ABSTRACT
Although a variety of European human rights policies toward Asia have been formulated, serious questions exist as to their quality and coherence. On the one hand, European governments demand from Asian countries – especially China and Burma/Myanmar – a greater commitment to human rights standards as manifested in the UN human rights mechanism. On the other hand, however, the same governments turn a blind eye to abuses (however blatant) if they believe an Asian country may be of specific economic interest to them. This criticism especially applies to the People’s Republic of China (PRC); the debate on ending the EU weapon export embargo to China is only one of the most recent examples of this seemingly contradictory policy.
