Another source of extreme pressure on both China and the leaders who visit China is from pressure groups such as Amnesty International and Free Tibet. Before Mr Blair left for China, dissident groups demanded that he take a firm tone with the Chinese Government during his talks. They also issued an open letter appealing to him to protest to China’s leaders over human rights abuses, which was supported by the pressure group Free Tibet. These groups put enormous amounts of pressure on Mr Blair to try to encourage or force him into putting lots of pressure on China to do something about their terrible human rights record. Instead of going through the leaders of the government in their home countries, Amnesty International tries to deal directly with China. In a letter for the Chinese government, Amnesty stated, “there has been a serious deterioration in human rights in China”. They also called into question China’s sincerity in signing key human rights conventions in 1997 and 1998. These groups have a lot of power and support and cannot be ignored so it can be seen that put a lot of pressure on China. The letter that was originally sent to the Chinese government can easily be accessed on the Internet, which means that more and more people are becoming aware of the situation and offering their help. Also there is wide coverage of all of the events and interviews in the press and media so this enables even more people to learn of the situation. The more support and power that these organisations have, the more pressure that they exert on China. A final way in which pressure groups exert pressure on China is through demonstrations and disruption. Some people do not agree with this method as it can sometimes involve violence but in the long run it does put pressure on China. There have been numerous protests and demonstrations about human rights in China, which have been given a lot of attention from government representatives and also the media. When President Jiang Zemin of China began his state visit to Britain with the traditional carriage drive with the Queen down The Mall, police had to adopt a policy of zero tolerance towards human rights and Free Tibet demonstrators. These protests get a lot of media coverage and force the governments into taking notice of the campaigns so this not only gets them much needed support but it also puts the pressure on China. People in the pressure groups are very involved and they will not rest until they have reached their goal- to make China change its terrible human rights record.
The last main factor that puts pressure on China is the media and the press. This is because they have a lot of power and influence over the public. They can publish all of the events that happen or concern China making the world aware of them. They can express many opinions to gain support for various pressure groups. As more and more of China’s affairs become public knowledge and many people turn against them, the more pressure that they feel they are under. The press concentrates on all of the terrible things that happen in China, for example executions, and this puts a lot of pressure on China. The press not only puts pressure on China directly, but also publishes articles that put pressure on the West to put further pressure on China. The press also has the power to publish articles that report on only one person, sometimes a Chinese dissident, and what he has been through which does put pressure on China.
A final minor thing that puts pressure on China is International Organisations such as the European Union who maintain that China has to be treated differently because of their terrible human rights record. Also, the Human Rights Commission, which is part of the United Nations regularly, meets and reviews the human rights records of all of the countries. This means that China’s human rights record is being checked regularly and reported on, so they feel that a lot of pressure is being put on them. China wants to join the World Trade Organisation but they feel like they are under a lot of pressure because the West wants to make their human rights record a condition of entry.
2. The Opium Wars
The Opium Wars are two wars fought between Britain and China in the early 19th century. The first war was fought between the years 1839 and 1843 and the second between 1856 and 1860. During them, Western powers gained significant commercial privileges and territory. The Opium Wars began when the Chinese government tried to stop the illegal importation of opium by British merchants.
In the early 19th century China, with Hong Kong as the centre, became an attractive location for the main European and trading powers. Chinese silk, porcelain, and furniture were much sought after in Europe and the demand for these goods increased as they became more fashionable. Britain however, had very little goods, which China needed, but they knew that India had something very valuable, opium. India needed some of the cheap industrial goods that Britain had and so a trade pattern was soon devised. Britain gave industrial goods to India in return for opium and Britain gave the opium to China in return for the silk, furniture and porcelain, which they in turn sold to the rest of Europe. The European governments wanted to conduct trade with China and some wanted to establish bases on the Chinese coast because China was a good stopping place and link for other parts of Asia. The Chinese were very reluctant to have such contacts; they feared the power of the Europeans and the changes that they would bring.
Opium is a very addictive drug and soon the Chinese ports became an area for drug addicts. The Chinese believed that the constantly expending drug trade was plundering their wealth and poisoning its people’s health. This came at the time when China was trying to improve their reputation and prove to the rest of the world, especially the Westerners that they were an important, civilised and prosperous race. The drug addicts did not do China’s reputation much good.
