Human Rights in China [?]

Today was my co-intern's last day at the office. So now, I am the lone intern. My internship ends on the 15th and I will be loafing around in D.C. for a little while before leaving for home the evening of the 20th.

I will be home to hang out and celebrate my birthday on the 23rd before leaving for Hong Kong on the 1st of September and then to Beijing the 10th. Since I have so little time left in the States, I decided it would be important to read up on the political state of Beijing to prepare myself for what I can expect at the aftermath of the Olympics.


China is using the Olympic Games to show the world that it is an economic powerhouse. With a GDP of over $7 trillion, China is now the second largest economy, behind the U.S. It is estimated that by 2010, China could become the largest exporter with 10% of the world's products from China.

However, with a Gini Coefficient of .47, it is the 3rd most economically unequal country in the world. The U.S., at .45, ranks fourth. This means that there is a large divide between rich and poor.

Without question, with Beijing's $40 billion budget, there is a high demand for rapid construction where small town sectors and alleys are torn down to be built into commercial skyscrapers. With this demand comes the migration of laborers from rural areas. These laborers, who comprise the bulk of the construction workers who built the Olympic landmarks like the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, are exposed to harmful working conditions with no benefits. They also have to endure one year without pay and when it is time for payment, they often do not receive the pay in the "contract" or receive no pay at all.

Furthermore, China leads the world in enforcing capital punishment. In the northeastern part of China in Xinjiang, a Muslim minority who has their own culture and language, the Uighur, face heavy persecution as it is known as a threat to the Communist Party for its separatist tendencies. Recently, three Uighur were executed for planning to protest.

Further, without question, a population at risk are the nomads of Tibet, who also have their own language and culture. China's fight for land and assimilation have forced Tibetans to move into the cities of China, where they are unfamiliar. Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have been displaced.

Of course there are other factors has well--two big ones that are likely to affect me are pollution and censorship of the media. You're not allowed to do an internet search of controversial topics--Tibet, Darfur, Tienanmen Square Massacre. Pollution has become so hazardous, with it's overproduction of cars and subjective measures of toxins, that some Olympic athletes refuse to train there. Mercury from China's seas have also flooded over to parts of the Northern U.S. Also, most of the acid rain in Japan are caused by the pollution of China.

I wonder if I will have access to U.S. media though--and how will the environment there affect me? For a short time I will be in Kaiping, Taishan district where my parents grew up working on a documentary there. The last time I was back there, I was four. I look forward to seeing how that turns out. At Beijing University, I will be working on a documentary on how HIV/AIDS affect gay men in Beijing. If you have any insight on any number of the brief topics mentioned, feel free to comment.