Biden Didn’t Dismiss China’s Human Rights Violations
The Claim
In a townhall meeting, President Joe Biden dismissed China's human rights violations.
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Emerging story
At a CNN townhall meeting on February 16, 2021, President Biden was asked how his administration is going to respond to China’s human rights violations. Biden stated that he’s “not going to speak out” against Chairman Xi’s human rights abuses. This was interpreted by some news organizations as a dismissal of human rights violations entirely. Some articles have inflammatory titles like “Biden dismisses Uighur genocide as part of China’s ‘different norms.'" These articles have since spread on social media.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found that this quote is a snippet of a much longer statement. “I’m not going to respond” is preceded by “the idea that.” Biden is bringing up allegations that others make about his foreign policy, rather than describing it. Later in the townhall meeting, Biden is somewhat more straightforward.
He later said that, while China is trying to position itself as a world leader, it will require a history of supporting human rights. Since it doesn’t, Biden argues, China will have a hard time positioning themselves as such. Taken in full context, this townhall meeting shows that the president seems to have a firm stance against China’s human rights violations
