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Ahead of Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinpings visit to Washington in September, public discussions surrounding US-China relations have largely focused on trade, security, technology and strategic competition, according to a report by Freedom House.
As highlighted by Freedom House, the organisation said that no discussion of the US-China relationship could be complete without acknowledging what it described as the Chinese Communist Partys systematic assault on fundamental freedoms. Freedom House said that behind statistics on repression are individuals affected by the Chinese governments policies, including journalists imprisoned for their reporting, pastors jailed for practising their faith, democracy advocates sentenced for demanding free elections, Uyghurs and Tibetans detained over their identity, and families separated for exercising what it described as basic human rights. According to the Freedom House report, the organisation convened former political prisoners, family members of people who remain detained, and leading human rights advocates for an event focused on what it described as the human cost of the Chinese Communist Partys repression. The event featured accounts from individuals who had experienced persecution and from families continuing to seek the release of relatives who remain behind bars. As cited by Freedom House, the stories shared at the event were described as a reminder that the rights and dignity of people persecuted by the Chinese government should not be overlooked amid diplomatic engagement and geopolitical negotiations between the United States and China. The organisation said the event condemned what it described as the Chinese government's ongoing campaign of political imprisonment. It also honoured the resilience, courage and hope demonstrated by people who had survived persecution, as well as the families continuing their efforts to secure the release of loved ones who remain detained. Freedom House further said the event reaffirmed what it described as a fundamental principle: economic and strategic interests should not eclipse universal rights and freedoms that define human dignity. (ANI)
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