At a briefing after the dialogue, Posner was asked by a reporter if the Chinese side brought up the recently passed Arizona law pertaining to illegal immigrants. To the surprise of those gathered, Posner remarked: “We brought it up early and often. It was mentioned in the first session, and as a troubling trend in our society and an indication that we have to deal with issues of discrimination or potential discrimination, and that these are issues very much being debated in our own society.”
We brought it up? Discrimination? This is appalling on several levels.
The new Arizona law is not discrimination and does not constitute a human rights abuse. Police in virtually every free nation have the ability to enquire if someone suspected of a crime has the legal right to be in their country. The law simply gives Arizona cops that ability. The amended act specifically precludes race as a factor to initiate or support an enquiry. Furthermore, an investigation can be initiated only after “lawful contact” between police and a suspect, such as when someone is detained for breaking another law. Suspicion of an immigration violation alone is not a legal reason to initiate action. The common-sense, reasonable nature of this recently passed law is why polls show most Americans support it.
Even if the misinformation about the Arizona statue were true, it would not compare to the intense, comprehensive and systematic infringement of human rights conducted by the unelected, illegitimate government in Beijing. This after all is the regime that recently used lethal force against scores of protestors in Tibet and East Turkestan. Tibetan nuns attempting to escape to Nepal were shot dead by Chinese border guards in 2006. Beijing routinely locks up those who dare call for democracy—or just for a more accountable government. During the 2008 Olympics, it sentenced elderly women who requested a permit to protest eviction from their homes to a year of “re-education through labor.”
We brought it up? Discrimination? This is appalling on several levels.
The new Arizona law is not discrimination and does not constitute a human rights abuse. Police in virtually every free nation have the ability to enquire if someone suspected of a crime has the legal right to be in their country. The law simply gives Arizona cops that ability. The amended act specifically precludes race as a factor to initiate or support an enquiry. Furthermore, an investigation can be initiated only after “lawful contact” between police and a suspect, such as when someone is detained for breaking another law. Suspicion of an immigration violation alone is not a legal reason to initiate action. The common-sense, reasonable nature of this recently passed law is why polls show most Americans support it.
Even if the misinformation about the Arizona statue were true, it would not compare to the intense, comprehensive and systematic infringement of human rights conducted by the unelected, illegitimate government in Beijing. This after all is the regime that recently used lethal force against scores of protestors in Tibet and East Turkestan. Tibetan nuns attempting to escape to Nepal were shot dead by Chinese border guards in 2006. Beijing routinely locks up those who dare call for democracy—or just for a more accountable government. During the 2008 Olympics, it sentenced elderly women who requested a permit to protest eviction from their homes to a year of “re-education through labor.”
How much worse is it going to get. This is outright ridiculous. To China!!
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