Trump Administration’s Reaction to Human Rights Issues in China Was Limited: Report

While adopting a hardline stance on trade, the Trump administration has largely ignored the fundamental problem of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) human rights abuses, as per a new report.

Since taking office, the administration has used the threat from the CCP as a frequent invocation, making it a central pillar of its foreign policy, Racqueal Legerwood, China research and advocacy fellow at Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), wrote in The Diplomat.

Citing the U.S. State Department's just-released 2024 Human Rights Report on China, which chronicles growing repression under Chinese President Xi Jinping within and beyond the country, Legerwood underscored that there is "no question" that the CCP continues to commit "grave human rights abuses," including "crimes against humanity."

"Yet, while the Trump administration has taken a hardline approach to China, especially regarding trade, its record is far from where it should be when it comes to responding, and now even reporting, on these abuses in a meaningful manner," Legerwood stated.

The report highlights that USAID cuts have disproportionately affected Tibetan refugee groups and Chinese human rights NGOs. Funding cuts to the Agency for Global Media, which is responsible for Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA), endanger vital reporting on Uyghur and Tibetan issues. Consequently, most of the abuses against these groups are not covered, enabling the Chinese government to keep oppressing them with little or no accountability.

The report also observes notable differences in the State Department's 2024 Human Rights Report on China, Hong Kong, and Tibet. These include the total exclusion of LGBTQ issues and a lesser focus on women's rights and ethnic discrimination, especially on attempts to debase Tibetan language and culture.

"In 2024, Amnesty reported on continued repression against LGBTQ activism in China, with activists facing arbitrary detention and interrogation and online censorship of related topics. In Hong Kong, the government cut funding and obstructed fundraising and promotion activities to LGBTQ groups, and failed to provide any meaningful updates on progress toward the implementation of a 2023 ruling by the Court of Final Appeal requiring it to provide an alternative legal framework for the recognition of same-sex partnerships. None of these threats and legislative attacks appeared in the State Department’s report," The Diplomat report stated.

"Simultaneously, the administration’s response to human rights concerns – a significant part of then-Senator Marco Rubio’s critique of the Chinese government – has been noticeably muted. In March, the State Department issued visa restrictions in response to the forced return of 40 Uyghurs who had spent over a decade in Thailand to China – after the US demonstratively failed to exhort sufficient influence on its 'longstanding ally' to uphold international law. Rubio had expressed strong confidence in his department’s diplomacy to 'achieve results' on this issue during his January confirmation hearing. That confidence was clearly misplaced," it added.