday, Trump will address the United Nations General Assembly and the world without his “beautiful large marble slabs” as a backdrop.

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CHANGE OF COURSE IN NORTH KOREA – DEMOCRACY vs COMMUNISM

CHANGE OF CORSE IN NORTH KOREA – DEMOCRACY vs COMMUNISM

CHANGE OF COURSE IN NORTH KOREA – DEMOCRACY vs COMMUNISM

Tensions in Korean Peninsula originated with spread of Communism to mainland China in 1949. UN sanctions on North Korea will not work. The problem remains the same since 1950 when the US fought against People’s Liberation Army on Korean soil. Single-Party Communist governance of mainland China imposes stumbling block for any change of course in North Korea.

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

DOOM DOOMA DOOMSAYER

UN CONDEMNS NORTH KOREA’S ‘HIGHLY PROVOCATIVE’ MISSILE TEST

Clipped from: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/north-korea-fires-missile-japan-longest-flight-49865031

The Associated Press

People walk past a public TV screen broadcasting news of North Korea’s launch of missile, in Tokyo, Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. North Korea launched an intermediate-range missile that flew over Japan in its longest-ever flight on Friday, showing that leader Kim Jong Un is defiantly pushing to bolster his weapons programs despite U.S.-led international pressure. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

The U.N. Security Council strongly condemned North Korea’s "highly provocative" ballistic missile test on Friday and demanded that Pyongyang immediately halt its "outrageous actions" and demonstrate its commitment to denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.

The U.N.’s most powerful body accused North Korea of undermining regional peace and security by launching its latest missile over Japan and said its nuclear and missile tests "have caused grave security concerns around the world" and threaten all 193 U.N. member states.

North Korea’s longest-ever test flight of a ballistic missile early Friday from Sunan, the location of Pyongyang’s international airport, signaled both defiance of North Korea’s rivals and a big technological advance. After hurtling over Japan, it landed in the northern Pacific Ocean.

Since U.S. President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with "fire and fury" in August, the North has conducted its most powerful nuclear test, threatened to send missiles into the waters around the U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam and launched two missiles of increasing range over Japan. July saw the country’s first tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles that could strike deep into the U.S. mainland when perfected.

The intermediate-range missile test came four days after the Security Council imposed tough new sanctions on the North for its Sept. 3 missile test including a ban on textile exports and natural gas imports — and caps on its import of oil and petroleum products. The U.S. said the latest sanctions, combined with previous measures, would ban over 90 percent of North Korea’s exports reported in 2016, its main source of hard currency used to finance its nuclear and missile programs.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry denounced the sanctions and said the North would "redouble its efforts to increase its strength to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and right to existence."

The Security Council stressed in Friday’s press statement after a closed-door emergency meeting that all countries must "fully, comprehensively and immediately" implement all U.N. sanctions.

Japan’s U.N. Ambassador Koro Bessho called the launch an "outrageous act" that is not only a threat to Japan’s security but a threat to the world as a whole."

Bessho and the British, French and Swedish ambassadors demanded that all sanctions be implemented.

Calling the latest launch a "terrible, egregious, illegal, provocative reckless act," Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said North Korea’s largest trading partners and closest links — a clear reference to China — must "demonstrate that they are doing everything in their power to implement the sanctions of the Security Council and to encourage the North Korean regime to change course."

France’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the country is ready to work on tougher U.N. and EU measures to convince Pyongyang that there is no interest in an escalation, and to bring it to the negotiating table. It said North Korea will also be discussed during next week’s annual gathering of world leaders at the General Assembly.

The Security Council also emphasized the importance of North Korea working to reduce tension in the Korean Peninsula — and it reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the territory divided between authoritarian North Korea and democratic South Korea.

The council welcomed efforts by its members and other countries "to facilitate a peaceful and comprehensive solution" to the North Korean nuclear issue through dialogue.

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, strongly backed the need for dialogue saying the United States needs to start talks with North Korea, which the Trump administration has ruled out.

Nebenzia told reporters after the meeting that Russia called on the U.S. and others to implement the "political and diplomatic solutions" called for in the latest sanctions resolution.

