“Everybody hopes for economic growth, but economic growth without moral growth will in the end become fatal and dangerous. So we should try to help improve the human rights in China, and stop the persecution of Falun Gong, Tibetans, Christians, and all others who work for peace, freedom and real stability in China.”
On December 14, President Barak Obama replied to the Conscience Foundation’s open letter written to him on the eve of his visit to China.
In its letter, the Conscience Foundation recognized that “more and more Chinese people have fallen victim to the Chinese regime’s human rights abuses.” It also noted that the U.S. has been losing its moral standing and is increasingly timid about mentioning human rights to China. The consequences are, ironically, “We ignore China’s suppression of workers’ unions, and we lose our jobs to China’s slave laborers who work under unsafe conditions; we ignore China’s persecution of Christians and Falun Gong practitioners who merely want their right to conscience, and we receive unconscionable toxic products from China. The open letter urged the president to take a firm stand on human rights and reaffirm to the world the core values of the United States of America and its dedication to those values.
The letter also included a petition. In signing it, people from countries around the expressed their concern about China's human rights.
The following are some sample quotes from petitions: “Everybody hopes for economic growth, but economic growth without moral growth will in the end become fatal and dangerous. So we should try to help improve the human rights in China, and stop the persecution of Falun Gong, Tibetans, Christians, and all others who work for peace, freedom and real stability in China.”
“Please don’t keep silent on the CCP’s human rights violations in the face of economic profits. Please use your conscience to fight against the CCP’s persecutory acts against human rights. People worldwide will admire you for your conscience and your right choice in the face of profits.”
“While I recognize that it is a difficult balancing act in negotiations with China, compromising on basic principles is not an option.”
Dr. Shizhong Chen, the president of the Conscience Foundation, observed that this open letter marked the beginning of mutual cooperation between the Conscience Foundation and the U.S. government on China’s human rights problems.
On his return to the U.S., President Obama wrote a response to Dr. Chen, and to all of the petitioners and organizations that expressed concern over his China visit.
The President commented about the difficulty the US faces in dealing with human rights in China, “Improved relations with China will require candor and open discussion about those issues on which we may disagree. We must address human rights, democracy and free speech. We must also work to ensure that our nations play by the rules in open and transparent economic competition. These important matters will be essential elements of our ongoing dialogue with China.”
The Conscience Foundation thanks the President for his response and for his efforts in dealing with China.
To read people's petitions to the President, please click here.