March 15, 2006 | Volume 3, Issue 1
Human Rights Violations in China
In China, tens of thousands of people continue to be detained or imprisoned in violation of their fundamental human rights and are at high risk of torture or ill-treatment. There has been progress in some areas, but reforms have failed to have a significant impact on the serious and widespread human rights violations perpetrated across the China.1 China postponed the visit of the United Nations Special Reporter on torture scheduled for June 2006, and international human rights non-governmental organizations (NGOs) continue to be denied access to the country to conduct independent research. The recent human right violations are described below:
- Serious violations against women and girls continued to be reported as a result of the enforcement of the family planning policy, including forced abortions and sterilizations.2
- In July 2005, Chinese authorities publicly reinforced a ban on the selective abortion of female fetuses in an attempt to reverse a growing gap in the boy-girl birth ratio.3
- Amnesty International has records of more than fifty people who had been detained or imprisoned after accessing or circulating politically sensitive information on the Internet.4
- The Falun Gong spiritual movement remains a key target of repression, which reportedly includes many arbitrary detentions. According to overseas Falun Gong sources, more than 1,000 people detained in connection with the Falun Gong have died since the organization was banned in 1999, mostly from of torture or ill-treatment.5
- The death penalty continues to be used extensively and arbitrarily, at times because of political interference. People are executed for non-violent crimes such as tax fraud and embezzlement as well as for drug offenses and violent crimes. The authorities continue to keep national statistics on death sentences and executions secret. Based on public reports available, it is estimated that at least 3,400 people have been executed and at least 6,000 are sentenced to die by the end of the year, although the true figures are believed to be much higher.6
- Chinese authorities officially announced their intention to reform the “Re-education through Labor” program, a system of administrative detention used to detain hundreds of thousands of people for up to four years without charge or trial.7
- In November 2005, Cai Zhuohua received a three-year prison term, ostensibly for “illegal business practices,” for attempting to fill unmet demand for religious literature. In Xinjiang, several young people were held for possessing unauthorized religious texts.8
- Chinese authorities continue to use the “global war on terror” to justify harsh repression in Xingjian, resulting in serious human rights violations against the ethnic Uighur community. The authorities continue to make little distinction between acts of violence and acts of passive resistance. Repression resulted in the closure of unofficial mosques, arrests of imams, restrictions on the use of the Uighur language and the banning of certain Uighur books and journals.9
- Although Chinese government authorities continued to insist both publicly and to U.S. officials that children could receive religious instruction, in Xinjiang, teachers and students were detained and parents of attendees exorbitantly fined after a teacher was caught reading the Koran to 37 students.10
- Arrests of so-called “separatists, terrorists and religious extremists” continue and thousands of political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, remain in prison. Many of those charged with “separatist” or “terrorist” offenses have reportedly been sentenced to death and executed. Uighur activists attempting to pass information abroad about the extent of the crackdown are at risk of arbitrary detention and imprisonment.11
- Freedom of religion, expression and association continue to be severely restricted and arbitrary arrests and unfair trials continue. Over 100 Tibetan prisoners of conscience, mainly Buddhist monks and nuns, remain in prison.12
Goals for Change
The World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are vital sources of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. While the WB13 provides low-interest loans, interest-free credit and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, communications and many other purposes, the IMF[14] was established to promote international monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and orderly exchange arrangements, to foster economic growth and high levels of employment, and to provide temporary financial assistance.
NGOs like Amnesty International do not have any official power over countries that violate human rights. In today’s world, the most important concerns of many nations are economic. Because the WB and IMF are vital sources of financial assistance around the globe, they have a great ability to influence world leaders.
Figure 1:
The WB’s and IMF‘s effect is not limited to their direct financial assistance. Their assessments and courses of action deeply affect the credibility of countries. That is why NGOs place great importance on their support of human rights. Official and volunteer international organizations should collaborate with the WB and IMF to create a world where people can live free from torture and ill-treatment.
A substantial amount of WB and IMF funding comes from democratic countries whose people have great concern about human right violations. Even people who are living in non-democratic countries and face torture and ill-treatment are indirectly financing the WB and IMF by paying taxes in their own countries.
The economic interests of those non-democratic states may overshadow any attention paid to human rights violations. So-called economic successes may, in turn, augment current practices of crimes against humanity in those countries. It may also set a bad example for other states that are prone to human rights violations. China is the extreme example of this dilemma. Despite its ongoing human rights violations and undemocratic practices, China is enjoying great success according to macro-economic indicators during the past decade. In fact, China’s GDP and investments have steadily increased during past 15 years.
That is why I consider fighting against human rights violations without any initial reserve or political concern should be the common goal of the WB, IMF, and international NGOs.
WB Projects in China
The WB made its first loan to China in 1981 to support the development of Chinese universities. Since then, the WB has financed 263 development projects for a total of approximately $39.1 billion. About 81 of these projects are still under implementation, making China’s portfolio one of the largest in the Bank.15
Figure 2:
As a result of economic growth over the last ten years, China’s improved financial situation and lower domestic interest rates have reduced its need for external assistance. Despite this fact, the WB is still financing 24 projects aimed mainly at development of the western regions of China and amounting to nearly $3.4 billion.
Although many WB-financed projects have been granted to improve education, health, infrastructure, communications and many other purposes, there has been no project directly aimed at improving human rights and democratic participation in China. I believe that the WB can play a substantive role in improving human rights and detering torture and ill treatment practices by adjusting its credit policy for China. In that context, my recommendations are presented below.
Recommendations
The World Bank should:
- Make country credits and grant limits dependent upon human rights performance;
- Allocate a percentage of loans or grants to projects that directly improve human rights;
- Encourage China’s government to prepare its own projects to improve democratic participation;
- Sponsor conferences and cultural events to improve social tolerance within the country;
- Ensure that the selection process for WB-financed projects deters local governments from interfering in the bidding process, and encourage companies or people belonging to ethnic or religious minorities to apply;
- Finance projects to improve living conditions of Uighurs and Tibetans suffering from harsh economic conditions;
- Prepare and finance a rehabilitation project for people who are physically or psychologically impaired as a result of torture or ill-treatment; and
- Facilitate the auditing of all projects by independent auditors, who are given reasonable assurances that WB sources are not directly or indirectly used to finance any actions that may create human right violations.
Conclusion
Today, we have unique opportunity to help people in China to enjoy all of the human rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. By acting together, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and international NGOs can create great synergy to change the destiny of the Chinese people.
1 Amnesty International. http://www.amnesty.org
2 “Report 2005, China.” Amnesty International. December 2004. http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/chn-summary-eng
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 “China: A Year After New Regulations, Religious Rights Still Restricted” Human Rights Watch. March 1, 2006. http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/03/01/china12740.htm
9 “Report 2005, China.” Amnesty International. December 2004. http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/chn-summary-eng
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 Ibid.
13 The World Bank. http://www.worldbank.org
14 International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org
15 ”Projects and Programs, China.” The World Bank.