The Qing officials were in collusion with the drug traders so the Qing government failed to enforce repeated bans. As a result, the non-stop supply of opium smuggled into China aroused tremendous indignation among the Chinese people. In 1838 a Chinese official made the following statement about the opium trade:
“Money is leaving the country in large quantities, being drained by the opium trade. This trade is the work of the English. They have come to China, and brought us a disease, which will dry up our bones and bring ruin to our families. Since the empire first existed it has had such danger. It is worse than an invasion of wild beasts. I insist that the smuggling of opium be punishable by death.”
The First Opium War started in 1839 when the Chinese government, with Lin Zexu as the imperial commissioner, confiscated the opium of all the foreign traders in Guangzhou and ordered 20,000 cases to be burnt in public in Humen. He then notified the foreign traders that although other trade would be conducted as usual, if opium appeared again, the goods would be confiscated and traders would be punished according to law. The British traders were not happy with the situation because it would mean a great loss in money and trade. Also, the British government was outraged by the Chinese confiscation of the opium and they claimed that the Chinese were acting illegally and that they were provoking British subjects based in China. The British were concerned that their subjects abroad should be properly protected. They were angered that the Chinese should use such provocative tactics and they felt that they needed to be taught a lesson. So Britain responded to the confiscation of the opium by sending an expedition of warships to the city of Guangzhou in February 1840 and in the Chinese point of view they started an “aggressive” war. The Chinese say that they gave numerous warnings to Britain but they just ignored them. The British won a quick victory, mainly because they had more technically advanced weapons and a larger more powerful Empire with better tactics, and they demanded reparation. However, the Chinese refused and so after further tension, the British bombarded Canton and seized Hong Kong. The Treaty of Nanking ended the conflict on August 29, 1842, which the Qing government was compelled to sign even though they considered it to be unequal. By this treaty, and a supplementary one signed on October 8, 1843, China was forced to pay a large indemnity, open five ports, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningpo and Shanghai to British trade and residence, and cede Hong Kong to Britain. The treaty also gave British citizens in China the right to be tried in British courts. Other Western powers demanded, and were granted, similar privileges. This ended the First Opium War and Britain established a strong trading position in China.
The Chinese believed that Britain looked for an opportunity to provoke the Chinese authorities and they blamed the start of the Second Opium War on them saying that because of the Qing government’s weakness it led Britain to find a pretext to launch the next war. In October 1856, Guangzhou police boarded the British ship Arrow and charged its crew with smuggling. Eagar to gain more trading rights, the British used the incident to launch the Second Opium War. British forces, aided by the French, won another quick military victory in 1857. When the Chinese government refused to give an official go-ahead to the Treaty of Tianjin, which had been signed in 1858, the hostiles resumed. In 1860, after British and French troops had occupied Beijing and burnt the Summer Palace, the Chinese agreed to ratify the treaty. The treaty opened additional trading ports, allowed foreign emissaries to reside in Beijing, admitted Christian missionaries into China, and opened travel to the Chinese interior. The British were obviously very pleased with the treaties because it made their country wealthier and much more powerful. The Chinese on the other hand believed that the reason for Britain occupying the whole region of Hong Kong and having all of the wealth and power was down to three unequal treaties, and they felt that they had been treated unfairly.
Later negotiations legalized the importation of opium.
So overall we can see that China took no responsibility for what was happening in their own country. They thought that it was all down to the British and that they were being treated unfairly. The British thought that the Chinese were using provocative methods and that they needed to be taught a lesson. However, all of the events worked out for Britain and they gained a lot, while China lost an awful lot, including territory, wealth, power and their dignity.
