Human Rights in China

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Human Rights in China

It is ironic to note that human rights are trampled upon in the name of the greater good in the country which has the most number of humans in the world. Of course, the above statement has been made in reference to China. With a population of 1.3 billion and counting, this country has the most controversial human rights policy in the world.

The Chinese government, spearheaded by Hu Jintao has been pulled up in the past for clamping down upon freedom of speech, movement and religion of its citizens. The authorities, however, refuse to accept this. They instead shift the focus away from these rights and to economic and social rights.

The position of the Chinese government with regard to this issue is that inequalities must be accepted. No two humans are born equal and thus only after accepting inequalities can human rights be given. Also they feel that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are not a set of rigid rights that must be granted to all irrespective of their nationality. Instead they feel that it is only a set of general guidelines that each nation is free to change and specify according to their needs.

However, credible organizations have pointed out that the Chinese government does indeed curb the liberty of the individual. Their freedom of speech has been curbed by implementing a ‘protection of state secret’ clause, basically a clause to punish alleged sedition. Also, the Chinese government blocked Facebook, Twitter and Youtube during the 2009 Urumqi riots (Read http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8137824.stm) as well as Google and Altavista, before they developed their own search engine incorporating censored results of both the above.
The liberty of the press has also been clamped down upon as the Chinese government recognizes only the Communist Party’s Xinhua news agency. Access to foreign news websites are restricted and China has the largest number of imprisoned journalists in the world.
The freedom of religion has been breached as China only allows State-recognized religions to be practiced within the country. The followers of Tibetan Buddhism as well as the Falun Dafa Movement (Falun Gong (alternativelyFalun Dafa) is a system of beliefs and practices founded in China by Li Hongzhi in 1992.)have been severely abused by the government. The Chinese government also does not recognize any other political party and thus is known to arrest and imprison dissident groups.
One of China’s widely criticized policies is the one-child policy. The Chinese government passed this policy in the interest of the country i.e., due to the massive overpopulation, having more than one child is illegal and punishable by payment of a fine. The policy has been relaxed in the recent past, however.

China is a country whose economy is booming, trade is flourishing and people are developing . They hold the future of 1/4th of the world’s population in their hands. It is quite a pity that the Chinese government is taking a non-humanistic stance towards the population. After all, it is the people who make the country what it is. The least the country can do in return is ensure basic civil and political rights to its citizens.

Sanya Samtani
II Semester.
(From Bangalore!!!)

11 COMMENTS

  1. I Do The FALUN DAFA exercises at a regular basis (Dey r indeed awesome)
    I would have been slaughtered if I was in China..
    They banned Facebook…(That’s Awful)

  2. nicely written ! human rights are blatantly violated in china ….and it has been able to maintain its ambiguity , though amnesty , red cross , UN have all criticized them for it ! we also have various restrictions on freedom of movement(houkou system) ,strict labour laws and lack of labor rights, China execute more people thru capital punishment every year than rest of the world cmbined -thats a ready reckoner of human rights in communist land , there are also preferential policies to certain ethnicity ! The economic prosperity of China tends to be hollowed due all these factors !

    • Iyer – The reports that even un-biased journalists give us always tell us the tale of a China that knows how to be quiet. How they have exchanged wealth for rights. Even now, when we do have “disturbances” there – they are mostly a result of economic deprivation – and not political – as was reminiscent of the Tian’men square. I think China’s happy that way – the CPC handles the political power, the people get the luxury – perfect deal. Whether this model is sustainable or not, is a worthy question to ask.

      That way, India’s a double whammy – no human rights, no money. Miles to go…

  3. We are horrified at the stories coming out of China….for example the events described in the well-written article above…..but what we do not know that China is a country which knows how to keep its people quiet….we are hearin only 1/4th of what happens there…..i have read about the chinese having no such thing as a human rights for people…slaughtering babies because they violate the 1child policy….there is no human rights in China…ironically….just happens to have the worlds largest population….however India is plannin to snatch away that crown 😀

  4. @ Sanya – Well written! Loved the piece. I would apprieciate if you do North Korea in your next article.
    @ Anjuli – They banned Google and YouTube also.

  5. Its ironic that ignorant people love to criticize China and live in an utopia about the world and India .With minimum proof about the events happening in and around China , with out thinking about the realities present in their own country. In a world where huge amounts of human right violations have been taking place .By world powers like U.S.A ,{thanx to wikileaks ,these have been brought to the lime light} the media has been producing many false reports in many parts of the world , media is also a buissiness house , hence against communism. We have to realise that communism is the form of government in china which the people choose and the 1 child policy is the reason INDIA is going to overtake CHINA soon

    • You know what , if the law of the land of the country from where you are writing (except ‘a particular country’ of course) was similar to the country for which you are advocating here , then people, by May 9 2012  15:48 , would have been posting under your comment –
      ‘ R.I.P. Some1, you were such a brave heart to voice popular opinion without caring for …  you know whom i am talking about . And on a serious  note , i must say Domino’s are facing some stiff competition on this piece of land in 30 min delivery service  ‘.

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