China's Human Rights

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19 November 2010

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China’s Human Rights Record

In awarding the 2008 Summer Olympics Games to China, the International Olympic Committee hoped to leverage an easing of the government’s human rights repression

When dealing with dictatorships democracies have to choose among appeasement, opposition, or engagement. Generally, the choice is to engage.

Beijing Olympics Touted as Hope for Change

In 2001, China was awarded the right to host the summer Olympic Games in 2008. Human rights activists were not happy because China had, at the time, a terrible record for abusing its own citizens and those of Tibet, which it invaded and occupied in 1950.

Others said it was a golden opportunity to open China up to the rest of the world, and, in making its bid for the Games China had promised to improve its human rights situation.

The early signs were not promising.

Outbreak of Violence in Tibet

As the world’s attention became more focussed on China in the run-up to the Olympic Games, protests erupted in Tibet. Beijing clamped down sternly to stop the anti-Chinese demonstrations from disrupting the public relations push surrounding its Olympic torch relay. But, protests dogged the torch relay in many places in the world forcing organizers to change routes and in some cases cancel to relay altogether.

Humanrightstorch.org

In June 2008, Amnesty International reported that, “Based on official public statements over 1,000 individuals remain in detention without reported charges or trials following on-going protests since the unrest began.

“According to credible reports from Tibetan organizations and the media, protesters have suffered torture or other ill-treatment in detention or have been injured or died from excessive use of force by security forces.”

China reported that 21 people died while the Tibetan Government in Exile said the number of dead topped 200.

Amnesty International

Monitors Chinese Human Rights

As the Summer Olympics drew closer Amnesty International said it was going to monitor China’s efforts to improve its human rights observances. Following the Games, the human rights group issued its report card:

Executions. China still executes more people than any other country in the world. “The death penalty and the conditions on death row in China are an affront to human dignity,” says Amnesty. “No one sentenced to death receives a fair trial in accordance with international human rights standards.” On the plus side, there has been a drop in the number of executions since “the Supreme People’s Court review for all death sentences was restored in January 2007.”
Activists. “As the Olympics approached, human rights activists in China faced serious risk of abuse. Several activists in Beijing had experienced growing harassment and surveillance, while abuse of activists across China was also on the rise.” The families of activists also were given a hard time by authorities.
Censorship. When it was awarded the Olympics the Chinese government promised “no restrictions on media reporting and movement of journalists up to and including the Olympic Games.” However, Amnesty reported on “an ongoing crackdown on individual journalists, newspapers, and websites that has seen the country branded ‘the world’s leading jailer of journalists’ by media freedom organizations.” There is an estimated force of 30,000 people tasked with filtering Internet content.
Trials. “In May 2006, Beijing extended use of a system of detention without trial called Re-education through Labour, to ‘clean up’ the city’s image before the Olympics.” People picked up in this way can be held for up to four years and are “forced to work for long hours, similar to compulsory labour in prisons.”

Not exactly a glowing report; a “D” at best, more likely a “D-”. Certainly, a failing grade.

However, perhaps all the media focus on China and its human rights record has had an effect. On April 13, 2009, the country’s cabinet released what it called China’s first national human rights action plan.

According to Keith Bradsher writing in The New York Times (April 2009), “The two-year plan promises the right to a fair trial, the right to participate in government decisions, and the right to learn about and question government policies. It calls for measures to discourage torture, such as requiring interrogation rooms to be designed to physically separate interrogators from the accused…”

This doesn’t represent a total clean-up of China’s murky internal security system, but it does mark a step or two in the right direction.

Sources

“Tibet Autonomous Region: Access Denied.” Amnesty International, June 2008.

“Human Rights in China and the Beijing Olympics.” Amnesty International.

“China Releases Human Rights Plan.” Keith Bradsher, New York Times, April 14, 2009.

“Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to China Dissident Liu Xiaobo.”

BBC News, October 8, 2010.\

“China Assails Nobel Peace Prize as ‘Card’ of West.” Michael Wines, New York Times, November 5, 2010.

Updated November 2010

Amnesty International - Human Rights in China

"I think Canadians want us to promote our trade relations worldwide, and we do that, but I don't think Canadians want us to sell out important Canadian values - our belief in democracy, freedom, human rights. They don't want us to sell that out to the almighty dollar.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, November 15, 2006. Quoted by CTV News.

“There’s been a bit of an adjustment. This government took somewhat of a broader view of our relationship with China that a range of issues had to be considered, including some of the concerns that Canada has about aspects of China’s policies. We’ve made that transition and I think this will be a very productive relationship with the country going forward.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, June 2010.

Quoted by David Akin, Toronto Sun (July 8, 2010).

“Human rights groups based abroad estimate that China executes more people each year than the rest of the world put together...

“It will be around 5,000 in 2009, down from 6,000 in 2007, according to the US-based Dui Hua Foundation.”

BBC News, December 29, 2009.

“ ‘No one in China has been arrested simply because he or she said something on the Internet.’

Liu Zhengrong, deputy chief of the Internet Affairs Bureau of the State Council Information Office, to the official China Daily on February 15, 2006. At the time, at least 15 journalists were jailed for online writings.”

Human Rights Watch, Summer 2008

CHINESE HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST WINS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

Liu Xiaobo was given an 11-year prison sentence in China in December 2009 for “inciting subversion.” His “crimes” were to call on the country to honour basic human rights and to introduce a multi-party democratic government system.

Now, his campaign for improved human rights in China has been recognized by the Nobel Prize committee with the awarding of the 2010 Peace Prize.

Making the announcement in Oslo, the head of the Norwegian Nobel committee said Mr. Liu was "the foremost symbol" of the human rights struggle in China.

The Chinese government has, predictably, condemned the award. Foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu is quoted by BBC News (October 8, 2010) as saying, “Liu Xiaobo is a criminal who violated Chinese law. It's a complete violation of the principles of the prize and an insult to the peace prize itself for the Nobel committee to award the prize to such a person.”

And, Michael Wines reported in the New York Times (November 5, 2010) that China “denounced the prize on Friday as a political tool of the West, and an official warned that countries acknowledging the honour would “bear the consequences.”