Germany Should Immediately Stop Training Chinese Soldiers: Amnesty International

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has called on Germany to stop training Chinese soldiers “in light of the human rights situation in China and the general role of the military there,” according to the group’s arms and human rights expert, Mathias John.

“…there is no justifiable reason for Germany to help train the Chinese military,” John told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, adding that in light of the current situation in Hong Kong, “the German government should send a clear sign and immediately cease any military cooperation,” per DW.

Hong Kong has been gripped by increasingly violent protests over the past several months, stemming from a now-withdrawn extradition bill which would allow suspects to be deported to mainland China to face trail in communist courts. Much like France’s Yellow Vest protests, the original issue has expanded to a general anti-goverment movement.

Bild said it had seen a top-secret military report that lists 62 countries, including China, whose soldiers are expected to participate in training exercises with the German military in 2020. German soldiers are pegged to train foreign soldiers in the areas of management, logistics, and press and public relations.

Responding to Amnesty’s demand, a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry said that Chinese soldiers regularly participate in educational events organized by the German military, the newspaper reports. These include international officer courses as well as officer training courses offered at military schools, universities and military leadership academies.

“Our goal is to share our democratic values with citizens of other countries,” said the spokesperson. –DW

So, Germany gets their gas from Russia and trains Chinese soldiers. And how much are they kicking into NATO?