Self-censure must not be the answer of a constitutional state to mass arrests in Tibet!

The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) has described as "pure scaremongering” the recent warnings of German firms of the negative consequences of German criticism of China’s human rights policies. "The People’s Republic needs Germany as a market for its goods just as the German export industry needs China”, said the GfbV Asia expert, Ulrich Delius, on Tuesday. Self-censure is quite the wrong way for Europe to respond to the arrest of more than 4,000 Tibetans.” According to information from the Handelsblatt newspaper the Asia Pacific Committee (APA), which represents the interests of German firms, expressed in a closed extraordinary meeting on Monday its concern about the critical China debate in the German media and among politicians.

"The course advocated for many years by the APA of change through trade has failed”, said Delius. The recent crisis in Tibet and Xinjiang shows that trade alone does not lead to an improvement in the human rights situation. On the contrary, the economic development of both regions in recent years has increased the problems of the Tibetans and the Uighurs since China is securing there with an iron hand its stock of raw materials in order to supply its booming industry.

"Instead of complaining of the threat of economic sanctions German firms should at least make an earnest effort to keep in mind their own ethical principles in their dealings with China”, said Delius. The controversial sponsoring of the Olympic torch-run by the Volkswagen company shows how low is the regard in which these principles are evidently held. The GfbV has called several times on the company not to infringe its own principles and not to accompany the torch-run through Tibet, since this will stir up new disturbances and violations of human rights in the homeland of the Dalai Lama.