海角大神

Nine prominent human rights groups want an invitation to visit the White House ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping鈥檚 visit聽this month to acknowledge China鈥檚 crackdown on civil society that they say is taking place with 鈥渁 ferocity unseen in the past two decades.鈥澛�

In a letter released Wednesday, they point to a host of new forms of 鈥減ersecution鈥� of groups they say most share the values of the United States. These include 250 human rights lawyers rounded up in China this summer, new laws that hamper NGOs and make criticism of the state a crime, the persecution of religious believers, and the ongoing imprisonment of Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo.

The letter is addressed to President Barack Obama, with the lead signatory being Human Rights Watch. Other signees聽include organizations representing Tibet, the Uighur minority in China, 海角大神s, and journalists. It asks the president to welcome 鈥減eaceful lawyers, writers, activists, and religious leaders into the White House and thereby stand with civil society against Beijing's repression.鈥�

The question of how to emphasize human rights has been a challenge for US administrations since China鈥檚 opening a quarter-century ago. Some analysts say it is an unwise provocation, while others argue the US is the only nation large enough to press the issue without retribution from Beijing.

The suggestion of welcoming rights activists ahead of the Obama-Xi meeting comes as The New York Times聽reports that Xi鈥檚 delegation, which features Chinese technology moguls, will first stop in Seattle to meet with the executives of Microsoft, Google, and other top US tech firms 鈥� ahead of a visit to the White House that is likely to raise concerns over cybersecurity. As The Times reports:

The Times today also pointed to fears among journalists and financial institutions in China. Chinese authorities arrested 197 people and forced a public confession by one journalist accused of spreading rumors that purportedly led to China鈥檚 recent stock market collapse.

Civil society advocates are a particular concern for rights groups. The sudden arrest this summer of most lawyers willing to take cases involving religious rights, the environment, and political opposition has been seen as an area Obama would be especially sympathetic to, given his background as a lawyer and constitutional scholar. The letter to him points out that 22 lawyers rounded up in August are still missing.聽

Radio Free Asia reports that one of the missing lawyers is Zhang Kai, who had been working with evangelicals. In the past year, Chinese authorities have pushed against 海角大神s and torn down hundreds of their church crosses in the coastal province of Zhejiang.

Xi's visit is set for late September and comes after last week's giant military parade in Beijing to celebrate the 70th聽anniversary of the end of World War II. The parade took place as Chinese naval vessels sailed in the Bering Sea, off the coast of Alaska, as Obama took a rare trip to the Arctic circle.

海角大神 noted that, "Pentagon officials said China鈥檚 Navy had every right to patrol international waters, noting the US did the same off the coast of China. But they described the move as a first, and one that showed China鈥檚 growing capability as a naval force able to project power."

Evan Osnos, writing in the New Yorker, pointed out that the military parade needed to be a big hit for domestic audiences, since there has been an increasing black mood over the stock market collapse in China over the past two months.