Freedom of Expression in China - Research Paper Example

? Freedom of Expression in China The issue of freedom of expression in China has generated much controversy in the local and international scenes. It can be noted that although the Constitution has clearly outlined the freedom of expression as a basic human right, the government has continued to violate it. This is by censoring the media, religion, the internet and speech. Over the years there have been cases of increased brutality against journalists and human rights activists who have tried to fight for reforms concerning the freedom of expression in China. This paper analyzes the status of the country with regards to adherence to freedom of expression and answers the question whether it exists in the country. Keywords: freedom of expression, censorship, human rights Freedom of Expression in China The issue of freedom of expression in China has attracted the attention of other countries, human rights organization and the international community. Although the Constitution of China makes provisions to uphold and preserve the freedom of expression, the situation on the ground is implies otherwise. This is evidenced from censorship of the media, freedom of religion and internet usage (Flood, 2013). Over the past years, the government has been reported to impose bans on all religion and websites which have not been registered. The government is tyrannical when dealing with those who criticize its actions and they are punished heavily. It can tbe concluded that the country accepts the freedom of speech as a right in theory but fails to implement it in practice. China should be required to allow freedom of expression because it is a public right and adverse impacts the development in the country. This paper analyzes the current situation in the current, the main areas where the freedom of expression has been curtailed, actions being undertaken by international community and the way forward. In order to get an understanding of the level of violation of the right of freedom of expression in China it is important to looks at the definition of various terms. The right to freedom of expression has been clearly stipulated under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights (UDHR) and states that: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any type of media, regardless of frontiers.” (Rajagopalan, 2011). This means that an individual has the right to express their views and opinions freely through writing, speech or any other form of communication so long as the information is not misleading and does not cause harm to others. Freedom of expression entails freedom of speech, freedom of press or media, freedom of speech and internet censorship. Article 35 in the constitution states that all the citizens are entitled to the freedom of speech, association, demonstration and press assembly (Rajagopalan, 2011). On the contrary, the government curtails freedom of expression in the country thus breaching the human rights. Current Situation The human rights situation in the country has been recorded to be poor over the years. There are several instances in history that support this fact. For instance in 1966, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) instituted the International Bill of Human Rights but China refused to ratify it (Rajagopalan, 2011). In the recent past, various journalists who attempt to preach the message of democracy have been jailed. For example, Chinese journalist Shi Tao was jailed for ten years for showing support to a pro- democracy movement. The most shocking occurrence was when the Chinese government rejected the recommendations made by the United Nations (UN)concerning freedom of expression (Rajagopalan, 2011). The media is highly regulated by government mechanisms and internet usage is controlled by the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party. Therefore, from an analysis of the current situation in the country it is clear that there is no freedom of expression in China. Media Censorship The government has constantly kept an eye on the media so as to avoid any challenges to its authority. Watchdog organizations have observed that the media is controlled through monitoring mechanisms that are involved in the shutting down of publications or websites (Bennett and Program Coordinator, International Institutions and Global Governance, 2013). Additionally, these mechanisms are involved in the sentencing of bloggers, activists and journalists who are considered to be rebellious. The issue of media censorship has hit international headlines however, the government seems reluctant to make any changes on its censorship policies. Furthermore, the awarding of the Nobel peace prize to Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo who is currently serving a jail term has attracted increasing attention to media censorship in the country (Bennett and Program Coordinator, International Institutions and Global Governance, 2013). The country’s economy is among the fastest growing world over and this has facilitated great diversity in the media coverage, experts have observed that there is rising demand for information and this has mounted pressure on the regime over media control. The government is advised to control loosen their grip on the media so as to promote the flow of information across the economy and this will have a positive impact on the overall growth and development. The official media policy is aimed at maintaining power as China becomes a proficient player in the global economy. The governments seems to be wary of the fact that if opens the door to the freedom of expression, this could lead to a downfall of its rule. The Constitution states media regulations that are structured