By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Dec. 7: Japan’s Upper House on Monday adopted a resolution concerning human rights abuses by the Chinese government in Tibet, East Turkestan (Ch: Xinjiang), and Hong Kong among other ethnic groups under the Chinese Communist Party. The House of Councillors urged the Beijing administration to fulfill its responsibility to the international community in determining the truth to these allegations.
Without naming China, the Japanese parliament urged the “government of the country concerned” to be more transparent in these alleged offenses in affected regions; both the countries marked the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties in September this year. The resolution called on the Japanese government to work with other nations to press China on human rights issues.
By referring to Japan’s past military aggression, Chinese spokeswoman Mao Ning on Monday at a press conference said that the resolution “ignores basic facts, is full of false information and interferes in China’s internal affairs,” adding that Beijing has lodged “solemn representations” with Tokyo, meaning serious diplomatic discontent with the move. The foreign ministry representative further added that Japan’s attempt to damage China’s image is “doomed to fail.”
The CCP state media Global Times wrote that the Japanese side should immediately change course and stop using the human rights issue for political provocation. “Japan has yet to thoroughly reflect on its history and there still exist many human rights issues pending to be solved . . . Stop using the human rights issue as a political provocation to avoid further interference in China-Japan relations,” the report concluded.
Japan’s lower chamber, known as the House of Representatives, adopted a similar resolution in February, which urged the government to take steps to relieve the human rights situation, days before Tokyo announced the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics this year. Following the resolution, the Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed willingness to help improve the universal rights in China with the help of international community, “It is essential that every country guarantee human rights and other universal values.”
