China's Foreign Policy Essay

Since the beginning of this nightmare, China’s involvement has been a significant human rights violation. First of all, China has driven the Dalai Lama out of his own country and has forced him to leave his people. To Tibetans and Buddhists, the Dalai Lama is “both a spiritual and political leader … like a cross between a Pope and a President” (Oliver, 2017). Traditionally, before the Dalai Lama dies, he must find his reincarnation, the Panchen Lama, who finds his reincarnation, the Dalai Lama, before he dies and so on. Furthermore, the Dalai Lama picked a six-year old boy to become the next Panchen Lama and then “China kidnapped [the] six-year old and no one has heard from him since” (Oliver, 2017). Not only is this horrifying truth a human rights violation, but it has also completely destroyed a long-lasting and sacred tradition. According to the current Dalai Lama, “it will be impossible for Tibetans and those who follow the Tibetan Buddhist tradition to acknowledge or accept [the next Panchen Lama] (“Reincarnation”, 2011). Currently, China has a great firewall, called the Golden Shield Project, that censors information on various items that negatively talks about China. Many people in China are protesting against these heinous acts on Tibet, even though the Golden Shield Project is preventing many from learning what is happening in Tibet (“The Great Firewall of China: Background”). China’s destruction of this peaceful religion and culture is clearly against the policies of the United Nations Humans Rights

outcomes. Thesiege of the American Consulate in Beijing and the fact that U.S. was also part of the

When Chinese President Xi visited Washington, President Obama brought up the human rights issue during a conference. The human rights abuse is becoming extremely exposed and other countries are starting to put pressure on China’s government to stop their harsh methods. According to the article,"Rubio:Xi Jinping 'devastating' for China Human Rights", by James Griffiths, “Human rights have taken something of a back foot in recent years when it comes to Sino-U.S. relations. President Barack Obama has been criticised by Republicans for not doing enough to pressure Beijing on the issue”(Griffiths.) Not only has the abuse been going on for decades but the violations of human rights are extremely harsh and serious. The abuses range from expensive fines to extrajudicial killings.

Prior to Communism in China, it was known to be a chaotic country on the brink of self-destruction. With the emergence of the party leader Mao Zedong, came a new hope, which filled its inhabitants with the belief that China would return to its former historical greatness. American and Chinese relations before 1971 were in simple terms described as “uneasy”, due to the American, Soviet Cold War. It was not until President Richard Nixon visited China and realized the high value of having China as a ally that relations between the two powers began to become positive. Unknown at the time, it is assumed in the book Chinese Lessons written by John Pomfret, that the relationships he formed with the people he met in China would change his outlook on life and Communist China forever.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon was quoted as stating that his visit to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) “changed the world…to build a bridge across sixteen thousand miles and twenty-two years of hostilities.” By meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing, Nixon took groundbreaking first steps to opening relations and formally recognizing the People’s Republic of China. The history of the aforementioned hostilities between the United States and the PRC dates back to the Chinese Communist Party’s takeover of mainland China following its civil war in the

Following the War of 1812, the United States established itself as a world power and proved its capability to protect needy nations. After the French Revolution, nations realized the importance of balancing power and recognized the dangerousness of one nation holding excessive power. (Stanley Chodorow, MacGregor Knox, Conrad Schirokauer, Joseph Strayer, Hans Gatzke 1969) For years, America held the policy of isolationism and only intervened in other countries’ affairs if necessary. Despite strained relations in the past, diplomatic relations with China began in 1979. (Andrew J. Nathan, Columbia University 2009) Last year, an American battleship entered the South China Sea, inspecting Chinese activities. As an ally and nation known to keep the

To begin the new plan in Asia, the US gave 2 billion dollars to the Chinese nationalists, set up in Taiwan, who were fighting the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP won the war against the nationalists in 1949 by appealing to greatest population in China, peasants.This victory made the American people fearful because the government had let China go “red.” They thought that if such a big country could turn communist, then what would keep the rest of the world from turning to the same communist policies, paralleling Eisenhower’s later “falling domino”