"Without implementing this, we also will consider it as a non-compliance with the resolution," Nebenzia said, adding that it also may be time for the council to "think out of the box" on how to deal with North Korea.

The growing frequency, power and confidence displayed by Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests seem to confirm what governments and outside experts have long feared: North Korea is closer than ever to its goal of building a military arsenal that can viably target U.S. troops both in Asia and in the U.S. homeland.

This, in turn, is meant to allow North Korea greater military freedom in the region by raising doubts in Seoul and Tokyo that Washington would risk the annihilation of a U.S. city to protect its Asian allies.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the latest missile traveled about 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) and reached a maximum height of 770 kilometers (478 miles). Guam, which is the home of important U.S. military assets, is 3,400 kilometers (2,112 miles) away from North Korea.

Despite its impressive range, the missile probably still is not accurate enough to destroy Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base, said David Wright, a U.S. missile expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, a liberal who initially pushed for talks with North Korea, said its tests currently make dialogue "impossible."

"If North Korea provokes us or our allies, we have the strength to smash the attempt at an early stage and inflict a level of damage it would be impossible to recover from," he said.

North Korea has repeatedly vowed to continue its weapons tests amid what it calls U.S. hostility — by which it means the presence of nearly 80,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan and South Korea.

Robust international diplomacy on the issue has been stalled for years, and there’s so far little sign that senior officials from North Korea and the U.S. might sit down to discuss ways to slow the North’s determined march toward inclusion among the world’s nuclear weapons powers.

South Korea detected North Korean launch preparations Thursday, and President Moon ordered a live-fire ballistic missile drill if the launch happened. This allowed Seoul to fire missiles only six minutes after the North’s launch Friday. One of the two missiles hit a sea target about 250 kilometers (155 miles) away, which was approximately the distance to Pyongyang’s Sunan, but the other failed in flight shortly after launch.

Kim reported from Seoul. Associated Press writers Foster Klug in Seoul and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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SEPTEMBER 27, 1987 – BLACK DAY TO FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY, AND PEACE IN TIBET

SEPTEMBER 27, 1987 – BLACK DAY TO FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY, AND PEACE IN TIBET

SEPTEMBER 27, 1987 – BLACK DAY TO FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY, AND PEACE IN TIBET

A new era in Tibetan Resistance Movement began on September 27, 1987 when Tibetans in Lhasa openly revolted against Chinese Occupation of Tibet.

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

TIBETANS TAKE OUT MARCH TO OBSERVE 1987 LHASA UPRISING – DEHRADUN NEWS

Clipped from: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/tibetans-take-out-march-to-observe-1987-lhasa-uprising/articleshow/60859321.cms

DEHRADUN: The Tibetan population in the city observed Wednesday as ‘Black Day’ and took out a candle light march in the heart of the city to commemorate the 1987 uprising in Lhasa, Tibet, which began on September 27, that year.


A peaceful demonstration held on the day in Lhasa was stopped by Chinese authorities and in the days to follow, riots broke out in the city in which several Tibetans were attacked, taken to prison and some were killed.

The commemoration ceremony was organized jointly by Doon Valley Regional Tibetan Women’s Association (RTWA) and regional Tibetan Youth Congress. Tibetans across the city also came together and remembered those who sacrificed their lives for free Tibet. The Tibetan market also remained shut on the day.

Tibet came into the limelight in 1987, 28 years after the Dalai Lama’s flight in 1959. The 1987 Lhasa pro-independence demonstrations were a landmark in Tibetan history. From 1987 to 1992, about 140 protests and demonstrations were held in Tibet to oppose the Chinese rule in Tibet.

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WHAT’S UP? WHATSAPP DOWN IN COMMUNIST CHINA

WHAT’S UP? WHATSAPP DOWN IN COMMUNIST CHINA

What’s Up? WhatsApp down in Communist China. Disruption of Messaging Service ahead of Communist Party Meeting in October 2017 merely symbolizes the absence of Transparency and Public Accountability in Communist Governance.

