Human Rights in China One of the first things that come to mind about human rights in China would most likely be the Tiananmen Square massacre, where in 1989 hundreds of student protestors lost their lives to the People's Republic of China. The bloody body of a dead student removed from the street right after the Tiananmen Square crackdown on June 4, 1989. Web page http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/china/china.html The name People's Republic of China seems a contradiction of its meaning. If indeed its name is the People's Republic of China than why did it massacre peaceful protestors with tanks and machine guns? But the Chinese government argues that the force was necessary for maintaining a national order (Muzhi Zhu). The People's Republic of China (PRC) is actually an authoritarian state in which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is the main source of power. At the national and regional levels, party members hold almost all the top government, police, and military positions. The country's authority rests with members of the Politburo (China Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1999). CCP stresses that it needs to maintain stability and social order. The Government's poor human rights record in 1999 shows the extent at which the Government intensified efforts to suppress its 1.27 billion people. A crackdown against a newly formed opposition party, which began in the fall of 1998, broadened and intensified during the year. By the end of 1998, almost all of the key leaders of the China Democracy Party (CDP) were serving long prison terms or were in custody without any formal charges, and only a handful of members nationwide dared to remain active publicly (China Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1... ... middle of paper ... ...hen they are fighting for their freedom. As Czechoslovakia democrat Tomas G. Masaryk said in totalitarian Central Europe nearly 50 years: "Dictators always look good until the last minutes." Bibliography: Bibliographies Amnesty International. "China, no one is safe". Ed. Edwin J. Feulner, Jr. New York, NY. 1996. Amnesty International. "China, violations of human rights : prisoners of conscience and the death penalty in the People's Republic of China". Ed William Meyers. London, U.K 1994. China Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1999. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. February 25, 2000. U.S. Department of State. 18 March, 2000 Jingsheng Wei. "What to do About China" no date of publication or sponsor. 18 March, 2000 Muzhi Zhu. "China's Human Rights Record" 25 June, 1997. Chinese Embassy. 17 March 2000.
Randa, Laura E. “Society’s Final Solution: A History and Discussion of the Death Penalty.” (1997). Rpt.in History of the Death Penalty. Ed. Michael H. Reggio. University Press of America, Inc., 1997. 1-6 Print.
New York: Norton, 1999. Print. The. Fairbank, John King, and Edwin O. Reischauer. China: Tradition and Transformation.
Ever since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the legitimacy of the revolution of which it was built upon has perennially been in question. For example, in a 1999 issue of the International Herald Tribune, a prestigious scholar claimed that all of China’s tragedies are ‘sustained by a mistaken belief in the correctness of the 1949 revolution’ and that the future progress of China depends on the recognition that the revolution was a failure. However, the CCP government was certainly not perfect and its most significant failures were its political failures such as the Anti-rightist movement and the Cultural Revolution and also economic failures such as the great leap forward. Millions of peoples were falsely accused and persecuted during the political movements of the Mao period as the CCP focused on class struggle instead of economic development during the period and tens of Millions of peoples died due to starvation as there were widespread food shortages during the great leap forward movement.
The Communist Party of China (CCP), in power since 1950, is not famous for its tolerance of those who do not agree with its ideology and opinion. People must adhere to the Party’s legislation, and face consequences (the severity of which is debated) if they resist or rebel. One way the CCP controls members is through religion. Although the government encourages almost cult-like devotion to the Party, it allows its constituents to participate in certain major international religions. One religion that is illegal to participate in under Chinese law is the spiritual practice of Falun Gong. A new movement, the Falun Gong grew quickly in China and globally, and was officially banned in 1999. The CCP claims the Falun Gong is evil, and should be destroyed humanely to save China. However, the Falun Gong is peaceful, and the Chinese government is the institution that tortures, jails, and abuses its citizens if they are practitioners of the religion. The international response calls for the halting of these immoral actions, but China still claims that it is destroying an evil institution. The simple fact China denies its members freedom of religion violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which China has signed, but the violence against its people if they adhere to Falun Gong beliefs is a gross abuse of its power. Although China bans many religions, there is special emphasis on the Falun Gong, and many wonder why. One highly possible reason is that the growth, international reach, and popularity of the Falun Gong threatens the universal power the CCP holds in China, weakening the government, and therefore leading to the destruction of the threat: the Falun Gong.
The Chinese have repeatedly tortured, imprisoned, and murdered Tibetans all for what they claim is national unity. While the oppression of the Tibetan people began in the 1950’s with the invasion of China, it continues just as strongly today. From religious oppression and unfair trials to the torture of nuns and monks, the Chinese abuse even the most reverent aspects of Tibetan culture. Political prisoners, whether they are monks, nuns or lay people, are tortured with utter disregard for human rights. Chinese laws have also been established to eradicate the Tibetan people entirely. Women often must endure forced abortions and sterilization due to Chinese birth policies. Through all of these crimes against humanity, China repeatedly commits acts of genocide as established by the United Nations.
Fairbank, John King. The Great Chinese Revolution 1800-1985. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1986.
...ghur rights, as human beings, being violated, and who's responsibility is it to make sure that rights aren’t violated, as well as if China is living up to its responsibilities as a world power, to take care of its people.
The spread of Communism and its ideals significantly increased during the final stages of the Chinese Civil War which intensified after the Second World War and resulted in a victory to the Communists in October 1949. At this time, the majority of the provinces in China were led by either the GMD or the CCP. However, the civilians in the GMD-ruled cities were suffering rapid inflation, strikes, violence and riots which led to a collapse of public order. Adding to this instability, corruption was rife within the Nationalist party’s lead...
China is a communist country, whose citizens face many difficult situations while trying to fight for their human rights. According to the “Freedom Rankings” from the database CountryWatch, China is not a free country. Specifically, the Political Rights and Civil Liberties are in their maximum numbers; this means that these rights are confiscated from the people. Therefore, freedoms of press, expression, speech, religion, and movement are all severely limited in China. The government has also kept a close watch on art in China.
Angle. Stephen C. Human Rights in Chinese Thought: A Cross-Cultural Inquiry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Weiwei, Z., (2011) The China Wave - Rise of a Civilizational State. (World Century Publishing Corporation).
Members of The United Nations have a duty “to maintain international peace…in conformity with the principles of justice and international law.”[1] China, a core member of the United Nations since its formation in 1945, fails to comply with international human rights’ norms set forth by The United Nations Charter. This failure is noticeably prevalent in the practices of the Chinese Legal System. Its judicial proceedings in handling peaceful, political dissenters fail to provide the minimum protection of human rights guaranteed to all through international law. By examining accounts of Tibetans detained for such peaceful protests, this paper will set out to highlight the discrepancies between Chinese enforcement of international law in theory and in practice. Before this paper goes any further, the notion of international law must be explained. Providing a better understanding of international law will make easier the task of highlighting China’s struggles with enforcing such standards.
Wei-Wei Zhang. (2004). The Implications of the Rise of China. Foresight, Vol. 6 Iss: 4, P. 223 – 226.
Inkenberry, John. “The Rise of China and the Future of the West.” Foreign Affairs. The Council of Foreign Relations. Jan 2008. Web. 9 Mar 2014.
---- World Book Online Americas Edition. Ed. Franklin E. Zimring. Capital Punishment. 17 Apr 2002 14 Apr 2002.