Ma calls for ‘tolerance’ in Chinese dissident’s case
　

CONVENTION SIGNATORIES: While President Ma did not call for Liu Xiaobo’s release, he urged China to tolerate those who express themselves peacefully:
　

By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Sunday, Dec 27, 2009, Page 1

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday broke his silence on the sentencing of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) and urged Beijing to tolerate those who express their opinions by peaceful means, but stopped short of calling for his release.

Liu, a co-author of “Charter 08,” which calls for an end to Chinese Communist Party dominance and the implementation of a constitutional democracy in China, was sentenced to 11 years in prison by a Beijing court on Friday.

Ma yesterday said he has been pursuing democracy and human rights since he began his political career. He also made tremendous effort to implement such policies since he took office in May last year, he said.

As the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are signatories of two UN rights conventions — the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights — Ma said he hoped both sides would give those who voice their opinions in a peaceful manner the most tolerance possible.

Yesterday marked Ma’s first comments on Liu’s case since his sentencing on Friday, while the international community was swift to denounce Beijing. Washington demanded Liu’s immediate release. The Swedish EU presidency condemned the decision, saying it raised concerns about freedom of speech and the right to a fair trial in China. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement that the verdict cast “an ominous shadow” over China’s commitments to protect human rights.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokeswoman Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) on Friday accused Ma, who during his term as Taipei mayor championed the rights of Tiananmen Massacre protesters, of staying silent on China’s gross violations of human rights after taking office.

DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) asked Ma to request Liu’s release, saying the Ma administration had remained silent since Liu was taken into custody more than a year ago. Such silence sent a wrong message to the world that the Taiwanese government did not oppose Beijing’s suppression of democratic reformers, she said.

On Friday, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Liu’s sentence serves as a test of the Chinese government’s approach to dealing with human rights.

The MAC said it hoped Beijing would step up its efforts to implement the two covenants to demonstrate its respect for human rights and the protection of universal values.

Self-determination group completes nationwide walk
　

By Tseng Wei-chen and Shih Hsiu-chuan
STAFF REPORTERS
Sunday, Dec 27, 2009, Page 3

Members of a group supporting the idea that “the people are the master of the country” finished a walk around Taiwan, which started at Taipei City’s Lungshan Temple on Nov. 8, reaching their starting point yesterday after walking about 1,030km.

Lin I-hsiung (林義雄), a long-time democracy stalwart and former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman who initiated the campaign, urged the public to pay attention to its appeal.

Having staged nationwide marches in 1994, 1997 and 2002 to call for a referendum on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant that is currently under construction, this time Lin organized the march after a proposal by the DPP to hold a plebiscite on the government’s plan to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China was rejected by the Cabinet’s Referendum Review Committee.

The walk called for a referendum on any cross-strait agreements, including an ECFA, and amendments to some articles of the Referendum Law (公民投票法), which members of the group said repressed rather than ensured people’s right to hold a referendum.

During the last leg of the march from the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall to Lungshan Temple yesterday, participants took a break at Da-an Forest Park, with those who walked more than 800km in 49 days sharing their experiences.

Chen Li-kuei (陳麗貴) said she attended the campaign to express her wish that the government let the people of Taiwan determine the country’s destiny.

“It’s an ingenuous plan of action and we behaved with the strictest discipline to earn the approval of others. No matter where we were, in every corner of Taiwan, there were people joining us or giving us donations. We felt really appreciated and will continue our efforts,” Chen said.

Lin Min-da (林銘達), a retired teacher who found walking difficult, said he started to practice walking everyday when he heard of the campaign six months before it began.

“I am worried that beautiful Taiwan will be sold out if people do not come forward to fight for self-determination,” Lin said.

Chiang Liang-min (江良民), who has fourth stage colorectal cancer, said that this “silent” and “peaceful” campaign was more effective than fierce opposition.

During the campaign, participants were required to wear the same T-shirt and leaf hats and were prohibited from talking, smoking or eating while walking.

Hsu Fan-ting (許芳庭), who completed the whole journey, said she believed that any goal could be achieved peacefully through perseverance, while violence would only cause more violence.

China ties not helping: former SEF head
　

WEALTH INEQUITIES: The former head of the nation’s top China negotiator said people feel that cross-strait ties have advanced hastily under President Ma Ying-jeou

STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Sunday, Dec 27, 2009, Page 3

Closer economic and trade ties with China have not helped improve Taiwan’s economy or Taiwanese people’s lives, but have instead created inequitable distribution of wealth, a former chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said.

