China's strategy to counter international human rights pressures since 1989

Abstract

The June 4th, 1989 crackdown on the pro-democracy movement aroused worldwide concern about the human rights situation in China and made China a major target of international human rights pressures. The intensity of international pressures on China was unprecedented, considering the swift and organized international cooperation among the major powers - the Western countries and Japan - in exerting pressures. This thesis is a study on how the Chinese government has handled such intensive international pressures and the human rights controversy with Western countries since 1989. There are two objectives. First, to examine whether the Chinese government is successful in countering international human rights pressures and what accounts for the outcome. Second, to evaluate the effectiveness of international pressures in promoting respect for human rights in China. A framework for analysis is constructed that includes a general discussion on the nature and means of international pressures and the factors which affect a target country's responses to international pressures. In particular, a scheme to assess the effectiveness of international pressures is suggested covering four aspects: political repression; political control; recognition of international human rights norms; and the establishment of institutions enhancing human rights protection. This study finds that the Chinese government formulated an overall strategy to counter international pressures in early 1990. The strategy consists of six basic tenets: maintaining stability and order as the top priority; exploiting the contradictions among the major powers; the good neighborhood policy; reemphasizing China's relationship with Third World countries; demonstrating the strategic importance of China; and making concessions when necessary. The implementation of this strategy and its adjustments can be divided into three periods in relation to different goals. From March 1990 to December 1992, the Chinese government aimed at breaking the isolation under international sanctions. From January 1993 to December 1994, the Chinese government concentrated its efforts on fending off US pressures exerted through the attachment of human rights conditions to the renewal of China's most-favored nation status. From January 1995 to June 1998, the Chinese government aimed at eliminating the human rights issue from China's foreign relations with the focus on ending the Western multilateral pressures in the United Nations Commission for Human Rights. Concerning the overall outcome of China's strategy, this study finds that China was basically successful in forcing, step by step, the coordinated pressures of the Western countries to retreat, starting from the lifting of sanctions at the end of 1990 culminating in the withdrawal of multilateral pressures in the UNCHR in spring 1998. With regard to the effectiveness of international pressures on China, the overall outcome is mixed. On the one hand, international pressures were ineffective in inducing explicit and immediate improvements in the reduction of political repression and political control. On the other hand, some important groundwork for the protection of human rights has been laid due to such pressures, which have contributed in inducing China's recognition of international human rights norms and have resulted in positive changes in the promotion of legal reform and legal protection of rights and interests in China. In this study, some useful lessons can be drawn from China's successful case. First, the unity of the leadership and internal stability are essential to the resistance against international pressures. Second, the capability to utilize ideological countermeasures can enhance a target country's efforts in soliciting domestic and international support to counter international pressures. Third, China's case shows that strategic importance and economic capability are the major factors contributing to the success of a target country. These two factors largely depend on the natural endowments of the country concerned which other countries cannot easily "copy." This implies that in general large countries are more capable than small countries in countering international pressures. Although small countries, by adopting isolationism and maintaining self-reliance under a unified leadership, might also be able to resist, albeit passively, external pressures. China's case reveals to be particularly significant in the history of human rights diplomacy in that by adopting an adequate strategy, China achieved the twofold objectives of dismantling external pressures and reintegrating itself actively into the international community at the same time in a relatively short period.

Date of Award	29 Feb 2000
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Kin Sheun LOUIE (Supervisor)