Originally published on the CGS blog on May 25, 2012.
Over the past six decades of its rule, the Chinese government has gained a well-deserved reputation for a disturbing lack of regard for the human rights of its citizens. In light of this reality, it is hardly surprising that, in its annual report on global human rights practices, released this past week, the US State Department directed some harsh criticisms towards the Chinese government for its various human rights abuses.
Given its historically poor track record on the issue, the Chinese government has a fairly low bar to clear when it comes to making “progress” in the arena of human rights. Nonetheless, according to the State Department report, 2011 saw a continued “deterioration” of the country’s human rights situation. Among the litany of abuses highlighted by the report:
Repression and coercion, particularly against organizations and individuals involved in rights advocacy and public interest issues, were routine. Individuals and groups seen as politically sensitive by the authorities continued to face tight restrictions on their freedom to assemble, practice religion, and travel. Efforts to silence political activists and public interest lawyers were stepped up, and, increasingly, authorities resorted to extralegal measures including enforced disappearance, “soft detention,” and strict house arrest, including house arrest of family members, to prevent the public voicing of independent opinions. Public interest law firms that took on sensitive cases continued to face harassment, disbarment of legal staff, and closure. The authorities increased attempts to limit freedom of speech and to control the press, the Internet, and Internet access. The authorities continued severe cultural and religious repression of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and Tibetan areas.
Certainly, the State Department should be commended for shedding light on the shadowy matter of China’s internal affairs. However, the United States government, as a whole, must do more to pressure the Chinese government into implementing policies conducive to the preservation of its citizens’ rights. Obviously, the primary beneficiaries of such policies would be the Chinese people themselves, but a China more in line with international human rights norms would also allow the US and the international community to advance a global human rights agenda with greater effectiveness.
The unfortunate reality is that China’s horrendous human rights record in the domestic arena effectively prevents it from helping to promote human rights internationally. One need only look to the ongoing crisis in Syria for an example of this linkage. Since the beginning of the uprisings, China has, along with Russia, consistently pushed back against US-led attempts to bring sanctions against the Assad regime, citing its desire to allow the Syrian masses to determine their country’s future “free from external interference.” Of course, China’s real reason for opposing sanctions against Syria is almost certainly tied to a strategic calculus involving human rights: after all, if China were to publicly condemn the abuses of the Assad regime, it would expose itself to heightened criticism from the international community regarding its own human rights situation.
Essentially, as long as China continues to deprive its own people of basic human rights, it cannot, and will not, serve as a useful partner in advancing these rights around the world and, in fact, will likely continue to use its diplomatic and economic clout to obstruct such endeavors. An unfortunate tendency in the US government’s recent diplomatic approach to China has been a willingness to subjugate human rights concerns to economic and other strategic considerations. However, if the US and the broader international community truly desire to credibly promote a global human rights agenda, and punish regimes, such as the Assad government, that violate the rights of their citizens, then China must be compelled to improve its domestic human rights situation and become a partner in advancing this agenda.
The full State Department report can be found here.