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

DOOM DOOMA DOOMSAYER

CHINA DISRUPTS ‘WHATSAPP’ AHEAD OF COMMUNIST PARTY MEETING

Clipped from: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-41395640

Image copyright Getty Images

The messaging service WhatsApp has been disrupted in China as the government steps up security ahead of a Communist Party meeting next month.

Users have faced problems with the app for more than a week with services dropping in and out.

At times, it has been completely blocked and only accessible via virtual private networks (VPNs) which circumvent China’s internet firewall.

WhatsApp is Facebook’s only product allowed to operate in mainland China.

Facebook’s main social media service and its Instagram image sharing app are not available on the mainland.

Services disrupted

The BBC’s China based correspondents said the WhatsApp messaging service started going offline more than a week ago.

A test of its services on Tuesday showed users in China could not send video messages or photographs to people outside China.

The disruption follows restrictions on WhatsApp video chats and photographs in July, which were later lifted.

The tightening of online censorship comes as China steps up security ahead of the Communist Party’s national congress which is held every five years.

"The run-up period to a gathering is normally a time of greater restrictions of all kinds to assure that the critical Party Congress is held under ideal social conditions and is not disrupted", Robert Lawrence Kuhn, long-time advisor to China’s leaders and multinational corporations told the BBC.

However, he said it is not yet clear whether the restrictions will be relaxed as has happened after previous party congresses, adding that many analysts do not believe they will be.

WhatsApp has declined to comment on the latest clampdown.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption WeChat is the most popular messaging service in China

Analysis – Stephen McDonell, BBC China correspondent, Beijing

Last week word started spreading around other platforms… "Is WhatsApp blocked?"

The replies would come in: "You need to use a VPN". Then the VPNs were being blocked.

Welcome to online China in the run-up to the Communist Party Congress.

Taking out WhatsApp has no impact on most Chinese people. They don’t use it. The unrivalled king of cyberspace in this country is WeChat (or, in Chinese, Weixin 微信)

You would really struggle to find somebody here not using WeChat to send messages, share photos, swap locations, flirt, read news and pay for pretty much everything. This all-encompassing app at the center of people’s lives is available for the Communist Party to spy on the entire population.

WhatsApp is not – at least not to the same extent.

So, during this sensitive time leading up to the once-in-five-years Party Congress, those with responsibility for censoring social media are nervous.

They worry that somebody may use an app beyond their complete control to, for example, organize a protest or post a funny photo of President Xi Jinping and for this to somehow go under their radar.

Tech crackdown

WhatsApp provides end-to-end encryption which ensures only the sender and recipient can view the content of messages.

It also prevents Facebook from knowing what is said in any text, voice and video conversation being communicated on WhatsApp.

"China has shown little tolerance to encryption especially on platforms that can be used to share materials or potential propaganda," Bill Taylor-Mountford, Asia Pacific vice president for LogRhythm told the BBC.

The latest disruption to WhatsApp appears to be part of a broader crackdown on the internet and online content in China.

On Monday, China’s cyber watchdog handed down maximum penalties to some of the country’s top technology firms including Tencent, Baidu and Weibo for failing to properly censor online content.

The penalties were imposed for failing to remove fake news and pornography, as well as content that authorities said "incites ethic tension" and "threatens social order".

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COMMUNIST CHINA STRANGLES HUMAN RIGHTS AT HOME AND ABROAD

COMMUNIST CHINA STRANGLES HUMAN RIGHTS AT HOME AND ABROAD

The spread of Communism to mainland China compromised prospects of Freedom, Democracy, Peace, and Human Rights both inside China and in her occupied territories of Tibet, Inner Mongolia, and East Turkestan.

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

DOOM DOOMA DOOMSAYER

CHINA’S MANIPULATION OF UN HUMAN RIGHTS EFFORTS MUST BE STOPPED

Clipped from: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/09/12/chinas-campaign-to-smother-human-rights-efforts-at-un-needs-to-be-stopped.html

SOPHIE RICHARDSON, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center in Xiamen in southeastern China’s Fujian Province, Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

China’s growing appetite for global power isn’t hard to spot: military muscle-flexing in the South China Sea, the trillion-dollar New Silk Road development initiative, even its proliferation of Confucius Institutes, academic outposts to spread its version of history and politics.

