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Human rights in China

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This article is about the human rights record of the People's Republic of China. See Human Rights in China for the non-governmental organization.
Life in the
People's Republic
of China

The situation of human rights in the People's Republic of China has been criticized by various sources, including other nations – particularly Western democracies – as well as international organizations, as being poor in many respects. Past human rights issues include the Great Leap Forward, a policy that caused 20-30 million Chinese to die of starvation, and the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, when 400-2000 protestors were killed and 7000 to 10000 were injured. While acknowledging allegedly major deficiencies, the PRC government has asserted that the human rights situation is improving and better than ever. In addition, the PRC argues that the notion of human rights should include economic standards of living and measures of health and economic prosperity. Many contentious events have been seen as abuses by groups or nations outside mainland China, while the PRC government tends to view them as necessary for public safety and social stability.

The situation

Multiple sources, including the U.S. State Department's annual People's Republic of China human rights reports, as well as studies from other groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have noted the PRC's well-documented abuses of human rights in violation of internationally recognized norms.

In March, 2004, an amendment was made to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, stating ""The State respects and preserves human rights." . It was hoped in the West that this heralded a change in attitude from the Communist Party of China, but subsequent violations of human rights and previously established civil rights demonstrated that the ammendnent had not changed government policy regarding public freedom. As with other Chinese guarantees of individual liberties in the Constitution, the wording suggests that such liberties are already observed and respected, rather than explicitly prohibiting the government from infringing on such rights (as the United States Constitution does).

Perspective of the PRC government

The Chinese political discourse since the late 19th Century has centered on the building of a strong state to ensure economic prosperity and social harmony. The Chinese concept of rights, as explained by earlier thinkers such as Liang Qichao, concentrated on the duties and obligations of citizens to ensure a prosperous and powerful state and not the obligation of government to ensure individual liberties espoused by European philosophies. Following this tradition, the Chinese authorities have always emphasized "positive rights" (e.g. food, shelter, clothing) and not "negative rights" (e.g. speech, press, assembly") as the basic rights to be ensured by government.

The PRC government argues that the notion of human rights should include such as economic standards of living and measures of health and economic prosperity. In analyzing the situation of human rights in its own nation or abroad, the PRC takes into account social trends such as crime and poverty. In other words, when critiquing its internal situation, it sees the rise in the standard of living of the Chinese people as an indicator of improvement of the human rights situation, and when looking at the situation abroad, often notes the high rate of crime and/or poverty in places reputedly having a high standard of human rights. Thus it must be noted that a significant difference of viewpoints may exist as to what constitutes human rights, making it difficult for direct comparison between analyses from the two sides.

The PRC government argues that the PRC does have significant human rights problems including impartial access to the courts, the use of torture, and lack of due process. However, the government argues that these issues can be and should be addressed within the current one-party political system, and that to push for fundamental change is foolish as it risks the tremendous economic gains that the PRC has accomplished over the last generation.

Unofficially, many Chinese officials hold the unstated belief that as a developing country, China cannot afford the same level of human rights as developed countries. They argue that many Western countries abused human rights (through slavery, child labor and colonial exploit) as they rose to prosperity. Many Chinese people agree with their government that organized religion is a threat to the country and social stability. Some point to the Taiping Rebellion, which was rooted deeply in religion (though praised by the communist government as a patriotic, anti-imperialist movement), which cost millions of lives. Common mistrust of groups seen as "cults" is perhaps an enduring legacy of this conflict, or perhaps the result of generations of government propaganda.

Views of the United States government

The United States, whose foundation was based on Lockean constructs of government existing solely for defending individual liberties—a notion that has largely escaped the Chinese political discourse—holds the view that there are universal freedoms that cannot be infringed upon. It has criticized China for violating rights it believes must be universally preserved, namely those listed in the United States Bill of Rights. Chinese political orthodoxy holds no view of government existing to defend civil liberties, but rather, a strong state existing to ensure a stable society and prosperous economy.

In 2003, the United States declared that despite some positive momentum in that year, and greater signs that the People's Republic of China was willing to engage with the U.S. and others on this topic, there was still serious backsliding. The PRC government has acknowledged in principle the importance of protection of human rights and has purported to take steps to bring its human rights practices into conformity with international norms. Among these steps are signature of the International Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in October 1997 (ratified in March 2001) and signing of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights in October 1998 (not yet ratified). In 2002, the PRC released a significant number of political and religious prisoners, and agreed to interact with United Nations experts on torture, arbitrary detention and religion. However, international human rights groups assert that there has been virtually no movement on these promises, with more people being arrested for similar offences subsequently. Such groups maintain that the PRC still has a long way to go in instituting the kind of fundamental systemic change that will protect the rights and liberties of all its citizens.

