China's Oil Policies an Example of China's Human Rights Policies
China continues to receive criticism from the west for their investment in oil from other countries with poor human rights records such as Syria, Sudan and Iran. China's defense is that their investment in those countries enhance human rights because it brings the citizens of those countries out of poverty.
The Chinese have always been experts on propaganda and twisting things to make their policies look appealing either to Chinese citizens or other countries. The case of oil is no exception. A recent post spoke of China's economic policies being appealing to Brazil because they enhance human rights because they improve the overall well being of its citizens. To me, they're just a bunch of hypocrites trying to make it look as if they can do no wrong.
The idea of human rights doesn't mean that people have more money. Human rights, according to dictionary.com, are "The basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, often held to include the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law." Do China's oil policies enhance life, liberty, freedom of thought and expression or equality before the law? No. Some may argue that these are the human rights that America has created, but I believe everyone should have these rights guaranteed to them and the only reason they sound American is because America has always cherished human rights.
The bottom line is that China's oil policies enhance the quality of life for the governments and the rich of Syria, Iran and Sudan - not necessarily their citizens. No matter how much money these countries get from China, they will still be able to deny any human rights they want to. In addition to being able to deny human rights, they deny them based on race, religion, gender, and other similar traits. China isn't enhancing human rights in those countries. It's just hiding its true face behind a mask as it has done so many times before.
http://www.upi.com/Energy/view.php?StoryID=20060428-105340-6159r
posted by mrcourageous @ 5:47 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
America has not always cherished human rights. Have you forgotten about slavery, and more recently the treatment and abuses of many Muslims; almost all of which had no ties to terrorism or al-Qaida. Yes, everyone should be entitled to certain rights, but don’t sound self-righteous when speaking of the United States’ track record with human rights.
Well, i just recently read that China and Pakistan plan to build a oil pipeline from Pakistan to China in the new Energy corridor plan. Pakistan is another nation that has human-right-violation problems.But that's not the only problem. There are many political leaders in Pakistan who are being bribed by Al qaeda to obtain information on nuclear weapons. SO i don't know why China can consent with nations like this whose poilcies are not realy solid in these issues.
I really think the bottom line is money. People can make up false reasons for doing things, but when it all comes down to it money is what drives people to do what they do in the world. It would be ideal if it were for human rights or enhancing peoples lives, but it's money plain and simple. That is the reason China can deal with Pakistan they will benefit from it a great deal. China also gets 12% of its oil from Iran, and we all know how well Iran does with human rights.
It is extremely alarming to see China aligning themselves with nations that have such poor human rights records. It does not bode well for the rights of the people to be giving these corrupt governments more money-they will become more powerful to the detriment of commoners. While some may think that America is being hypocritical, I believe that for the most my human rights are not infringed on in the U.S. The cases of human rights infringements in the United States are not nearly as prominent or as brutal those seen in Sudan. The United States is not being hypocritical when promoting human rights-it needs to be done! At least the U.S. isn't promoting crimes against humanity by supporting these governments like China.
I agree that these relationships China has with the other countries not great on human rights is not about making them better human rights countries and that it more about money. The reason they can say this though is because China is a country that has gotten a long way in the treatment of there people and maybe their idea is that their influence on these other countries is what will effect them. This isn't so far from what the U.S. does. Also like what kiki said, the U.S. has not always been wonderful to all the people that have lived here. We destroyed the original people that inhabited this country and didn't even blink and eye to it. I also think that this whole thing sounds a lot like what the U.S. is doing in Iraq right now. We pretend that it's for human rights, but we all know that it really about oil and of course money.
I know the United States hasn't had the best track record when it comes to human rights, kiki. I just said that because it's in writing and we hear "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" kind of talk all the time. The reason I said that was to explain that the dictionary.com definition of human rights isn't just the United States' definition. It would have been pointless to go into all the times when the United States hasn't honored human rights As for the U.S. Iraq argument, it's all based on conspiracy theories and this is a class on Chinese politics. I don't think it's the reason we're there, but whether or not we're in Iraq for money is anyone's guess and to say that everyone knows we are there for the money and oil is a fallacy.
Also, the point of the post wasn't to say China's doing it for money, because I think it's obvious. It was to say that China's argument that it will improve human rights in those countries is not necessarily true.
If China were genuinly concerned for the welfare of human rights then maybe they should start with their own people. The people in China that live in rural areas are suffering because of poverty. China says they are helping other countries because their support is benefiting their people that are living in poverty? Maybe they should look inside first and begin to help their people, and then I will begin to believe them when they say they are supporting those other countries on the basis of human rights and their concern for those living in poverty.
But China isn't genuinely concerned about human rights, at home or abroad, so it doesn't matter. The Chinese government is concerned, however, with scooping up as much oil as possible.
I agree with the post in that there are some things to be respected in Chinese Government and their economic policies. I feel that the growing pains experienced by this huge country are felt most acutely at the bottom. It is near the bottom that money is most scarce and where there are the most people. On the top it seems pretty smooth sailing, but down in the trenches they are really bearing the burden of the incredible growth.
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