We Don't Have to Trade With China

It's not like the Chinese government even cares about its own people:

Japan's parliament adopted a rare resolution on Tuesday on what it called the "serious human rights situation" in China, and asked the government to take steps to relieve the situation.

Japan has already announced it will not send a government delegation to the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, following a U.S.-led diplomatic boycott over concerns about China's human rights condition, although Tokyo avoided explicitly labelling its move as such.

Since taking office in October, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said on multiple occasions that Japan would not mince words with China when necessary, and in November appointed former defence minister Gen Nakatani as his aide on human rights.

The resolution, adopted by the lower chamber, said the international community has expressed concerns over such issues as internment and the violation of religious freedom in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Tibet and Hong Kong.

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Japanese lawmakers on Tuesday urged their government to take action against a “serious human rights situation" in China, drawing a quick and angry rebuke from Beijing.

The resolution passed by Japan's lower house stopped short of naming China, but expressed “concern about serious human rights conditions including the violation of religious freedom and internment in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Hong Kong" — all of which are ruled by China.

The parliamentary vote came days ahead of the Feb. 4 start of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Japan had announced a decision not to send a government delegation to the opening, following a similar U.S. move that cited China’s human rights abuses.

The resolution urged the Japanese government to further assess the human rights situation in China and cooperate with the international community to protect victims.

“Human rights hold universal values and are of a legitimate concern for the international community,” the resolution stated.

China denies allegations of human rights abuses, calling them the “lie of the century."

 

Oh, China. Just walk back. 

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Come on, Jeff. You're good for it:

Tang Mingfang was jailed after disclosing illegal work practices at a factory making Amazon products.

Tang says he was tortured during the police interrogation process that led to his conviction.

He has called on Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos to support an appeal against his conviction.