Human Rights Violations in China - Should Western Companies Continue to Do Business with China?

Located in Eastern Asia, China is a country known for being a worldwide economic superpower that has had a communist government for several years. Beginning in 1978, China, under Deng Xiaoping’s rule, began to incorporate capitalistic ideas in the government. Deng created various reforms unlike any of the policies or reforms in prior years that began to reconstruct China’s economy through modernization and by establishment of international trade.

Since the market orientated economic reforms were introduced in 1978 (Khan, Hu (1997, P103) China’s economy has seen a 10% increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Per year (Vincellete, Manoel,

The initial arguments posed highlight the stark contrast between Asian and Western values, and therefore human rights. Whilst in America there is a focus on the rights of the individual, many in the east perceive this as having contributed in making America a ‘crumbling society’ (Callaway 2007), due to ‘the excesses found..brought about by capitalism’ (Callaway 2007). Another key issue is the notion that it appears as if the West is imposing their views through the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights without respect for Asian culture or values. Values like prioritizing family over materialistic goals for 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.

Since the implementation of the "reform and opening-up" policy in 1978, China's economy has been undergoing a rapid and healthy development. Over the past 27 years, China's annual GDP growth has averaged 9.4 per cent, more than doubled that of the world as well as more than two folds that of the developed nations over the same period. In 2004, China's GDP reached USD1650billion, an increase of 9.5 per cent over 2003.(The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Australia, June 2005)

In time, China was hoped to find that social and political freedom is the only basis of that greatness. The United States has helped nurture this change by cooperating with China where possible, without allowing the differences that do exist, such as human rights, and nonproliferation commitments to interfere.

China's record of human rights violations is long and mind-boggling. Atrocities such as purging tens of millions of people during the Cultural Revolution, its infamous one-child-per-couple Population Policy, persistent oppression of Tibet and the bloody June 4 massacre at Tienanmen Square in 1989 have given the Chinese government a reputation of having little respect for human life. And yet, despite its tarnished record, China maintains its Most Favoured Nation trade status with the US and is one of Canada's top ten recipients of bilateral trade. As supposed supporters of human rights, Canadian and US governments have developed hypocritical attitudes toward China, compromising ethical values for material gain. Instead, North American

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)

However, the implications of globalisation can form volatility in the international business cycle. Highly integrated economies are at greater risk of experiencing economic downturn in the business cycle. Therefore, China’s utilised process of economic liberalisation has reflected in ability to embrace globalisation and maximise the benefits of economic integration and rapid growth. As this evolutionary process continues, by 2025 China will be the world’s biggest economy (Ross Gittins: How Asia is catching up with the rich West). The Chinese ‘economic renaissance’ began in the 1970s after the government converted from socialist economy to a capitalist economy.

The Chinese government has embraced a series of strategic policies to address the challenge of economic globalization. These strategies started in 1978 after Chairman Mao’s self-sufficient economy plan. China began employing several reform strategies to enhance growth. This included stimulating the agricultural sector to allow them to sell a percentage on the free trade market yet hold a competitive position. In addition to this citizens were given money incentives and tax breaks in order to start new businesses and allocated regions were created to encourage high levels of investment, increase exports and increase technology levels.

In a growing westernized society built on the principles of freedom, it important to note that the rest of the world is not as privileged as civilization has not always been this way. The idea of state sovereignty, the legal authority of a government over its population, has evolved and adapted throughout history. Post World War II, the world was is an utter shock of what humanity was capable of. Moving forward, a variety of political institutions and documents were created in order to protect global human rights. However many of these institutions were mostly composed of western ideologies and European norms, that by imposing them on the rest of the world can be seen as cultural imperialism (Calhoun, p.15-17). Due to different social, political,

China is a growing country; its population is about 1.4 billion, and as of 2014, the Chinese economy is the world’s second largest (in terms of nominal GDP,) totaling approximately US$10.380 trillion, with a growth rate of 7.4%, and the GDP per capita is US$3,619.4. From last century to this century, China has had significant improvements in their economic development. China had been in three major crises during the last century: the 20th century. The Fall of Qing Dynasty, World War II, and Civil War in China, all of them struck China in a destructive way. From the end of the 20th century, China was in a fast-developing mode.

Although China does not regard itself as a values promoter like the United States, it has found its own way to develop itself in the contemporary system where liberal values is playing an important role, and at the same time keeps political liberties highly constrained at home. As long as the United States remains committed to liberalism, they have an interest in maintaining and strengthening an international order that is based on liberal values, just as China has an interest in limiting their international role. China’s counter-norm of diversity implies a rejection of promoting liberal democratic values and a potential alternative to western liberal democracy. One of the most discussed candidates would be the ‘Beijing Consensus’. Joshua

Confucianism has easily been influential in the development of the Chinese state through history. In fact, the core ideals of Confucianism have evolved. Despite the harsh repression of Confucianism by Marxist revolutionaries during the second half of the twentieth century, Confucian values continues to be influential in Chinese society and recently, Confucian political philosophy has resurfaced again. In addition, the political ideas and social ethics of Confucianism can provide the basis for a new, functional form of government in China. Confucianism can be a viable political philosophy for China in the twenty first century because many intellectuals have turned to Confucianism to make sense of such social

. Xiaoping implemented significant change going from a centrally planned economy run by the state, towards a private entrepreneur market based economy. This transition to a new type of socialist thinking, known as the socialist market economy, proved highly successful as it allowed China to move from a nation in poverty ruled by a single person to the second largest economy in the world. A more sudden or abrupt change could have easily resulted in the fall of China’s economy, similar to what certain European countries experienced in 1991 at the end of the cold war between the super powers.