Mr. Hu Goes to Africa

After the recent African tour of China's president, Hu Jintao, it must be difficult for Omar al-Bashir, his Sudanese counterpart, to contain his glee. Mr. Hu came to Khartoum bearing many gifts, including a free loan to build Mr. Bashir a new palace, and a promise to build two schools. Most delightfully for Sudan's autocratic ruler, however, these gifts come without the good-governance and respect-for-human-rights clauses often insisted upon by Western nations. Indeed, in his only reference to the genocide in Darfur, Mr. Hu declared emphatically that "Any solution needs to respect the sovereignty of Sudan."

China's willingness to support genocidal but resource-rich regimes is extremely worrying. In his whirl-wind eight-nation tour, Mr. Hu dished out gifts and loans, all the while touting their unconditional nature. While this approach avoids the neo-colonial overtones of conditional Western aid, it also bolsters brutal governments and threatens the prospects for good governance in Africa, without which the threat of genocide will remain.

In her post of 5 February, fellow Memory to Action contributor Alexa Woodward makes the case for divestment in order to pressure China to reduce its support for the Sudanese government. Divestment by American universities and companies is undoubtedly an important step towards this goal. Ultimately, however, governments must signal to China that the pitfalls, and consequences, of supporting brutal regimes are greater than the potential rewards. You can help by writing your senator and congressman- click here to find out how.