International China Conference

Rough trade or Change through trade...time will tell. Meanwhile more of this type of forum is needed. Three cheers to the initiators.

Excerpts from Epoch Times: The theme of this year's IGFM conference held in Bad Koenigstein, Germany (in cooperation with The Epoch Times Europe) was Human Rights and Economic Interests. The program covered such topics as China's economic progress, foreign investments and capital, the Chinese legal system, and new opportunities from the 2008 Olympic Games.

Mr. Lessenthin considered the conference to be a "milestone for human rights efforts." So far, the motto "Change through Trade" has not impacted China's abysmal human rights record at all.

The conference pointed to clear differences in economic interests versus. human rights interests, where the parameters are set, and how one could positively influence human rights concerns through economic endeavors.

The world will focus its attention on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Mr. Lessenthin concluded, "We want to make use of this event to improve human rights [in China]."

Mr. Gen Kula, a representative of an Albanian human rights organization, commented on the excellence of the conference. He pointed out that human rights were the priority, and economics were secondary. He lived and suffered under Communism for ten years. He would have liked to hear more examples of the population's suffering under Communism in China.

"I found this conference quite informative and will recommend it to others," commented Mr. Bernhard Wilden, former financial advisor to Lufthansa German Airlines. He stated that topics of China's human rights violations are a controversial subject during discussions in economic circles, and that economics are closely tied to human rights. He would have liked the conference sponsors to invite current China investors, "to make the conference more lively." (more)