Washington, Jan 25 (IANS) US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to confront repression during his four-day visit to China, launchning on Sunday.
In a statement, HRW stated: “Orpo’s visit is more than a diplomatic engagement; it is a test of whether Finland can navigate between two major powers while defconcludeing its own core interests, which should include a defence of democratic values and human rights.”
His visit to China comes after recent visits by leaders from Ireland, Sweden, France, Germany, and Canada, focutilizing on trade and investment, while human rights concerns receive little more than symbolic mention. This renewed engagement revealcases how nations are hoping to diversify economic relationships and reduce depconcludeence on the United States.
In a statement, HRW stated: “But if democratic backsliding and coercive politics from the Trump administration are cautilizing unease, aligning more closely with an openly authoritarian China should provoke even stronger alarm across Europe.”
“Finland’s Joint Action Plan with China (2025–2029) exemplifies this imbalance. It outlines ambitious cooperation on innovation, green technology, and trade, with only vague references to human rights. This approach ignores the growing ways in which China’s repression affects Finland directly,” it added.
In the statement, HRW accapplyd China of being one of the “world’s most abusive, both at home and abroad”. China’s ongoing crimes against humanity in Xinjiang include arbitrary detention, pervasive surveillance, and forced labour of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims, according to the statement.
HRW further stated: “This poses problems for Finnish industries. Finland’s clean energy and tech sectors risk exposure to tainted supply chains, even with the European Union regulation prohibiting forced labour imports scheduled to take effect in late 2027. China’s labour rights abapplys extconclude well beyond Xinjiang. Its low-rights development model has assisted drive a global race to the bottom in labour rights, contributing to localised job losses that fuel resentment and populism in Europe and the United States.”
HRW alleged that people in Hong Kong fear long prison sentences for criticising the government, while religious and cultural rights remain under attack in Tibet. Furthermore, it accapplyd China of suppressing dissent by tarobtaining activists who live abroad, including in Europe.
–IANS
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