Human rights in China

This article is about the People's Republic of China. For the Republic of China, see Human rights in Taiwan. For the non-governmental organization, see Human Rights in China (organization).

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Human rights in China are periodically reviewed by international bodies, such as human rights treaty bodies and the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review.[1] The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), their supporters, and other proponents claim that existing policies and enforcement measures are sufficient to guard against human rights abuses. However, other countries (such as the United States and Canada), international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including Human Rights in China and Amnesty International, and citizens, lawyers, and dissidents inside the country, state that the authorities in mainland China regularly sanction or organize such abuses.

Independent NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as foreign governmental institutions such as the U.S. State Department, regularly present evidence of the PRC violating the freedoms of speech, movement, and religion of its citizens and of others within its jurisdiction. Authorities in the PRC claim improvement in human rights, as they define them differently, so as to be dependent on "national culture" and the level of development of the country.[2][3][4] However, governments have a duty to promote and protect all human rights universally, regardless of their national circumstances.[5] PRC politicians have repeatedly maintained that, according to the PRC Constitution, the "Four Cardinal Principles" supersede citizenship rights. PRC officials interpret the primacy of the Four Cardinal Principles as a legal basis for the arrest of people who the government says seek to overthrow the principles. Chinese nationals whom authorities perceive to be in compliance with these principles, on the other hand, are permitted by the PRC authorities to enjoy and exercise all the rights that come with citizenship of the PRC, provided they do not violate PRC laws in any other manner.

Numerous human rights groups have publicized human rights issues in mainland China that they consider the government to be mishandling, including: the death penalty (capital punishment), the one-child policy (in which China had made exceptions for ethnic minorities prior to abolishing it in 2015), the political and legal status of Tibet, and neglect of freedom of the press in mainland China. Other areas of concern include the lack of legal recognition of human rights and the lack of an independent judiciary, rule of law, and due process. Further issues raised in regard to human rights include the severe lack of workers' rights (in particular the hukou system which restricts migrant labourers' freedom of movement), the absence of labour unions independent of the CCP,[6][7] the implementation of Social Credit System and its blacklist, which serve to restrict a person and their family members' rights,[8][9] and allegations of discrimination against rural workers and ethnic minorities, as well as the lack of religious freedom – rights groups have highlighted repression of the Christian,[10][11][12][13][14][15] Tibetan Buddhist, Uyghur Muslim, and Falun Gong religious groups. Some Chinese activist groups are trying to expand these freedoms, including Human Rights in China, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, and the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group. Chinese human rights attorneys who take on cases related to these issues, however, often face harassment, disbarment, and arrest.[16][17]

According to the Amnesty International report from 2016/2017 the government continued to draft and enact a series of new national security laws that presented serious threats to the protection of human rights. The nationwide crackdown on human rights lawyers and activists continued throughout the year. Activists and human rights defenders continued to be systematically subjected to monitoring, harassment, intimidation, arrest, and detention.[18] The report continues that police detained increasing numbers of human rights defenders outside of formal detention facilities, sometimes without access to a lawyer for long periods, exposing the detainees to the risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Booksellers, publishers, activists, and a journalist who went missing in neighboring countries in 2015 and 2016 turned up at detention in China, causing concerns about China's law enforcement agencies acting outside their jurisdiction.[18]

In a human rights report that assesses social, economic, and political freedoms, China has received the lowest ranking globally for safety from state actions and the right to assemble.[19]

  1. ^ "China". Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Human rights can be manifested differently". China Daily. 12 December 2005. Archived from the original on 9 December 2007.
  3. ^ Richard McGregor (2022). "The CPC as a Global Force: A Long-Term View". In Frank N. Pieke; Bert Hofman (eds.). CPC Futures: The New Era of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. Singapore: National University of Singapore Press. p. 177. ISBN 978-981-18-5206-0. OCLC 1354535847. The Western concept focuses on political values and rights. China, in line with its own domestic politics, insists that this is too narrow and that human rights norms should be focused on economic outcomes, material well-being, and the inviolability of national sovereignty.
  4. ^ "Progress in China's Human Rights Cause in 1996". March 1997. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
  5. ^ "Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action". Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 25 June 1993. paragraph I.5. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Trade Union Law and Collective Bargaining in China". China Business Review. 21 April 2017. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  7. ^ 中华全国总工会网站. acftu.org (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Social Credit System in China: Why it is so scary". 10 November 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  9. ^ "The Social Credit System: Not Just Another Chinese Idiosyncrasy". 1 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Christians face waves of persecution". 24 November 2001. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Religious freedom: Christians and lions | The Economist". 31 December 2012. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  12. ^ "Chinese government persecutes dissidents | TheCabin.net – Conway, Arkansas". Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  13. ^ McGeown, Kate (9 November 2004). "Asia-Pacific | China's Christians suffer for their faith". BBC News. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  14. ^ "China's Crackdown on Christians Worsens, Christian News". 7 February 2008. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  15. ^ Department of State. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs (19 September 2008). "China includes Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau". Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  16. ^ Human Rights Watch. Walking on Thin Ice Archived 6 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine 28 April 2008.
  17. ^ Amnesty International, "China: No Rule of Law when Defence Lawyers Cannot Perform their Legitimate Role" Archived 11 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine, 5 October 2010
  18. ^ a b "Human rights in China". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 6 October 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  19. ^ Hawkins, Amy; correspondent, Amy Hawkins senior China (21 June 2023). "China is state most dangerous to its own citizens' civil rights, report finds". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 September 2023. {{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)