The executive director of the Association for Asian Research (AAR) Zhang Erping told the Epoch Times last week that Communist China's efforts to twin Beijing and Dublin were aimed at building legitimacy for the communist regime.
"Beijing has been wooing to twin with major cities around the world in an attempt to build a legitimate image in the international community and to silence criticism of its deplorable rights record.", said Mr Zhang.
"Sadly, many democratic city governments twin with Beijing for business interest against their conscience. A wolf in sheep skin is always dangerous despite its cover.", he added.
In the last few weeks Dublin city councillors have held discussions on whether to twin with Beijing. Some councillors believe that a close relationship and dialogue with the communist regime will help to bring about a change in human rights.
"This depends.", said Mr Zhang, "If Dublin twins with a democratic city government that is from the people, by the people, and for the people, such relationship can help advance many causes including the human rights concern."
"History has shown that befriending with a Communist run government has never improved human rights.", he added.
Many Irish people who have travelled to China in recent years are surprised to see bustling cities, huge sky scrapers and booming commercialism. It appears the people are happy, have money to spend and are not concerned with human rights. Mr Zhang says those lucky few in the cities are the minority.
"The guided tours provided by Beijing for the politicians and businessmen, fail to include visits the heartland of China where 80% of her population or long faced peasants live, nor do they have an opportunity to visit the hundreds of labour camps, jails, and mental institutions where prisoners of conscience are locked up."
"There are still some 300 million people earning under $360 a year in China and tens of millions of migrant peasants searching for jobs in the urban areas according to the World Bank", added Mr Zhang.
"Based upon human rights watchdogs reports including Amnesty International, if anything, China's human rights record has deteriorated in recent years including the startling report on China's harvesting organs from detained Falun Gong practitioners in labour camps.", said Mr Zhang.
Mr Zhang said if sixty cities have already twinned with Beijing there must be evidence of improvements in their human rights record, but he has failed to find any evidence of positive change.
Constructive dialogue with Beijing is important
Canadian human rights lawyer and co-author of the report on organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners, David Matas told the Epoch Times that dialogue with the Communist regime should be persistent and constructive."In Canada, many have come to the conclusion that the Canada China human rights dialogue is pointless and should just be cancelled. I personally agree with this conclusion. But I do not believe that any form of dialogue whatsoever is fruitless."
"The problem with the Canada China dialogue was that it was too quiet, too low level, with no real follow through."
"A dialogue with China on human rights should follow five basic principles. It should be public, high level, detailed, persistent and constructive."
Mr Matas said that there are examples in Canada of politicians promoting human rights dialogue with China but then ignoring it in practice.
"All too many talk about dialogue as a way of out of a debate with human rights activists."
"They little seem to realise that a true dedication to dialogue is a much greater commitment to confrontation with violators than no contact would involve." He said.
Mr Matas continued, "A commitment to dialogue can actually lead to complicity in human rights violations if the commitment is not kept or structured in a meaningless way."
"When there is a commitment to dialogue but no meaningful follow through, then the violator has gained a form of immunity, making the continuation of violations easier, more likely."
Mr Matas added, "Dialogue is a high stakes game. Having nothing to do with China means keeping your hands clean. Dealing with China, unless done in the right way, leads to complicity in Chinese human rights violations."
"The commitment to dialogue, to be real, has to be an active, determined effort. Otherwise, interlocutors become part of the problem rather than part of the solution."
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