Human Rights and
International Democratic Solidarity

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11-23-2004

China: ¿business or human rights?

In its relationship with China, Kirchner’s government seems to be decided to apply a sort of pinochetist pragmatism: “economic openning is welcome, leaving aside the great internal repression”. And is curious that this is the foreign policy of a “progressist” government that ensures to have human rights as a priority.
By Gabriel C. Salvia
 

To the closing edition of this Document there were circulating several versions of an important commercial agreement of Argentina with China, in eves to an official visit of the authorities of the Asian country - in the middle of November – in their way to a meeting in Chile. This will be a new opportunity for President Néstor Kirchner to include the human rights in his foreign politics and not limit them only to the domestic concerns, attending in this case to the request that the Association of Falun Dafa’s Studies in Argentina requested last June 22 on the occasion of his trip to China:
“…we wanted to call again your attention to what is going on today in the above mentioned country and we hope that in your visit there could be a mention of the important topic of the respect to human rights... the regime of China mixes economic benefits with political pressures to quiet the countries with which it supports commercial relations. To the contrary, Argentina and other countries of the region that suffered awful dictatorships should be more solidary with those who suffer from oppressive regimes.

In this regard, a United Nations report that analyzes the persecution to Falun Dafa, stated: “Everyone who has worked for human rights causes knows that the first and most difficult step in ending systematic violations is to expose the evil. Falun Gong practitioners in China have courageously taken this first step; isn’t it upon our conscience to come to their defense, so that their sacrifices shall not have been in vain?”. The relation of Argentina and some countries of the region with the Chinese dictatorship reflects the low democratic commitment in foreign policy and another indicator of the underdevelopment in Latin America.

Gabriel Salvia is the General Director of the Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America. He is member of the Editorial Council of the Magazine Perspectiva - Revista Latinoamericana de Política, Economía y Sociedad. He is the editor of the publication “Burocratómetro”, and author of the reports “Congreso y gasto público en Argentina” (CADAL), He is author of the selection and the prologue of the book “Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas y el proyecto Varela. La lucha pacífica por la democracia en Cuba” (CADAL/Konrad Adenauer Stiftung).

Gabriel C. Salvia
Gabriel C. Salvia
Director General
Activista de derechos humanos enfocado en la solidaridad democrática internacional. En 2024 recibió el Premio Gratias Agit del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de la República Checa. Es autor de los libros "Memoria, derechos humanos y solidaridad democrática internacional" (2024) y "Bailando por un espejismo: apuntes sobre política, economía y diplomacia en los gobiernos de Cristina Fernández de Kirchner" (2017). Además, compiló varios libros, entre ellos "75 años de la Declaración Universal de Derechos Humanos: Miradas desde Cuba" (2023), "Los derechos humanos en las relaciones internacionales y la política exterior" (2021), "Desafíos para el fortalecimiento democrático en la Argentina" (2015), "Un balance político a 30 años del retorno a la democracia en Argentina" (2013) y "Diplomacia y Derechos Humanos en Cuba" (2011), Sus columnas de opinión han sido publicadas en varios medios en español. Actualmente publica en Clarín, Perfil, Infobae y La Nación, de Argentina. Ha participado en eventos internacionales en América Latina, África, Asia, Europa, los Balcanes y en Estados Unidos. Desde 1992 se desempeña como director en Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil y es miembro fundador de CADAL. Como periodista, trabajó entre 1992 y 1997 en gráfica, radio y TV especializado en temas parlamentarios, políticos y económicos, y posteriormente contribuyó con entrevistas en La Nación y Perfil. 
 
 
 

 
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