in a vague language that the government uses to their advantage to fabricate claims against the media. The media does not enjoy the freedom of expression and a recent study carried out by the watchdog movement of reporters ranked the country 174 out of 179 in terms of press freedom (Bennett and Program Coordinator, International Institutions and Global Governance, 2013). This is following the constant harassment and imprisonment of the journalists. Censorship guidelines are reviewed on a weekly basis by the Communist Party propaganda department. The media is currently undergoing commercialization and skeptics believe that this will lead to increased competition, increased investigative information and diversified content. However, it is only government agencies can own media companies in China although there is creeping privatization. The best example of such as case China News Network Corporation (CNC) which is a twenty four hour international news network is 50 percent privately financed (Bennett and Program Coordinator, International Institutions and Global Governance, 2013). Recent government reports indicate that the number of publications has increased over the years and the number of television stations has also been on the rise. In spite of this recent development, the media is viewed as being socialist and is still controlled by the government. The Chinese government is tactical in how it regulates public opinion. The government uses several censoring agencies including Communist Party's Central Propaganda Department (CPD), Communist Party's Central Propaganda Department (CPD) and General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) (Bennett and Program Coordinator, International Institutions and Global Governance, 2013). Journalists who fail to adhere to the set rules and regulations face prison terms or reprisals. The best example of such a scenario is the Tan Zouren’s case who was sentenced to five years in jail (Bennett and Program Coordinator, International Institutions and Global Governance, 2013). This is because he had drawn attention to the Sichuan earthquake in 2008 and this revealed the poor construction of school buildings and the extent of its corruption. A similar case happened in 2004 when Shi Tao, a journalist was arrested for posting an online report on the events that took place in the 15th year anniversary at Tiananmen Square (Bennett and Program Coordinator, International Institutions and Global Governance, 2013). The government accords similar treatment to foreign journalists since they are harassed if they touch on sensitive issues and are required to seek authorization before taking trips in the country (Bennett and Program Coordinator, International Institutions and Global Governance, 2013). The above section shows the lack of freedom of expression with regards to the media. This has inhibited the effective flow of information in the country which in turn has a negative impact on economic growth. Internet Censorship China has stringent rules with regards to internet freedom, all internet users and foreign organizations must play by the Chinese rules and regulations. Global experts have observed that government uses the internet to cement its control and promote legitimacy. Websites that are considered to be a risk to the government’s stability since the users can view what the government views to be controversial information. Such websites include Wikipedia, websites of Bloomberg, New York Times and Telegraph were blacked out in 2012 after they revealed information with regard to the wealth status of Premier Wen Jiabao and Secretary Xi Jinping (Bennett and Program Coordinator, International Institutions and Global Governance, 2013). In April, 2013 strict restrictions were put in place on blogging following rumors of a coup (Bennett and Program Coordinator, International Institutions and Global Governance, 2013). Internet users are also required to reveal their real identity and this gives increased responsibility to the internet providers and limits freedom of using the internet. Global internet providers such as Google have threatened to suspend their operations in China owing to the breach of the right of the freedom of expression experienced in the country. This is because hackers had attempted to get information on human rights activists by using its email system. Google has been constantly involved in war against the communist regime as it refuses to filter internet search results (Foley, 2010). Additionally, by filtering search results the company goes against its corporate objectives. China has been well known to censor social media sites such as Face book and Twitter by using a system that is referred to as the Great Firewall in a move to regulate online communication (Watts, 2013; Simonite, 2013). Such actions by the government show that there is limited freedom of expression in the country. Religion Censorship Religion matters are highly personal and sensitive, it is therefore important for there to be freedom of expression in order to allow the citizens to exercise religious freedom. It is noted with keen interest that China is a country of religious diversity (Finney, 2013). The common religions include, Christianity, Catholicism, Taoism and Buddhism. China implemented the religious policy in 1949 and its main goal was to establish harmony between politics and religion in the country. The constitution stipulates that: “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of religion. No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens because they do, or do not believe in religion.” (Rajagopalan, 2011). In spite of the strict rules and regulations that have been put in place to enhance religious freedom, the government has been involved