Taiwan and China last week held a fourth round of cross-strait talks in Taichung. A total of 12 agreements, including three from the latest Taichung talks, have been forged between the two sides since the first round of talks in June last year to increase economic cooperation.

Hung Chi-chang (洪奇昌), who chaired the SEF when the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in power, said the lack of apparent benefits from closer ties has led many people to feel that cross-strait development has progressed too quickly, and he urged the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government to address public misgivings.

Hung said many people thought ties with China proceeded too slowly before President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration in May last year and too fast afterward.

“The reason for such a perception is that the public does not think society has felt economic growth or a substantive improvement in their lives through closer cross-strait ties,” Hung said.

People also feel relations between Taiwan and China have grown too close because their expectations have not been met, he said.

That, coupled with the perception that the benefits accrued by large enterprises from closer cross-strait ties have not filtered down to other layers of society, have resulted in a concern over the unequal distribution of the economic gains made through closer cross-strait ties, he said.

He also said that Taiwan’s international trade was already greater than GDP, and that Taiwan’s original equipment ­manufacturing-oriented industries should transform or upgrade.

Taiwan’s financial structure is not sound, with tax revenues accounting for only 13 percent of GDP, compared with 18 percent in the past, he said. In contrast, the figure is about 35 percent in Scandinavian countries, which often place high in international competitiveness rankings.

Taiwan’s outstanding government debt ratio is also approaching its legal ceiling, which he said would be a potential threat to Taiwan’s national competitiveness.

Meanwhile, Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) on Friday countered criticism that the talks have put a dent in Taiwanese sovereignty and could endanger some local industrial sectors.

Taiwan has held several rounds of talks with China without undermining the country’s sovereignty, Lai said.

“All the talks have been conducted with the aim of safeguarding national sovereignty, promoting industrial development and taking care of people’s lives,” she said.
　

Reporters, protesters question police force’s loyalty
　

By Jenny W. Hsu 許維恕
STAFF REPORTER
Sunday, Dec 27, 2009, Page 3

The visit of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) last week drew protests, prompting the government to dispatch a large contingent of police to secure his personal safety.

While the police said their foremost task was the security of the public during Chen’s visit, many protesters and reporters covering the event questioned police loyalty to taxpayers.

In a bid to oppose President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) China-leaning policies, the Democratic Progressive Party on Sunday organized a street rally in Taichung City where the cross-strait negotiation was held.

During the march, protesters complained that several officers publicly “laughed and mocked” them as “crazy fanatics.”

That night, police officer Sung Kuo-tong (宋國棟) injured two protesters during a scuffle by using pepper spray, which is unauthorized equipment.

Although the officer was later penalized and transferred, the Taichung City Police Bureau said Sung acted appropriately and the demerit he received was for carrying a non-standard weapon, not for assaulting the members of the public.

What irritated the reporters the most about the police, however, was its lack of transparency.

At a protest on Tuesday night by a group of 80-plus pro-­independence advocates, the police dispatched an anti-riot squad and what seemed to be several hundred regular uniformed police.

When asked for an exact figure on how many police were mobilized to deal with the protesters — mostly comprised of elderly citizens — the police refused to give an answer and sent reporters on a wild goose chase by telling them to talk to their commanding officers and then pointing in different directions.

One officer said that he forgot his own name when asked by reporters, and several said they did not know who was in charge.

“Is it necessary for the government to send a riot police squad armed with wooden sticks to deal with me? I am just a 70-year-old with a knee problem participating in a non-violent sit-in,” a retired teacher from Taipei said.

For four days, the Taichung Police Bureau’s media contact refused to answer his telephone, frustrating reporters who needed more information on police actions.

On Wednesday night, after a police officer sustained mild head trauma after falling from a protest truck, reporters asked if the bureau would disclose video footage that would prove the officer was pushed, and did not fall on his own as the protesters stated.

Yu Hui-mao (余輝茂), the deputy bureau chief, said releasing the video was out of the question because all investigations must be kept confidential. Within half an hour, however, the bureau made a complete turnaround and told reporters a copy of the video clip would be released to the media for broadcast.

When asked by the ***Taipei Times*** as to why the police bureau had made the u-turn, Yu said he received approval from his superior to release the video, adding: “You had a problem with me when I didn’t want to release the video and now you have a problem with me because I am releasing it.”

