Comments about ‘U.S. lawmakers raise human rights concerns with Hu’

The Christian Science Monitor has been careful to point out how the Chinese view human rights differently in their cultural context than Americans. Americans should not expect any progress on the American human right perspective from China, specially freedom of speech and religion. However, the Monitor was also careful to point how the signficant progress that China has made in other human right areas that were forbidden just 30 years ago in the areas of freedom of work (working where one wants to), freedom of housing (freedom to live where one wants to), and the rapidly expanding freedom of economic justice where the rise of the level of income for many Chinese is growing rapidly. These freedoms of Chinese cannot be downplayed and are a sign of cultural progress. Americans need to look long term and expect that perhaps in another 30 years as the Chinese people obtain parity in work, housing, and economic security with America that the capacity for both the Chinese people and government to embrace freedom of speech and religious responsibly will also occur.