E.U. Says China ‘Coddling’ African Governments
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Brussels — E.U. lawmakers will today condemn China for coddling “oppressive” African governments to quench China’s soaring thirst for oil and raw materials.
A European Parliament resolution will open a new front in European Union criticism of China’s human rights record after the bloc’s leaders denounced the crackdown on Tibet and protesters blighted the passage of the Beijing-bound Olympic torch through Europe. The resolution targets China’s energy investments in countries like Sudan and Angola. It also criticizes China for shipping weapons to the likes of Zimbabwe’s leader, Robert Mugabe.
“China’s ‘no-conditions’ investments in those African countries misgoverned by oppressive regimes contribute to perpetuating human rights abuses,” reads the resolution, to be passed today in Strasbourg, France.
The resolution also calls on European Union governments to maintain an arms embargo on China, imposed after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators.