A number of Taichung City residents also complained that the huge number of police has inconvenienced them.

“It is laughable that thousands of police were mobilized to protect one man who has never paid and never will a single penny of tax in Taiwan,” a cab driver said.

Factory owner Wu Chin-kuo (吳進國) questioned why Taichung City Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) was willing to devote so much manpower to protecting one person during Chen's five-day visit, but spent so little on curbing the city’s gang problem during the rest of his term.

Good signs are not quite enough

Sunday, Dec 27, 2009, Page 8

On Dec. 21, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) announced a new compensation system for the chipmaker’s employees next year, including a 15 percent increase in base salaries beginning on Jan. 1.

In a video message, Chang told employees that the hike in base salaries was part of structural changes to the company’s compensation system. But the move also showed that TSMC is working to attract and retain employees amid intensifying competition.

Following a series of actions to cut or freeze salaries beginning late last year to cope with the global financial crisis, several Taiwanese technology companies have now announced — or are considering — upward adjustments in employee paychecks.

According to various reports, Acer Inc, Compal Electronics Inc, AU Optronics Corp and MediaTek Inc are among the iconic tech firms likely to raise employee salaries next year. Companies in the real estate sector such as Sinyi Realty Co, Farglory Land Development Co and Chong Hong Construction Co are also reportedly planning salary hikes.

Even so, it is too early to say the economy is on a firm footing and growing across the board. Last week, a local job bank’s poll showed that 37 percent of local firms have considered raising employee salaries next year, while 58 percent had not.

The truth is that many Taiwanese companies are still fighting to stay in business and are hesitant to hire for want of solid signs of recovery. That’s why the nation’s unemployment rate fell only to 5.86 percent last month from 5.96 percent the previous month — meaning there are still 645,000 people out of work.

The national statistics bureau said 150,000 jobs would need to be added to the market before the headline jobless rate can fall below 5 percent. That is a very challenging goal, though it should be noted that the Council for Economic Planning and Development last week unveiled targets for next year that include an unemployment rate of 4.9 percent.

But a serious problem remains: The number of people who have been unemployed for more than one year — whom statistics officials refer to as “long-term unemployed” in their surveys — totaled 112,000 last month, up 4,000 from the previous month and marking the highest monthly level since January 2004.

In addition, the number of unemployed middle-aged and elderly people reached 141,000 last month, up 3,000 from the previous month and the highest in three months.

The problem facing people in these categories is that they face more obstacles in getting back into the workforce than any other category of jobseeker. This predicament poses a potential threat to the finances and stability of a large number of families in the long term.

Another concern relating to the strength of economic recovery is the continuing decline in wages in the industrial and services sectors, which in turn hurts companies and discourages consumer spending.

The decision by some companies to raise employee salaries next year is welcome news as it points to recovery in their sectors.

However, even though economic growth is likely to be registered next year, uncertainties remain in the labor market and a noticeable increase in household income is not likely to emerge anytime soon.

Pros, cons of a cross-strait ECFA
　

By Lin Wuu-long 林武郎
Sunday, Dec 27, 2009, Page 8

When President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) came to power in May last year, one important task was to improve cross-strait ties. In Ma’s words, “The icy ties are just beginning to thaw and the construction of a bridge [for dialogue] is just starting.”

His top priority was direct links in trade, transportation and other areas, a drastic change in policy over previous “indirect” economic links between Taiwan and China, in which transactions had to transit through Hong Kong.

Moreover, it was a change from the previous arrangement of unilateral economic transactions to bilateral agreements duly signed by both governments.

One issue that has emerged is talks between the two governments on a cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA). An ECFA, under the framework of the WTO, can be summarized as having three integrated components:

First, a free trade agreement (FTA). The FTA would allow no tariffs, in the spirit of the WTO. Now, Taiwan and China are both members of the world trade body, but an ECFA as it stands lacks the reciprocity of an FTA. That is, in an ECFA’s current form, China would be giving up a lot and asking for little from Taiwan.

Second, liberalization of service sector. Among other services, Taiwan expects to be the first choice for special privileges from China on banking and finance.

Third, foreign direct investment (FDI) liberalization and protection. Among other things, this development would include intellectual property protection.

Details of an ECFA began to emerge in concrete form in March. Current debate has since settled on the following themes: While the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government emphasizes economic benefits for Taiwan, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has emphasized corrosion of Taiwan’s sovereignty and a heavy economic dependence on China. The discussion that follows focuses on the economic aspects of this debate.