It is well known that the United States have been seen internationally as a key actor, for better or worse, when it comes to the field of universal human rights. At the same time, recent events have shown a disassociation between the words and actions of the nation. Despite the fact that these rights are supposed to be constitutionally-protected, the United States has been criticized for repeatedly violating them not only in the past but in recent memory: criminalization of poverty and homelessness, violation of the privacy of citizens all over the world, racism, police brutality, the prison-for-profit system, mistreatment or even torture of the prisoners. These are just some examples of the most common forms of human rights violations

To achieve this diplomatic strength, Richard Nixon first turned toward China. For decades, China had posed unique opportunities to America. However, these opportunities shriveled when in 1949, Mao Zedong established the People’s Republic of China, a communist republic aligned more with the USSR than with the United States. Given America’s animosity towards the Soviet Union, this animosity extended itself to the People’s Republic of China and to Mao Zedong. Just over twenty years later, though, even though Mao still held considerable power, the USSR and China began to drift apart.

The relationship between the United States and China would prove crucial for one side in the future. In 1941, Japan went to war with the U.S. because of embargoes put on oil. One of the reasons for the embargoes was that Japan had violated the Open Door Policy. Japan would later be defeated in 1945. Unfortunately, in 1949, China had a civil war, in which the communists were victorious. The communists ended all special privileges to foreigners and made the Open Door Policy meaningless

At first these plans along with an extremely ingenious propaganda campaign stirred great optimism and productivity within the Chinese people, but as years went by the initial flare and excitement went out and few of these promises, reforms and goals had been reached. In some cases the promises were lies. The real actions of the Communist party showed quite a different picture than the lie of democracy that it was feeding the people. The new government never was a democratic one. As a matter of fact it was a dictatorship controlled by the China’s Communist Party (CCP). Throughout the years the communist government consistently and cruelly suppressed any attempts for the country’s democratization.

The People’s Republic of China with a population 1.3 billion, is the third largest country in the world and has a land size of 960,000 square kilometres. It is a rapidly growing economy, with living standards being raised every year. However, human rights violations are still a part of daily life in some part of China and can still be seen in the present time. The most controversial issues include discrimination, right to live and not to be subject to torture, freedom of religion, opinion, to fair public hearing, rights to family and the right of movement. (The Consulate General of The People's Republic of China, 2003),(Infoplease, 2009)

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Cold War was over, making the U.S. the only superpower left in the world. This has made the international system much more tranquil, and relaxed. The only country potentially powerful besides the U.S., is China. Many Americans fear China, not only because they are communist, but also because of their huge population. Their population is 1.3 billion people, which accounts 1/5th of the world’s population. As one of the only potential superpowers in the world, it would be in the best interest of all Americans if the U.S. and China became allies, instead of enemies. Peace and development, economic prosperity and social progress, are goals that both of

The government continued to commit widespread and well-documented human rights abuses in violation of internationally accepted terms. These abuses stemmed from the government's extremely limited tolerance of public unrest. The Constitution and laws provide for fundamental human rights however, these rights are often ignored in practice. Abuses included instances of extra-judicial killings, torture and mistreatment of prisoners, forced confessions, arbitrary arrest and detention, lengthy incommunicado detention, and denial of due process(Amnesty International. "China, violations of human rights). Prison conditions at most facilities remained very harsh. In many cases, especially in sensitive political cases, the judicial system denied criminal defendants basic legal safeguards and due process of the law, merely because authorities attached higher priorities to maintaining public order and suppressing political opposition than to enforcing the legal norms of the country (Amnesty International. "China, violations of human rights). The government infringed on citizens' privacy rights. The government

China and U.S. relations are complex, but it is important to attribute historical context when analyzing contemporary issues. Prior to China establishing their global role as a superpower, their nation endured nearly a century of humiliation which began in the 1800s and concluded in the mid-1900s. Although they’ve redeemed their nationalism, the intrusion of Western imperialism created tension and hostility which lasted for years after. Also, the United States’ response to local Chinese events, such as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, negatively impacted their relationship because it was an example of how American media and officials utilized knowledge about particular Chinese events and disseminated various rhetorical messages in response.