Fang Lizhi Quotes

Countries often prioritise economic interests over human rights - hence all the kowtowing to China.

I care about people's human rights and, as a country, we have a very proud record indeed. But I'm also realistic about what we can do... we can raise those issues with leaders and we can talk about those issues, and we do that.

I would say issues around human rights - either you're going to take a hard stance, or you're not. You can't borrow money from China the way the U.S. has done and then turn around and say, 'But you've got a human-rights problem.' You can't be half pregnant.

It's up to any government to decide how to react to the denial of basic human rights anywhere in the world, including Egypt.

Stability is a reasonable foreign policy goal, but not at the expense of human rights.

Defending human rights should be an important objective of foreign policy, and that, too, will sometimes be hard to reconcile with an economic agenda, especially when it comes to dealing with rich but repressive players like China and Russia.

Big global players like China need to do a better job of respecting human rights.

When human rights are systematically abused, it raises the question whether it may be legitimate in some circumstances for the international community to intervene within individual states as well as in conflicts between states.

The subject of human rights in China confounds absolute pronouncements.

There are severe limitations on civil rights. In the international arena, Iran is turning into an isolated country, and the international community is becoming more hostile toward it.

There is no military government on earth that does not have human rights abuses.

The promotion and preservation of human rights can and should be the driving force for world affairs.

You cannot have prosperity without peace. Without peace, China cannot continue to develop itself.

Human rights enforcement at the international level needs to be handled in a manner similar to the treatment of military aggression under a collective security regime. The violation of human rights in one state must be considered the concern of all, and enforcement mechanisms must provide for a unified response on the part of the entire international community.

Preserving peace does not always coincide with the promotion of human rights.

The speed, scale and reach of China’s rise are without precedent in modern history. Within just 30 years, China’s economy has gone from smaller than the Netherlands to larger than those of all other countries except the United States.

Because of Iran's support for terrorism, disrespect for human rights, and nuclear proliferation, it has been under U.S. and international sanctions for decades - and companies have been fined billions for circumventing those sanctions.

I am waiting for the day when the German Bundestag debates the violation of human rights in Saudi Arabia.

Promoting and protecting human rights internationally is not just a matter of principle or morality - doing so also serves our national security interests.

When America pays lip service but little more to horrors like the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, instead proclaiming convenient but arbitrary loopholes in our moral obligations, we just give the world's worst bullies more ammunition and power.

I do think that every super power on the globe has a very poor record on human rights.

Human rights in China should absolutely play a role in broader U.S. policy toward China. When we look the other way on fundamental issues of human rights, we are also responsible.

I agree with Kathi Zellweger that sanctions mostly punish the ordinary people who live at the edge of starvation.

You can't help but feel all the human-rights issues.

Two presidents pursued human rights policies that were serious and effective: Reagan and George W. Bush. They understood that American support for human rights activists is a moral imperative for us and also makes the world safer for us.