President Ma has repeatedly stated the need for negotiations and passage of an economic agreement with China. The aim is not only to improve cross-strait relations, but also, and most importantly, to strengthen Taiwan’s international competitiveness. An agreement would also be the first step in a new era of attempts by Taiwan to economically integrate with the region.

In the beginning, 60 percent of Taiwanese supported signing an ECFA and major industry groups immediately voiced support for the initiative.

For instance, the Chinese National Federation of Industries, a Taiwanese organization, gave conditional support to an ECFA. It urged the government to sign it next year at the latest. However, it also urged the government to take several precautionary measures, including avoiding over-reliance on China’s economy, protecting Taiwan’s business advantages and strengthening cooperation with the US, Europe and Japan on technology imports.

One immediate advantage for Taiwan would be the increase in the size of its economy. China, the world’s third-largest economy with an estimated GDP last year of US$7.973 trillion, has great potential in terms of consumer purchasing power. It also happens that China is Taiwan’s biggest export partner, accounting for about 40 percent of exports. Furthermore, China, with a population of 1.3 billion, would increase Taiwan’s economic reach.

An ECFA would also avoid the further marginalization of the Taiwanese economy, which even now has precious few FTAs with other countries. A statement from the Ministry of Economic Affairs has argued that, with the FTA between ASEAN and China to take effect next year, Taiwan’s competitiveness vis a vis ASEAN would suffer without an ECFA because Chinese customs charges would be 5 percent to 10 percent greater than those applying to ASEAN exporters.

The need for an ECFA is more urgent now given that the grouping of ASEAN 10+1 will include China, that ASEAN 10+3 next year will incorporate Japan and South Korea in an FTA, and that ASEAN 10+6 will then include Australia, New Zealand and India. ASEAN is emerging as a strong regional bloc in the 21st century; its potential, as production base or market, is not to be ignored.

Taiwan is geographically close to ASEAN. Although Taiwan is not part of the grouping, its economic ties to ASEAN remain very close. In 2007, ASEAN 10+3 accounted for 54 percent of all Taiwanese exports and 75 percent of all Taiwanese FDI. The addition of China to ASEAN will thus be hazardous to Taiwan as 40 percent of its exports already go there.

Two reports have also revealed that an ECFA could result in extra GDP growth, with separate estimates of 1.83 percent and 1.65 percent to 1.72 percent in the short term. In addition, the unemployment rate was predicted to fall to 2.63 percent.

This is good news, because Taiwan suffered a record 10.78 percent economic contraction in the first five months of this year. Also, the unemployment rate, which stayed the same in 2007, increased by 0.23 percent last year and then 1.84 percent in the first five months of this year. All this was caused by significant negative export growth of 34.84 percent in the first five months of this year amid the prolonged worldwide economic recession.

An ECFA would also benefit Taiwan’s plastics, petrochemicals, petroleum, machinery, textiles, coal and steel sectors, according to a study by the Chung-Hwa Institution for Economic Research. These areas are highly competitive and make up a substantial proportion of Taiwan’s exports to China. Were an ECFA to end high tariffs imposed by China, there would be strong growth in Chinese demand for these products, stimulating production in Taiwan.

As to petrochemicals, the China market absorbs 66 percent of Taiwanese exports. If an ECFA is signed before China signs an FTA with Japan and South Korea, Taiwan’s petrochemical suppliers will more than double their share of the Chinese market, from the current 15 percent to 38 percent.

The textiles industry used to be a big contributor to Taiwan’s foreign currency earnings in the 1970s and the 1980s. Unfortunately, it has since been cited as a sunset industry and many have relocated to China and Southeast Asia since the 1990s, not only because of the well-known factor of lower labor costs, but also because of advantages such as market proximity and ASEAN integration.

The Taiwanese textile industry would be one of the greatest beneficiaries under an ECFA, with less pressure on firms to relocate to ASEAN states. Without an ECFA, ASEAN 10+3 would place in jeopardy 12,000 out of the present 200,000 jobs in the sector.

Finally, Taiwan will attract more FDI. Wages are lower in China, but the quality of labor and intellectual property protection is more advanced in Taiwan. Thus, FDI in production could benefit Taiwan even as marketing targets China with its massive population.

The Ma administration’s push for an ECFA is pragmatic. However, it has not alleviated growing concerns over Taiwan’s increasing economic dependence on China or over Chinese efforts to use economic measures to unify with Taiwan under Beijing’s “one China” policy.