What’s less easy to see is that worsening human rights violations at home are increasingly reflected in Beijing’s diplomatic agenda to undermine human rights protections abroad, including at the United Nations.

The U.N. human rights system exists to protect people whose own governments cannot or will not do that for them. The system has many shortcomings, but even so it is a vital international forum for monitoring nations’ compliance with their human rights obligations, where critical independent voices can be heard and violators at times held accountable—or at least spotlighted.

For activists who work on China human rights issues, this venue is all the more important because the country’s president, Xi Jinping, has steadily strangled domestic options for obtaining justice through the courts and engaging in peaceful dissent.

Chinese authorities have prevented mainland activists from reaching the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva and harassed them at U.N. headquarters in New York. Chinese officials in Geneva have even threatened foreign diplomats and UN. human rights experts who support scrutiny of Beijing’s record.

As a new Human Rights Watch report exposes, President Xi’s government is working hard to weaken these U.N. mechanisms. Chinese authorities have prevented mainland activists from reaching the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva and harassed them at U.N. headquarters in New York. Chinese officials in Geneva have even threatened foreign diplomats and U.N. human rights experts who support scrutiny of Beijing’s record.

Reflecting its hostility to human rights monitoring generally, China has also blocked U.N. resolutions supporting human rights defenders globally—thus undermining protections for rights groups who do not even work on China.

Beijing is also trying to manipulate U.N. mechanisms to impose its political views on others. China—along with other countries hostile to human rights—sits on the U.N. committee that grants civil society groups accreditation needed to participate in U.N. meetings. Applicants have been told that getting approval means deleting from their organizations’ materials any reference to 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo. Any references to Taiwan or Tibet must reflect Beijing’s view that those territories are part of China.

China has jailed activists who wanted to participate in U.N. activities, and even blocked a commemoration of one who died trying to do so.

In September 2013, Chinese authorities detained Cao Shunli, a Beijing-based activist, prior to boarding a flight for Geneva, where she was going to participate in China-related U.N. training sessions. While in detention Cao fell critically ill, but the authorities denied her adequate medical care. She died in March 2014.

At the next session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, nongovernmental organizations sought to hold a moment of silence in her honor, but China coolly and cruelly succeeded in getting enough other Council members—including Cuba, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela– to prevent the gesture.

U.N. officials have at times rejected Chinese efforts at intimidation and ensured that independent voices are heard. Yet on other occasions they either fail to stand firm—allowing, for example, China to dictate that experts seen as critical of China not sit on key committees—or, worse, are complicit in abuses.

In April 2017, U.N. security officers forced Dolkun Isa, an accredited activist for China’s persecuted Uyghurs, to leave the New York headquarters, where he was participating in a conference on minority rights. When challenged about this incident, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “fully aware of the situation,” but failed to offer any explanation or plan of action to change things.

To be sure, China isn’t the only government that seeks to manipulate the U.N. human rights system for its own benefit. But Beijing’s global power, ambitions, and its status as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council make it a sinister role model for other authoritarian governments.

China’s ability to block human rights initiatives is not absolute. The U.N. remains a high profile venue for countries intent on promoting human rights and for working to hold abusive governments to account. In March 2016, for example, the United States and 11 other countries issued an unprecedented joint statement condemning China’s arrest of human rights activists and attorneys.

Nonetheless, the trend is moving in the wrong direction. As Human Rights Watch’s research has shown, unless the U.N., with help from rights-respecting governments, pushes back by insisting on compliance with established human rights practices, adopting new ones to prevent future abuses, and holding China and other bad-faith players accountable, the integrity of the vulnerable U.N. human rights system—and the people around the world it helps to protect—are at grave risk.

Sophie Richardson is China director at Human Rights Watch. Follow her on Twitter at @SophieHRW.

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – WHO IS YOUR GOVERNOR? WHO IS “AL-WALI” ?

SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – WHO IS YOUR GOVERNOR? WHO IS “AL-WALI” ?

Spirituality Science – Who is Your Governor? Who is “Al-Wali” 

I am student of Natural Sciences and Medical Science. I know that man does not rule or govern even a single cell of his own human body that comprises of trillions of Individual, Independent, and Autonomous Cells, the building blocks of Life.

