China must confront human rights issues


Last week, China released five feminist activists who were arrested on March 8, on International Women’s Day. These women were arrested for attempts to organize protesters and hand out fliers protesting sexual harassment in China. In an autocratic regime like China, it is unsurprising to see dissenters to the status quo censored. What is surprising is the fact that China released the activists a little over a month later. The incident highlights the issue of human rights that China must confront in its meteoric rise as a global force. As its nascent career as a superpower continues, China must now contend with the previously avoided problems.

After the arrest, the international community criticized the Chinese government heavily. Secretary of State John Kerry and his predecessor Hillary Clinton both voiced their displeasure and called for the immediate release of the five women. The West often calls for the release of dissidents imprisoned for their cry for freedom, and it usually takes time for a release to happen, if one ever occurs. It might appear that China is warming up to opposition with the relatively quick release, but the ultimate reason behind the act is the international image the country is trying to paint ahead of U.N. meeting on women’s right being hosted in the country in September.

This U.N. meeting might be a quick fix for China in the short run, but it can no longer kick the can down the road. As an industrialized country gaining political, economic and military clout, it no longer is a standalone country but a model for surrounding countries and even the world. Sexual harassment is a major issue in China, and the oppression of women is a disgraceful act that must cease to exist.

The last time China released official figures in 2005, it reported 15,000 rapes. In 2007, however, the United States listed the number closer to 31,000. China has an egregious sexual harassment problem, and it is time China addresses violence against women. Hosting a conference for the U.N. is not nearly enough. In 1995, it hosted a women’s rights conference where Hillary Clinton gave an impassioned and historic speech on the rights for women across the world, and yet gender discrimination obviously is still a problem in China.

China disavows any notion of dissidence, either political or social. When it comes to economics, however, the country has oddly enough been open to laissez-faire policies and practices. If China is willing to reform its economy, then it must take responsibility to reform other facets of the country as well.

The five women activists arrested were attempting to shed light on the horrendous instances of groping on public transportation and in other public spaces. They have also brought attention to domestic violence as well as the gender discrimination evident in university admissions by shaving their heads, occupying men’s bathrooms to highlight the unequal ratio of stalls. Handing out fliers was their latest attempt to inform people about rampant rape in the country. The arrest, however, mimics the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident, where China proved to the world that free speech is not welcome. The economic juggernaut has used its power to censor the Internet and tailor thought and discourse in the country away from the issues it struggles with.

Feminism and gender bias do not take place in China alone. Even in the United States, the fight for equal women’s rights is are from over. Given that rape culture  is prominent on college campuses, women only earn 78 cents compared to every dollar men earn and traditional gender biases still present in public and private institutions, America has a fight of its own.

As the two largest superpowers in the world, the onus is on China and the United States to confront these human right offenses of sexism and gender discrimination. The brave and courageous acts of the five women’s rights activists should continue, and the United States must continue to support their efforts. China has made huge strides in the past several decades, transforming from a rural, subsistence economy to a bustling interntional marketplace. That growth, however, must be paralleled by an equally revolutionary metamorphosis from a socially hierarchical lifestyle to a more open, equal society.

Athanasius Georgy is a sophomore majoring in economics. His column, “On the World Stage,” runs Thursdays.