More recently, just over 70 percent of people surveyed wanted a referendum on an ECFA. Taiwanese therefore want the right to decide on an economic union just as Europeans had the right to vote on joining the EU.

Opponents to an ECFA raise several points.

One convincing point involves sovereignty. As former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) has suggested, an ECFA could be part of a Chinese plot to hijack Taiwan economically and thus enforce unification. Lee has also stressed the correctness of the policy direction during his presidency that Taiwan ought not engage in direct talks with China until it has democratized.

Second, there is growing concern over the possible negative impact on small and medium-size enterprises. The organizing secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, Vincent Sung (宋治德), said during a symposium in Taiwan that the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) signed by Hong Kong and China in June 2003 had only benefited multinational corporations and a minority of special interest groups, and had not revitalized the local manufacturing industry nor generated an increase in wages. In Hong Kong, employment in manufacturing fell from 170,000 in 2003 to 140,000 in 2007, while exports fell by 1.1 percent in 2006 and by 19.1 percent in 2007. He urged Taiwan’s government to consider this point before signing an ECFA with China.

Third, opponents to an ECFA are not just ideological. Their reservations are also built on practical aspects of investment. The following illustrates three different, but related, matters.

China prohibits individuals from investing abroad. That is, almost all Chinese investment abroad uses state-owned capital, which draws on the political influence of the Chinese Communist Party. In case of China’s strategic withdrawal of investment, Taiwan must be prepared to take over key businesses in the interests of national security.

Two, South Korea has often been cited in the debate because that nation and Taiwan have had similar processes of economic development. Taiwanese businesses have diverted investment from the domestic market to China. As a result, domestic investment as a percentage of GDP has averaged less than 20 percent over the past eight years.

By contrast, the percentage in South Korea was between 25 percent and 30 percent, or 5 percent to 10 percent higher than Taiwan. The DPP has thus been proposing something similar to the present South Korean government’s policies on limiting investment in China and reducing the impact of low Chinese wages. To a certain extent, the DPP’s position is similar to Lee’s “no haste, be patient” policy in 1996.

Three, according to the core-periphery theory, it is feared that China will gain from the hollowing out of capital and technology in Taiwan. The theory predicts that in interaction between a big economy and a small economy that share the same language and culture, all production components for capital, talent and technology in the small economy will gradually gravitate to the larger economy. Even distinguished Japanese writer Kenichi Ohmae, known for unending praise of China’s economic growth, warned that it would be unwise to allow China unlimited or unregulated investment in Taiwan.

Any economic reforms along the line of ECFA will involve income redistribution. Some people will gain, others will lose. It is not a zero-sum game, however: Policy choices cannot simply be based on net positive economic gains. Wisdom must also play a part.

The democratic nature of Taiwanese society requires public debate and building up a greater degree of consensus. Thus, the timetable for Taiwan to reach a formal agreement with China has lengthened; a formal agreement is now not expected until early next year.

The KMT has unanimously decided to support an ECFA based on the very convincing argument that it will strengthen Taiwan’s international business competitiveness. In a democratic society, however, the majority does not dictate to the minority, and the minority should be able to present constructive counterproposals. An eventual consensus on an ECFA between the governing and opposition parties will be a good test of Taiwanese democracy.

Lin Wuu-long is an adjunct professor at the University of the West in Los Angeles, California, former head of enterprise management research at the UN and a former consultant to the Council for Economic Planning and Development.

The West wrings its hands as Beijing laughs at human rights
　

The risible process that led to the conviction of Liu Xiaobo is evidence enough that China thinks foreign pressure can be brushed off on matters of liberty

By Andrew Jacobs
NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE, BEIJING
Sunday, Dec 27, 2009, Page 9

The harsh sentence handed down on Friday to Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波), one of China’s most prominent campaigners for democracy and human rights, prompted strong rebukes in the US and Europe, but it also raised fresh questions over whether the West has much leverage over a government that is increasingly self-assured on the world stage.

By sentencing Liu to 11 years in prison for subversion, the Chinese government sent a chilling message to advocates of political reform and free speech. Liu, 53, a former literature professor who helped draft a manifesto last December that demanded open elections and the rule of law, was convicted after a closed two-hour trial on Wednesday in which his lawyers were allowed less than 20 minutes to state his case.