Legal system

The Chinese government recognises that there are problems with the current legal system , such as:

  • A lack of laws in general, not just ones to protect civil rights.
  • A lack of due process.
  • Conflicts of law.

Other serious problems include the lack of judicial independence, especially as judges are appointed by the State and the judiciary as a whole does not have its own budget. These problems have led to corruption and the abuse of administrative power. However while the government acknowledges the need for reform, it has yet to agree upon a method to resolve these problems.

Capital Punishment

Amnesty International has released the following statements:

In 2003, 84 percent of all known executions took place in China, Iran, the USA and Vietnam. In China, limited and incomplete records available to Amnesty International at the end of the year indicated that at least 726 people were executed, but the true figure was believed to be much higher: a senior Chinese legislator suggested in March 2004 that China executes "nearly 10,000" people each year. At least 108 executions were carried out in Iran. Sixty-five people were executed in the USA. At least 64 people were executed in Vietnam.

"In China - the country that accounts for around 80% of all executions - a person can be sentenced and executed for as many as 68 crimes, including non-violent crimes such as tax fraud, embezzlement and drug offences. 1,770 executions were reportedly carried out in China during 2005. However, a Chinese legal expert was recently quoted as stating the true figure for executions is more like 8,000."

Ethnic minorities

There are 55 recognized ethnic minorities in China. Article 4 of the Chinese constitution states "All nationalities in the People's Republic of China are equal", and the government has made efforts to improve ethnic education and increased ethnic representation in local government. The government maintains that it runs affirmative action policies towards ethnic minorities, though the benefits of these are disputed. Also many minorities are exempt from China's One-child policy.

Also, the government has encouraged significant numbers of Han Chinese to move into ethnic areas, especially after the China Western Development plan was adopted. The government argues that this was designed to boost the underdeveloped western regions, but has also been perceived by others as an effort to "water down" the ethnic minority population and make such regions less inclined towards separatism.

The government is harsh toward those that argue for independence or political autonomy, mainly Tibetans and Uygurs in rural provinces in the west of China. In present day, the PRC is known to keep a strong military grip on these parts of the country in an effort to suppress separatist sentiment, as well as keeping the strong security of the border, due to past frictions with India and Russia.

The Dalai Lama originally pushed for independence for Tibet, but he changed his position when it was clear that this was not a realistic objective. Instead he has called for full autonomy. . Negotiation between Dalai Lama and the Chinese government has been difficult, and although contact has taken place between representatives, nothing has been agreed. Commentators have said that Chinese officials may be waiting for the Dalai Lama to die, as they believe Tibetans will not be a problem afterwards. Yet they also say that this may result in Tibetan political sentiment becoming more dangerous and violent, as the Dalai Lama has consistently argued for peaceful protests against Chinese rule.

Political freedom

The PRC is known for its intolerance of organized dissent towards the government. Dissident groups are routinely arrested and imprisoned, often for long periods of time and without trial. Incidents of torture, forced confessions and forced labour are widely reported. Freedom of assembly and association are extremely limited in many cases. The Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, the estimated death toll of which ranges from 400 to 2,600 and injuries from 7,000 to 10,000, is probably the most famous example of this kind of abuse.

Freedom of speech

Main article: Media in China

In spite of article 35 of the Chinese constitution apparently guaranteeing the right of freedom of expression, censorship is widespread in China. There is heavy government involvement in the media, with many of the largest media organizations being run by the Communist government. References to Democracy, the free Tibet movement, Taiwan as an independent state, certain religious organizations and anything remotely questioning the legitimacy of the Communist Party of China are banned from use in publications and blocked on the Internet. Recently, Western web portals including Microsoft's MSN have come under criticism for aiding in these practices, including banning the word "Democracy" from its chat-rooms in China. Very few Western films are given permission to play in Chinese theatres, although piracy of the same movies is widespread.

Freedom of movement

In most part of China, citizens must register an official place of residence designated either rural or urban. To resettle from one place to another the citizen needs permission from the authorities at their destination and/or origin. One of the purposes is to prevent large scale urbanisation. It is alleged that Han Chinese in Tibet have a far easier time acquiring the necessary permits to live in urban areas than ethnic Tibetans do .

Also as a result of the one country, two systems policy brought in during the late 20th century, Chinese citizens must gain permission from the government to travel to the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao.

Religious freedom

Main article: Religion in China

During the Cultural Revolution, religious affairs of all types was persecuted and discouraged by the Communists with many religious buildings looted and destroyed. This attitude was relaxed in the early 1970s, and there have been some efforts to repair, reconstruct and protect historical and cultural religious sites, partly to encourage tourism. Critics say that not enough has been done to repair or restore damaged and destroyed sites.

The 1982 Constitution technically guarantees freedom of religion:

Article 36
"Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief. No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion. The state protects normal religious activities. No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state. Religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination."