The ‘Formosan Crisis’- the problem of Taiwan
When the Second World War ended in 1945 everyone agreed that Taiwan belonged to China. However, in 1949 the Chinese communists won the Civil War and took control of China. The defeated leader and his GMD supporters fled China and settled on the island of Formosa or Taiwan. They insisted that they still represented the government of China. The question was: to which China did Taiwan belong? The USA recognised this Nationalist government and gave a huge amount of support to Chiang Kai-shek in the years that followed. For example in 1950 the USA arbitrarily decided to neutralize the island by stationing the US Seventh Fleet between the refugee Nationalists and the Communist-controlled mainland. The reason for the American support lies in the Cold War. The Truman Doctrine of 1947 committed the USA to helping any country fighting communism. The US believed that it was important to stand firm against Mao in order to prevent any other communist takeovers in Asia.
At the beginning of 1955 P.L.A assault troops (former red army) landed on the small island of Yikiangshan and promptly escalated the risk of a new Pacific war. America sent reinforcements to Taiwan while on the coastline, facing Taiwan; the P.L.A. assembled thousands of troops. The stage was set for a major war- but nothing happened. From 1949 there have been several other occasions when the Americans have visibly increased their support for Taiwan, for example in 1950, 1955 and 1958. In 1999, the latest crisis was over a US plan to include Taiwan in a new defence system. The intention behind this is to defend it further from Communist China. The Chinese have objected to this most strongly.
Since 1949, the Chinese have expressed a lot of anger towards the West, in particular the USA. They believed that Taiwan was the rightful property of the People’s Republic and the USA had no right to interfere and act in the way that they did. In their opinion the USA was too powerful and they were abusing this power by using it for means, which were not approved by everybody. It was quite clear that they were bullying other weaker countries because they had superior resources such as technology and finances. The Chinese strongly resented all of the material support for the P.R.C. Also in 1949 they believed that they were not being properly recognised because China had a Communist government, which was legitimate. They were very annoyed that they were excluded from the United Nations until 1971 and now in 1999 it is clear that they still have the same attitude because they object to the American support.
The West’s (mainly America) main concern, which created serious fear, especially in 1949, was that other parts of Asia would turn Communist. This could create a domino effect where if one area became Communist then the other areas surrounding it could also adopt the same policy. This would put a lot of pressure on the Capitalist countries such as the USA. The last thing that they wanted was Communism gaining more support and power over the world. The reason for America’s support for Chiang Kai-shek lies in the Cold War, which was occurring during 1945. It was all about Communism verses Capitalism and the Taiwan issue was an important part of it. The Americans would not stand for communism and they felt a lot of anger towards any country supporting the growth of it, especially China. This American intervention marked a new era in America’s attitude to world politics, which became known as ‘The Truman Doctrine’. Under the Truman Doctrine, America was prepared to send money, equipment and advice to any country, which was, in the American view, threatened by a Communist takeover. Truman accepted that Eastern Europe was now Communist. His aim was to stop Communism from spreading any further. This policy became known as containment. Others thought that containment should mean something firmer. They said that it must be made clear to the Soviet Union that expansion beyond a given limit would be met with military force. It was clear that America would do everything possible to stop the spread of Communism as they were strongly against it.
Q.3 China’s relationship with the West
It is obvious that China’s response to Western interest in human rights is influenced by the poor relationship it has had with the past. However, it is not all because of this factor, there are other minor reasons but the majority of it is down to the poor past relationship.
There have been many occasions in the past, which have made China dislike or distrust the West. In an extract from a Beijing Information Booklet dated 1996 the following extract describes how the Opium Wars affected China’s judgement of the West: In fact, the debate on the relationship between Chinese and Western civilizations has been going on since the mid-19th century, when Westerners forced their way into China with warships. Another 19th century event that caused friction between China and the West is the Boxer Rebellion, which was about discarding foreign influence. In both of these events, the West used military power and in a way bullied China. A 20th century event which caused, and still causes, a problems and resentment is the issue of Taiwan. The Truman Doctrine of 1947 committed the USA to helping any country fighting communism and so they gave Taiwan a lot of support but China thought that this was wrong and they should not interfere. In 1999 when America gave money to Taiwan to defend itself and China was very angry. This is a huge source of disagreement and a link with the past because just like they did in 1949 the USA has given a lot of support and money to Taiwan. In the past the Chinese have felt that they were being threatened, abused, bullied and that the West was barbarous. That feeling is still very strong and relevant today. They believe that the Americans are convinced that the non-Western world is still uncivilized, waiting to be enlightened. This belief has led to persistent Western attempts to export its values and social systems to the developing world, creating tension from time to time. This could be a reference to Korea. In the issues of both Taiwan and Korea the West is seen to have exerted a lot of military and economic strength on China.
