Chinese officials denied a visa to a top State Department envoy and refused to meet with her to discuss issues of religious freedom days before this week’s high-profile visit to Washington by China’s vice president, according to rights advocates and others.
Suzan Johnson Cook, the U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom, was scheduled to travel to China on Feb. 8, according to several rights advocates who were invited to brief her ahead of the visit. But as the date drew near, Chinese leaders refused to grant her meetings with government officials.
They then cited her lack of scheduled meetings as a reason for denying her visa application, according to the advocates and a congressional aide, who were briefed on the situation.
The disclosure comes one day into the diplomatically sensitive visit by Xi Jinping — China’s presumptive next president — during a week that the Obama administration hopes will help ease tense U.S.-China relations.
Rights advocates working with Cook’s office say that she and her staff were told by superiors in the Obama administration to avoid talking publicly about her canceled trip in the days before Xi’s visit.
The State Department declined to comment about the matter Tuesday. When asked about the trip last week, on the day Cook was supposed to leave, spokesman Anthony Pahigian said: “She has no specific dates at this time. We are engaging with the Chinese government to find a mutually convenient time.”
President Obama, who met with Xi on Tuesday, has been criticized by human rights groups, religious leaders and Republican lawmakers who say he has not been forceful enough in challenging China on issues such as its crackdown on Tibetans and the recent imprisonment of several religious and dissident leaders.
Xi, during a State Department luncheon Tuesday, defended China’s record on human rights, saying that his country “has made tremendous and well-recognized achievements” in the past 30 years.
Suzan Johnson Cook, the U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom, was scheduled to travel to China on Feb. 8, according to several rights advocates who were invited to brief her ahead of the visit. But as the date drew near, Chinese leaders refused to grant her meetings with government officials.
They then cited her lack of scheduled meetings as a reason for denying her visa application, according to the advocates and a congressional aide, who were briefed on the situation.
The disclosure comes one day into the diplomatically sensitive visit by Xi Jinping — China’s presumptive next president — during a week that the Obama administration hopes will help ease tense U.S.-China relations.
Rights advocates working with Cook’s office say that she and her staff were told by superiors in the Obama administration to avoid talking publicly about her canceled trip in the days before Xi’s visit.
The State Department declined to comment about the matter Tuesday. When asked about the trip last week, on the day Cook was supposed to leave, spokesman Anthony Pahigian said: “She has no specific dates at this time. We are engaging with the Chinese government to find a mutually convenient time.”
President Obama, who met with Xi on Tuesday, has been criticized by human rights groups, religious leaders and Republican lawmakers who say he has not been forceful enough in challenging China on issues such as its crackdown on Tibetans and the recent imprisonment of several religious and dissident leaders.
Xi, during a State Department luncheon Tuesday, defended China’s record on human rights, saying that his country “has made tremendous and well-recognized achievements” in the past 30 years.
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