Human Anatomy and Human Physiology explain the structures and functions of cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems of body. For man is not the ‘Governor’ of his own body, man has to know the ‘Governor’ who has authority over both body and the world in which body physically exists.

Spirituality Science – Who is Your Governor? Who is “Al-Wali” ?

On bhavanajagat.com

Scriptures offer guidance. Man of understanding will follow the guidelines to arrive at Knowledge. Firstly, I ask my readers to understand Life as Knowledge in Action. All living functions demand purposeful, goal-oriented, non-random, sequential, and guided events. Scripture speak of LORD God Creator as “GOVERNOR.” If there is ‘Governor’, He will be known by study of Laws which govern Existence of Man and World.

PRESIDENT TRUMP JUST SAY “NO” TO COMMUNISM

PRESIDENT TRUMP JUST SAY "NO" TO COMMUNISM

PRESIDENT TRUMP JUST SAY "NO" TO COMMUNISM

At U.N. General Assembly, on Tuesday September 19, President Trump delivered an empty threat to ‘totally destroy’ North Korea. United States tried twice in the past to destroy Korea and Vietnam on the battlefield. US failed in 1953 and 1975 for Korea and Vietnam are not the "Real Enemy." Korea and Vietnam survived the US bombing campaigns for they have the support of Communists.

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I ask President Trump to Just Say "NO" to Communism, the "Real Enemy," to Win ‘The Cold War in Asia’.

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

AT U.N., TRUMP WARNS U.S. MAY HAVE TO ‘TOTALLY DESTROY’ NORTH KOREA

Clipped from: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/at-un-trump-warns-us-may-have-to-totally-destroy-north-korea/ar-AAschGJ?li=BBnb7Kz

UNITED NATIONS — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States will be forced to "totally destroy" North Korea unless Pyongyang backs down from its nuclear challenge, mocking North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a "rocket man" on a suicide mission.

Loud murmurs filled the green-marbled U.N. General Assembly hall when Trump issued his sternest warning yet to North Korea, whose ballistic missile launches and nuclear tests have rattled the globe. Unless North Korea backs down, he said, "We will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea."

"Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime," he said.

North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s remarks. A junior North Korean diplomat remained in the delegation’s front-row seat for Trump’s speech, the North Korean U.N. mission said.

In his first appearance at the annual gathering of world leaders, the president used a 41-minute speech to take aim also at Iran’s nuclear ambitions and regional influence, Venezuela’s collapsing democracy and the threat of Islamist extremists.

He also criticized the Cuban government. But his strongest words were directed at North Korea. He urged United Nations member states to work together to isolate the Kim government until it ceases its "hostile" behavior.

He said North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles "threatens the entire world with unthinkable cost of human life."

In what may have been a veiled prod at China, the North’s major trading partner, Trump said: "It is an outrage that some nations would not only trade with such a regime but would arm, supply and financially support a country that imperils the world with nuclear conflict."

Turning to Iran, Trump called the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, was an embarrassment and hinted that he may not recertify the agreement when it comes up for a mid-October deadline.

"I don’t think you’ve heard the last of it," he said.

He called Iran an "economically depleted rogue state" that exports violence. The speech marked his latest attempt to lay out his America First vision for a U.S. foreign policy aimed at downgrading global bureaucracies, basing alliances on shared interests, and steering Washington away from nation-building exercises abroad.

Trump, who entered the White House eight months ago, told world leaders at the 193-member global body that the United States does not seek to impose its will on other nations and will respect other countries’ sovereignty.

"I will defend America’s interests above all else," he said. "But in fulfilling our obligations to other nations we also realize it’s in everyone’s interest to seek a future where all nations can be sovereign, prosperous and secure."

Reading carefully from a script, Trump said the U.S. military would soon be the strongest it has ever been. Turning to Venezuela, Trump called the collapsing situation there "completely unacceptable" and said the United States cannot stand by and watch. He warned the United States was considering what further actions it can take. "We cannot stand by and watch," he said.

