The problems that the People's Republic of China is already creating for the international legal order and human rights should not be ignored. We do not need another player along the lines of Russia, but with ten times its economic power.
I was asked: why should we care here in Romania what the People's Republic of China is doing? Well, everyone should know that, in the absence of respect for human rights, China's expansive economic expansion is at least as dangerous as Russia's aggressive attitude towards Europe!
Together with my fellow advisor Andreea Leonte, a specialist on Chinese issues, I went to Washington today to attend the annual programme of the Interparliamentary Alliance on China (ipac.global), a group of 25 countries in which I am co-chair of the Romanian branch with Alexandru Muraru.
China is an enormous power with an economic and social footprint to match, but with values that do not conform to the ideals of democracy, a single ruling party, no civil society, and constant human rights accusations.
And human rights are NOT negotiable, whether we are talking about citizens of democratic countries or Chinese citizens.
So we need to talk more about China, informed. In the coming days we will do just that here on the page: a series of materials related to China's intervention in the international space and the things that have happened in Taiwan, Hong Kong, in the Uighur area. And I invite you to ask questions on this in the comments.
IPAC brings together 25 countries with a common goal. Specifically, the 24 states understand that we will interact economically and politically with China, but that we must do so on the basis of a set of clear, shared principles and values. We are talking about:
- democratic values;
- human rights and the declaration on human rights - which China has also signed;
- environmental protection;
- protection of private property;
- the right to work;
- substantial protection at work.
I invite you to ask me questions in the comments on Facebook. We will post information about the talks in Washington for even more clarity on Chinese issues.
Română