Marion Edmunds
Leader of the South African Government Delegation to the Beijing Conference, Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma refused to comment this week on China’s human-rights record, saying that South Africans were going to Beijing to talk about women’s issues, not to scrutinise the Chinese government.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch has distributed a pamphlet called Your Rights in Beijing: a Brief Guide to arm delegates against possible human rights abuses by the Chinese authorities, while at the conference.
The pamphlet urges delegates to be prepared for a society where freedom of expression is not allowed and “anti-Chinese” activity could lead to dire consequences.
The pamphlet gives an example. Earlier this year the Chinese police strip-searched two French women who were carrying letters from Tibetans. The police confined them to their hotel, confiscated their letters, interrogated them about their contacts, made them sign confessions that they had broken the law and then deported them.
Human Rights Watch also warns that plainclothes officers — the most common security-force officers — can use force to make foreigners heed their commands. It’s likely, according to the pamphlet, that delegates will be tailed. The pamphlet suggests travelling with a friend or two.
The pamphlet also provides some useful tips and telephone numbers should delegates land in trouble.