Shortly before Trump’s speech, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed from the General Assembly lectern for statesmanship to avoid war with North Korea. "This is the time for statesmanship," said the former prime minister of Portugal.

"We must not sleepwalk our way into war.." The U.N. Security Council has unanimously imposed nine rounds of sanctions on North Korea since 2006 and Guterres appealed for the 15-member body to maintain its unity on North Korea.

Trump has warned North Korea that military action was an option for the United States as Pyongyang has carried out a series of tests toward developing the ability to target the United States with a nuclear-tipped missile. Financial markets showed little reaction to Trump’s speech, with most major assets hovering near the unchanged mark on the day.

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PRESIDENT TRUMP’S DEFINING MOMENT – ARE YOU FRIEND OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY?

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S DEFINING MOMENT – ARE YOU FRIEND OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY?

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S DEFINING MOMENT – ARE YOU FRIEND OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY?

On Tuesday September 19, 2017, President Trump will address the UN General Assembly. It will be President Trump’s defining moment. He has to prove his credentials to the world.

On behalf of Special Frontier Force, I ask Mr. President, "Are You Friend of Freedom and Democracy?"

Trump must verify his love, hate relationship with American Values. While defending Freedom and Democracy, the US lost its battle in Vietnam. Now, I have to know as to how President Trump plans to "WIN" ‘The Cold War in Asia’.

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA 48104 – 4162

SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

TRUMP’S LOVE, HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNITED NATIONS – ABC NEWS

Clipped from: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-trumps-love-hate-relationship-united-nations/story?id=49925472

Evan Vucci/AP

President Trump will make his first speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. Will he bring the world together or sow division? Will he embrace an institution that he has previously called weak and incompetent?

His relationship with the New York-based global organization is long and complicated.

Trump, the candidate, says UN “not a friend of freedom”

During his March 23, 2016 speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s conference, then-candidate Trump issued some of his toughest commentary, speaking of the “utter weakness and incompetence of the United Nations.”

“The United Nations is not a friend of democracy. It’s not a friend to freedom,” Trump said. “It’s not a friend even to the United States of America, where, as you know, it has its home. And it surely is not a friend to Israel.”

Though a 2016 Global Attitudes Survey by Pew Research Center showed that 64 percent of Americans had a favorable view of the United Nations, Trump’s campaign promises for a protectionist economic policy and an aggressive approach to China come into conflict with the goals of multilateralism and the UN charter. His promotion of interrogation techniques “worse than waterboarding,” his push for a temporary ban on Muslims from entering the U.S. and his decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords have also put Trump at odds with UN allies.

Last December, Trump continued his assault on the institution, tweeting: “The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!”

Trump, the real estate magnate: “I’m a big fan” of the UN

In 2005, Trump testified before a subcommittee looking at UN spending, calling himself a “big fan of the United Nations and all it stands for.” He told lawmakers the institution was one of the reasons he chose to build Trump World Tower, one of his luxury residential properties, where he did in 1998.

“If the United Nations weren’t there, perhaps I wouldn’t have built it in that location,” said Trump. “So it means quite a bit to me.” When Trump was planning the building, many UN officials, including Secretary General Kofi Annan, expressed disapproval of the massive construction project.

Trump’s renovation hopes

At a 2005 hearing, a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee was looking at renovations at the UN New York headquarters and estimated development costs for similar projects in New York. Trump had met with UN officials to pitch his services, but they were refused. He told members he thought the project could cost $700 million, and he predicted the UN would end up spending upwards of $3 billion.

“You have to deal in New York City construction to see what tough people are all about,” Trump said at the time. “I listen to these people and they’re very naive, I respect them, but they’re very naive in this world. I might be naive in their world. But in this world, they’re naive.”

He also noted at a 2005 hearing that it was a dream of his to move the United Nations headquarters to the World Trade Center.

Seven years later, he shared another UN preoccupation, tweeting on Oct. 3, 2012: “The cheap 12 inch sq. marble tiles behind speaker at UN always bothered me. I will replace with beautiful large marble slabs if they ask me.”

On Tuesday, Trump will address the United Nations General Assembly and the world without his “beautiful large marble slabs” as a backdrop.

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