My opinion is that China just wants to be left alone, historically it has been a very insular country and remains so with only some forays into economic treaties with foreign countries. It's too busy governing its billions of citizens to engage in a policy of national expansion. You may scoff at that, but we have to realize that China is not a homogenous society; it's a huge country made up of a patchwork quilt of regional groups and minorities and risks falling apart like the former USSR if not controlled by a strong hand. In no way am I defending the communist government and its actions, it is corrupt like any other; however, it would behoove us not to judge other nations with an ethnocentric American standard that is not applicable nor transferable due to historical, social, and political differences. Doing so is not only condescending and paternalistic, but smacks of colonial superiority -- one step away from invasion to civilize the heathens.
I find it laughable that the USA has the gall to point the accusatory finger of human rights abuses at anyone considering it hasn't even ratified the 1966 UN International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (also known as the international bill of rights), putting it on par with Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba. When the US does sign anything it weakens a treaty to the point of worthlessness as exemplified by the 1992 UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The same can be said of the 1984 UN Convention Against Torture: the US ratified it with the caveat, "... nothing in this Convention requires or authorizes legislation, or other action, by the United States of America prohibited by the Constitution of the United States as interpreted by the United States," basically giving it carte blanche to using simulated drowning, sleep deprivation, etc. The list goes on and on, but the most worrisome is that we as a nation need to clean up our own house before bitching at others. Just do a search on
Human Rights Watch - Defending Human Rights Worldwide (human rights watch) and abuses such as the death penalty, Guantanamo Bay, Hurricane Katrina, racial profiling & police brutality, HIV/AIDS policy (abstinence anyone?), and more pop up for your enjoyment. If something as simple as elections in this urdemocracy neccesitate monitoring don't you think something is wrong?
Still Seeking a Fair Florida Vote
By Jimmy Carter
Monday, September 27, 2004; Page A19
After the debacle in Florida four years ago, former president Gerald Ford and I were asked to lead a blue-ribbon commission to recommend changes in the American electoral process. After months of concerted effort by a dedicated and bipartisan group of experts, we presented unanimous recommendations to the president and Congress. The government responded with the Help America Vote Act of October 2002. Unfortunately, however, many of the act's key provisions have not been implemented because of inadequate funding or political disputes.
The disturbing fact is that a repetition of the problems of 2000 now seems likely, even as many other nations are conducting elections that are internationally certified to be transparent, honest and fair.
The Carter Center has monitored more than 50 elections, all of them held under contentious, troubled or dangerous conditions. When I describe these activities, either in the United States or in foreign forums, the almost inevitable questions are: "Why don't you observe the election in Florida?" and "How do you explain the serious problems with elections there?"
The answer to the first question is that we can monitor only about five elections each year, and meeting crucial needs in other nations is our top priority. (Our most recent ones were in Venezuela and Indonesia, and the next will be in Mozambique.) A partial answer to the other question is that some basic international requirements for a fair election are missing in Florida.
The most significant of these requirements are:
• A nonpartisan electoral commission or a trusted and nonpartisan official who will be responsible for organizing and conducting the electoral process before, during and after the actual voting takes place. Although rarely perfect in their objectivity, such top administrators are at least subject to public scrutiny and responsible for the integrity of their decisions. Florida voting officials have proved to be highly partisan, brazenly violating a basic need for an unbiased and universally trusted authority to manage all elements of the electoral process.
• Uniformity in voting procedures, so that all citizens, regardless of their social or financial status, have equal assurance that their votes are cast in the same way and will be tabulated with equal accuracy. Modern technology is already in use that makes electronic voting possible, with accurate and almost immediate tabulation and with paper ballot printouts so all voters can have confidence in the integrity of the process. There is no reason these proven techniques, used overseas and in some U.S. states, could not be used in Florida.
It was obvious that in 2000 these basic standards were not met in Florida, and there are disturbing signs that once again, as we prepare for a presidential election, some of the state's leading officials hold strong political biases that prevent necessary reforms.
Four years ago, the top election official, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, was also the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney state campaign committee. The same strong bias has become evident in her successor, Glenda Hood, who was a highly partisan elector for George W. Bush in 2000. Several thousand ballots of African Americans were thrown out on technicalities in 2000, and a fumbling attempt has been made recently to disqualify 22,000 African Americans (likely Democrats), but only 61 Hispanics (likely Republicans), as alleged felons.
The top election official has also played a leading role in qualifying Ralph Nader as a candidate, knowing that two-thirds of his votes in the previous election came at the expense of Al Gore. She ordered Nader's name be included on absentee ballots even before the state Supreme Court ruled on the controversial issue.
Florida's governor, Jeb Bush, naturally a strong supporter of his brother, has taken no steps to correct these departures from principles of fair and equal treatment or to prevent them in the future.
It is unconscionable to perpetuate fraudulent or biased electoral practices in any nation. It is especially objectionable among us Americans, who have prided ourselves on setting a global example for pure democracy. With reforms unlikely at this late stage of the election, perhaps the only recourse will be to focus maximum public scrutiny on the suspicious process in Florida.
Former president Carter is chairman of the Carter Center in Atlanta.
Still Seeking a Fair Florida Vote (washingtonpost.com)
