The paper written by Prof Li Junru for EU-China Observer Issue 6, 2009 is worth closer examination, bearing in mind the importance of the author. Prof. Li Junru is former Vice President of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. He is now Vice Director of the China Reform [...]
The post of 30 April asked whether the National Human Rights Action Plan of China is rhetoric or reality. Below is a summary of the main reforms, bearing in mind that the document exceeds 21 000 words. I. Guarantee of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1) Right to work Efforts to be made to [...]
The first National Human Rights Action Plan of China has just been published for the period 2009-2010. What are the motivations behind publication? Is this a genuine attempt to improve human rights in China or just intended to show that officials take human rights seriously? Is it an effort to ward off domestic concerns? Is [...]
How did the United Nations and its leading member countries make such a mess of the racism conference in Geneva this week, dubbed ‘Durham II”?To try to answer this question requires other questions to be addressed: How can the UN Human Rights Council have credibility, given its anti-Israeli bias? With the experience of Durban I [...]
I commend the Insitute for Strategic Studies’ Chaillot Paper 111, written ny Marcin Zaborowski. This publication of 126 pages gives a clear and readable account of George W Bush’s legacy and provides an indication of where American foreign policy may next be heading. I’ve encapsulated below the key elements. America’s grand strategy changed during [...]
The European Parliament has decided to award its prestigious Sakharov Prize to Hu Jia, a Chinese human rights activist held since December 2007 for posting articles online and giving interviews to foreign journalists. I do not question the breach of human rights by Beijing but do question whether this will help obtain Hu Jia’s release. [...]
This post will no doubt attract adverse comment, and not for the first time will I be called a China apologist. It is time that Europe takes stock of the work it has done to promote human rights and its effectiveness. My approach is predicated on two deeply held beliefs. First, human rights [...]
Rated 6th most influential EU blog by Waggener Edstrom. European of British nationality, for nearly 30 years Bruxellois. Deep believer in the principle of 'mutuality' and Monnet's axiom "Thought cannot be divorced from action", equivalent to Wang Yangming's "Zhixingheyi". more.