and tolerated infringement on religious freedom over the years. The recent times have witnessed a decline in the religious freedom and the situation is likely to worsen (Voice of America, 2010). There has repression of the Uighur Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists in the recent time and this has adversely affected the status of religious freedom in the country. Furthermore, the government has made relentless efforts to institute measures that control religious activity in the Xinjiang Uighur area. The government only permits the registration of religious groups that belong to the ‘patriotic religious associations. Protestant groups that are not associated with the Vatican Catholics and patriotic religious association are prohibited from registering. Reports have revealed that unregistered religious believers were detained in high security psychiatric establishments with the mentally ill. There are cases of brutal patient treatment where they were subjected to electric shock and forced to take medicine. Religious activists have told stories on how they were tortured under inhumane conditions. In 2009, Gao Zhisheng who was an activist of the Falun Gong and unregistered Christians disappeared (Voice of America, 2010). He has been arrested twice and tortured on both incidences (Voice of America, 2010). The above section shows that there is a momentous breach on the religious freedom in China. The government should allow freedom of religion to its citizens and stop all torture activities against religious activists. Freedom of Speech Censorship Freedom of speech is one of the important facets of freedom of expression. It is clear that this right is violated by the government. In 2010 Lui Xiaobo was awarded the Noble Peace Prize as earlier stated. Currently, he is in jail for subversive speech (Peixi, 2011). The Norwegian Nobel Committee condemned the Chinese government for showing no regards to the freedom of speech. Though the freedom of speech is clearly outlined in the constitution, this requirement is not practiced at all. The constitution also forbids any action that goes against the interests of the state. Moreover, the rights that are enumerated in the constitution are approved by national legislature and it does so with selfish motives. One of the milestones with regards to freedom of speech was in 2002 when the Prime Minister Hu Jintao reviewed the constitution to promote individual liberties (Palmer, 2010). This made the rebels more vigilant in the fight for improved rights and freedoms. Their efforts were dampened in 2008 following the arrest of Liu Xiaobo who had published a book on proposals for human rights reforms (Voice of America, 2010). Liu had taken a bold move and he was arrested before his book went public. He was detained for a year without trial when he was charged with inciting rebellion against the state. His trial lasted two hours while that of a fellow rebel Tan Zuoren was concluded in ten minutes. This example goes ahead to prove the level of infringement of freedom of expression that is present in China. Other citizens who speak out against the government’s atrocities are subjected to other forms of punishment including re- education through labor, job loss or stern rebuke. Several actions have been undertaken by international community the international community to fight against the issue of violation of the freedom of expression in China. However, the regime has turned a deaf ear to the reforms that have been proposed by international bodies such as the UN. This is because they fear that by allowing freedom of expression, the citizens will be empowered and can even overthrow the current regime. However, they have nothing to lose by upholding the freedom of expression, in fact it will lead to effective communication and discovery of business opportunities locally and domestically. References Bennett, A., & Program Coordinator, International Institutions and Global Governance. (2013, June 12). Media censorship in China. Retrieved from http://www.cfr.org/china/media-censorship-china/p11515 Finney, R. (2013). Religious freedom 'Improves' in Vietnam, declines in China. Retrieved from Flood, A. (2013). Writers around the world call on China to respect freedom of expression. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/03/writers-world-china- freedom-expression Foley, S. (2010, January 13). Google threatens to quit China over cyber-attacks. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/google-threatens-to-quit-china-over- cyberattacks-1866220.html from http://www.technologyreview.com/news/511011/social-media-censorship-offers- clues-to-chinas-plans/ http://editorials.voa.gov/content/religious-freedom-worsens-in-china- 130288573/1482726.html http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/2011-08/05/content_23150148.htm http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/religious-05202013171334.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/10/is_there_freedom_of _speech_in_china.html Palmer, B. (2010, October 8). Is there freedom of speech in China? Retrieved from Peixi, X. (2011, August 5). A freedom of speech with Chinese characteristics. Retrieved from Rajagopalan, R. (2011). Freedom of expression in the People’s Republic of China. Retrieved from http://mymunofsiii.wikispaces.com/file/view/Freedom+of+Expression+in+the+People% E2%80%99s+Republic+of+China.pdf Simonite, T. (2013, April 29). Social media censorship offers clues to China’s plans. Retrieved Voice of America. (2010). Religious freedom worsens in China. Retrieved from Watts, E. (2013, June 11). Beyond the great firewall: How and what China censors. Retrieved from thediplomat.com/china-power/beyond-the-great-firewall-how-and-what-china-censors-2/ Read More