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What will the next President’s foreign policy for China be?
By Lauren | August 15, 2008
With the Olympics going on in Beijing this week, it seems like a good time to consider what the next President’s diplomatic strategy for China will be.
The decision to allow China to host the Olympic games was certainly a controversial one, as the protests that greeted the Olympic torch around much of the world demonstrated. No surprise; China’s record on human rights is appalling. The Chinese government maintains one of the most extensive and repressive police systems in the world, imposing layers of controls on protesters, critics and social activists. Suppression of free speech is the norm; China’s system of Internet surveillance and censorship has been called the most advanced in the world. The Chinese government retains tight controls over the legal system, making it incredibly difficult for ordinary citizens to obtain access to justice. China’s policies on labor rights, children’s rights, reproductive rights, gender discrimination, and freedom of religion are positively medieval. Citizens are forcibly resettled to make room for new infrastructure and environmental projects; preparations for the Olympic games accelerated the mandatory evictions. China has also famously cracked down hard on all efforts to achieve regional autonomy in Tibet and Xinjang, and has blamed the Dalai Lama, spiritual head of the Tibetan Buddhist religion (and, incidentally, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize), for its repressive actions in Tibet.
None of this is news to the U.S. government. For a depressingly lengthy list of China’s human rights abuses, check out the State Department’s Website at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm. At the same time, however, China is a rising international power, with a population of over 1.3 billion people. Recent projections indicate that China will surpass the United States as the world’s largest manufacturer as early as next year. Americans certainly enjoy the comforts afforded by inexpensive Chinese goods; almost anything you purchased recently was probably made in China. And China has enjoyed some notable diplomatic successes of late, particularly in Africa. The Dalai Lama himself has urged the world community to welcome China … while holding it accountable for improving human rights.
China is well aware that the Western world does not approve of its approach to human rights, and dismisses criticism from the U.S. as inappropriate meddling in China’s internal affairs. This suggests that, for the next President, words alone won’t be enough to spur China to improve its human rights record. Would it be ethical for the next President to continue normalizing relations and trading with China without taking appropriate steps to address human rights abuses? What should those steps be? And at what point does it become unethical for the U.S. to interfere in how another nation’s government deals with its citizens?
What is your candidate’s position on China, and are you okay with that? You decide.
Topics: Presidential Campaign, Social Ethics, ethics |
August 18th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Next US President, I suggest would look into peoples life style and survival skills before determining what is called Human Right Abuse in other counties. The foriegn policy may be the one of co-operation in vital issues and persistant enlightment instead of isolation.
Thank you, is an opportunity.
August 23rd, 2008 at 11:33 am
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