The main reason that China still has disagreements with the West is because they feel that they are still being treated in a terrible way, just like in the past. China attacked “people in the United States who insist on clinging to the Cold War mentality. They harbour deep prejudice and hostility towards China”. What China appears to want is to have the past disagreements forgotten and be treated in a more civilised manner unlike how they were treated in the past. Most of the Chinese citizens agree that “there is still too much historical baggage” for a good relationship to be formed between the West and China and that “as soon as there is trouble in the future, the old insults will fly once more”. It is very clear that the Chinese still hold a grudge for the way that they were treated in the past and when history is brought up China feels resentment, like it is being victimised again. It is obvious that China and the West have had a very poor relationship in the past and the reason for China’s attitude towards the West over the present issue of human rights is because they feel so victimised.
As I mentioned before, the 19th century events such as the Opium Wars and the Boxer Rebellion involved bullying and military power from the West while the 20th century events such as the issue of Taiwan involved military and economic strength. China saw these motives as the West’s new weapon but today China sees the issue of human rights being used as the new weapon. They realise that the West is not threatening them with gun boats like in the past but they feel that the issue of human rights and there past record is being used to bully them. They see it as a weapon that the USA is using to use to involve itself and muscle in on China and they way it is being run. For some, they see the issue of human rights as another, newer version of containment, which was once used by the USA in 1947. In 1994 China had to launch a tit-for-tat struggle against the West and their politics to safeguard their national independence, sovereignty and dignity. They felt very threatened, just like in the past, because the West was putting a lot of pressure onto their re-entry into the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade by using the issue of human rights. The United States repeatedly gathered the Western countries to issue anti-China proposals in Geneva (the place where the UN commission of human rights is located) and use the issue of human rights to intervene in China’s domestic affairs. China felt very threatened by this because to intervene in domestic issues put too much pressure on them and was wrong. This can be linked to the past when the UN was persuaded by the US to fight in Korea and so human rights can be clearly seen as the new weapon.
It is obvious that China’s response to Western interest in human rights is mainly due to their terrible past relationships and events that have happened and are still happening today. However, it is not all down to this, there are other minor reasons.
China feels that it has an Asian identity with Asian values and that these are just as valued and important as Western ideas and values. China challenges the West saying that not everything should be done like they do it, but there are other ways for example, the Asian way. Some even predict that the tables are being turned, and that the East, whose civilisation features harmony and benevolence, will replace the West in the next century as the dominant civilization to deliver the world from the crises besetting human beings today. Also Asian nations have been particularly offended by the view that the Western model has become standard for the whole world to copy. They also believe that each civilisation has good points and the Western model is not the only way to modernisation. The Chinese think that the US is ignorant because they should respect their different views and different culture, but they have not done so. For example, far more Chinese know English than American, far more books on America have been published in China than books on Asia in the US and far more media coverage on the US appears in China than the reverse. Asia reveals that just as Asia has benefited from both Western and Eastern wisdom, the future world civilisation should be a combination of the two traditions. The West did not agree with this and thought that everything should be done in their footsteps. This disagreement also influenced China’s response to the West’s interest in their human rights record.
Another minor, but important, factor is that the Chinese define human rights in a different way to the West; their views do not coincide. China wants to feed its population and reduce all of the poverty in the country before giving all of its people political freedom. The Chinese government says, “One must be adequately fed and clothed before he can talk about rites and music. If survival is in question, what freedom can we talk about?” Also, Mr Li said, “Democracy may be suitable for the West. However, China has its own conditions. We are a developing country with a large population.” The Chinese point of view is that they have the right to feed the people first as that is the most important thing at the moment and is more important. When people are fed and surviving then political rights can be discussed and decided on. However, if survival is in question then feeding the people who are suffering in pain and might die is much more important than political rights. The USA has a conflicting opinion to this so it does create friction between them and could influence China’s attitude towards them on the issue of human rights.