But many experts on Chinese politics said that Liu’s conviction on vague charges of “incitement to subvert state power” through his writing was also an unmistakable signal to the West that China would not yield to international pressure when it came to human rights. During his visit to China last month, President Barack Obama raised Liu’s case with President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤). Leaders of the EU have been pressing for his release.

But a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry described such pressure on Tuesday as “gross interference in China’s judicial internal affairs.” The next day, more than two dozen US and European diplomats who sought to observe the trial were barred from the courthouse.

“If China’s Communist Party wanted to advertise to the world that they will do anything to protect their power and use the judiciary to accomplish that, then the persecution of Liu Xiaobo was a perfect vehicle,” Jerome Cohen, an expert on China’s legal system and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said on Friday.

The US State Department issued a statement on Friday calling on China to release Liu, saying that the “persecution of individuals for the peaceful expression of political views is inconsistent with internationally recognized norms of human rights.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was “dismayed” by the sentence. The UN said Liu’s conviction had thrown “an ominous shadow” over China’s commitments to human rights.

Such pointed criticisms are unlikely to have much effect, many China analysts said. Hu assumed power in 2004 after a period of modest legal reforms. But under his leadership, the government has presided over a tightening of Internet restrictions, the repression of rights lawyers and the persecution of intellectuals who call for greater transparency and an end to single-party rule. Those who thought that the leadership might loosen its controls for the Beijing Olympics last year were disheartened by the crackdown that took place to prevent people who wanted to stage demonstrations.

Edward Friedman, an expert on Chinese politics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, said many people in the West had been clinging to the misguided notion that China’s economic development would quickly lead to political liberalization.

“It’s clear that what matters most to the Chinese Communist Party is the survival of the regime and their monopoly on power,” he said.

Many human rights advocates partly blame Western political leaders for putting up with China’s growing intolerance of domestic dissent. They contend that as China’s economic power has expanded, the US and Europe have been softening calls for human rights.

They were especially critical of US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s visit to Beijing last February, arguing that human rights took a back seat to an agenda focused on economic concerns and efforts to gain China’s cooperation in dealing with Iran and North Korea.

Many human rights advocates were also critical of Obama’s decision to put off a meeting with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, shortly before the president’s visit to Beijing. The move, they said, was designed to avoid offending China.

The White House insists that it is committed to promoting freedom, but says that it is trying to make its case without the public hectoring favored by the Bush and Clinton administrations. Hillary Clinton has called the approach “principled pragmatism.”

Phelim Kine, a researcher with Human Rights Watch in Hong Kong, said quiet diplomacy was valuable at times, but that without real pressure from the US, its largest trading partner, China had no incentive to improve its human rights record.

“In the aftermath of the tragic conviction of Liu Xiaobo, we really need to think about how the US is going to engage China and make sure that there are real benchmarks for progress,” he said.

He and others maintain that the US and its allies must break free from a mentality that fears the economic might of a rising China. The US can no longer prod China on human rights through the annual battle over “most-favored nation” trading status, because China is now a member of the WTO. But human rights advocates say that the White House still has substantial leverage when it comes to trade.

And while China may hold hundreds of billions of dollars of the US government’s debt in the form of Treasury bonds and other Treasury securities, some analysts play down concerns about the possibility of China retaliating against US pressure over human rights by selling off its holdings. Gordon Chang (章家敦), author of The Coming Collapse of China, said that the Chinese government simply had nowhere else to park its swelling foreign reserves.

China’s huge trade imbalance with the US, Chang said, is a potential cudgel that Washington should be prepared to use.

“President Obama can get on the phone with Hu Jintao and say these are the things you need to do,” he said.

“We are extremely indulgent about irresponsible Chinese conduct when it comes to human rights,” Chang added. “We are encouraging the very type of behavior we’re trying to prevent.”

The Chinese leadership is still nervous about the potential for domestic unrest that could threaten its power. Although not timid in its prosecution of Liu, the authorities made sure that coverage of his trial stayed out of the state-run news media.

Even as it questioned hundreds of people who put their signatures on Charter 08, the manifesto that Liu helped to draft, government censors made sure that any mention of the document was quickly scrubbed from the Internet after it became public a year ago.

There was one exception, however. On Friday, the English-language edition of Xinhua, the official news agency, published a brief item about Liu’s sentencing. The article said the court “had strictly followed the legal procedures in this case and fully protected Liu’s litigation rights.”

The Chinese-language version of Xinhua, however, made no mention of the verdict. Instead, it declared 2009 the “year of citizens’ rights.”