Human Rights in China: A Misnomer?

Paper Summary:

This paper defines key terms necessary for the paper ('human rights', 'civil rights' and 'civil liberties') and gives a brief history of the development of human rights (from Socrates through to the U.S. Bill of Rights and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights). The main paper is split into two parts. Part one looks at alleged human rights violations from both an external, generally 'Western', perspective and an internal, Chinese (Asian-Islamic) perspective. It argues that human rights as an issue is being manipulated by both Western and Eastern governments for political purposes. Examples used in the paper include alleged oppression in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Tianenmen Square; as well as suspected torture based on religious, political and socio-cultural intolerance by the Chinese government. Part two looks at possible solutions to the human rights issue. It again uses both internal (Chinese) and external (U.S. and U.N.) perspectives and leads to the thought-provoking conclusion. The full text of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights is included in the appendix.

From the Paper:

"'Human rights' are rights that all humans are entitled to such as the right to live, the right to liberty, the right to freedom of expression and the right to equality within society. 'Civil rights' and 'civil liberties' refer to the guarantees that a state may make to its citizens and are offered in addition to one's basic human rights. Perhaps the best quantification of human rights (and the mostly widely accepted in the West) is the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Although the UN's Declaration is over half a century old and has been savagely criticized at times it still serves as a useful guide to general ideals of human rights."

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