This freedom is subject to restrictions, as all religious groups must be registered with the government and are prohibited from having loyalties outside of China. The government argues that such restriction is necessary to prevent foreign political influence eroding Chinese sovereignty, though groups affected by this deny that they have any desire to interfere in China's political affairs. This has led to an effective prohibition on those religious practices that by definition involve allegiance to a foreign spiritual leader or organisation, (e.g. Catholicism - see Catholicism in China) although tacit allegiance to such individuals and bodies inside these groups is not uncommon. "Unregistered religious groups ... experience varying degrees of official interference, harassment, and repression."

Another problem is that members of the Communist Party have to be atheists according to the Party's constitution. As Party membership is required for many high level careers, being openly religious can limit one's economic prospects.

Falun Gong

Main article: Falun Gong

In July 1999, the Chinese government declared the Falun Gong movement illegal and started suppressing its activities across the country. The government claims the group to be a cult that performs illegal acts. Critics of the government allege that the crackdown was motivated by fear of its growing number of practitioners, particularly government officials, police and army officers. A peaceful demonstration of about 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners (in response to criticism of their beliefs) earlier in 1999 pitsode Zhongnanhai is thought to have been the trigger for the crackdown.

Practitioners that have been arrested report being beaten and the Falun Dafa Information Center, a website run by Falun Gong practitioners, claims at least 2840 practitioners have died while in police custody. The Chinese government alleges that the Falun Gong fabricates news, that its members are not tortured, nor go on hunger strikes.

Critics decry the suppression of Falun Gong as infringing on the freedom of religion, as well as maintaining that it is widely known that systematic torture of Falun Gong members exists. The issue was a subject of protests when Chinese President Hu Jintao visited the United States in 2006, though such protests were censored from Chinese media coverage of the visit.

One-child policy

Main article: One-Child Policy

Although the Chinese government argues that this policy is necessary to stop overpopulation, China's birth control policy, known widely as the One-Child Policy, is seen as morally objectionable by many foreign observers, as well as some Chinese. Such critics argue that it contributes to female infanticide, abandonment and sex selective abortions. These are believed to be relatively commonplace in some areas of the country, despite being illegal and punishable by fines and jail time . This is thought to have been a significant contribution to the gender imbalance in mainland China, where there is a 118 to 100 ratio of male to female children reported, although underreported female births may reduce this figure. Forced abortions and sterilizations have also been reported .

It is also argued that the one child policy is not effective enough to justify its costs, and that the dramatic decrease in Chinese fertility started before the program began in 1979 for unrelated factors. The policy seems to have had little impact on rural areas (home to about 80% of the population), where birth rates never dropped below 2.5 children per female . Nevertheless, the Chinese government and others estimate that at least 250 million births have been prevented by the policy .

In 2002, the laws related to the One Child Policy were amended to allow ethnic minorities and Chinese living in rural areas to have more than one child. The policy was generally not enforced in those areas of the country even before this. The policy has been relaxed in urban areas to allow people who were single children to have two children.

Economic and social improvement

At the same time, mainland China's economic growth and reform since 1978 has improved dramatically the lives of a huge number of Chinese, providing increased social mobility and expanded the scope of personal freedom. This has meant substantially greater freedom of travel, employment opportunity, educational and cultural pursuits, job and housing choices, and access to information. In all, this suggests a substantial rise in the quality of life and standard of living of the Chinese people, forming a certain contrast to mainland China's reputation abroad. In recent years, the PRC has also passed new criminal and civil laws that provide additional safeguards to citizens. Village elections have been ostensibly carried out in approximately 80% of mainland China's one million villages. However subsequent disputes concering such elections, including events at the village of Taishi, have raised questions about their value.

Other human rights issues

Worker's rights and privacy are other contentious human rights issues in China. Workers cannot form their own unions in the workplace, only being able to join State-sanctioned ones. The extent to which these organisations can fight for the rights of Chinese workers is hotly disputed.

Although the Chinese government does not interfere with Chinese people's privacy as much as it used to, it still deems it necessary to keep tabs on what people say in public. Internet forums are strictly monitored, as is international postal mail (this is sometimes "delayed" inexplicably or "disappears") and e-mail.

The issue of refugees from North Korea is a recurring one. It is official policy to repatriate them to North Korea, but the policy is not evenly enforced and a considerable number of them stay in the People's Republic (some move on to other countries). Though it is in contravention of international law to deport political refugees, as illegal immigrants their situation is precarious. Their rights are not always protected. Some of them are tricked into marriage or prostitution.

See also

External links


Human rights in Asiathe People's Republic of China
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  1. How the Snags in the Hu-Bush Visit Play in China by Anthony Kuhn. All Things Considered, April 21, 2006.
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