The image of China outside that country, in Iraq for example, consists of an industrial state with abundant and diverse goods that increasingly dominate markets. China is known for its industrial aspects while other aspects such as political and military ones have less visibility. This article sheds light on China’s internal situation and the policies pursued by that country in the areas of human rights, including the rights of Muslim minorities and environmental issues, violations of human rights and environmental degradation. The argument of our article is that China’s continuation in violating human rights and the rights of its Muslim residents and ignoring environmental threats will have a negative impact on that country’s image in the future and commercial relations and other relations with a country like Iraq will be endangered.
- Gateway
The People’s Republic of China (China, for short) is the second largest nation after India and the second largest economy after the United States of America in the world and is on the path to becoming the world’s largest economy. China’s economy is growing rapidly (with some recent setbacks such as the spread of unemployment, wage and pension reductions, deteriorating working conditions and the failure of some sectors) and China’s manufactured goods are spread throughout the world. China has expanded its economy and diplomatic relations with many of the world’s nations and large companies make capital investments outside the country. China wants to be portrayed in the world as a state that wants peace and economic prosperity for all and acts as a neutral party in wars and military conflicts between countries, not only that, but also to be seen as a mediator among the parties to conflicts. Chinese citizens lived in poverty several decades ago, but now as a result of long-term policy and government strength, many Chinese citizens are outside the poverty line, earning money for themselves and also benefiting the world with their work and skills. However, China’s image has become bitter due to that country’s poor record in protecting human rights, especially in the Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong regions¹. The rights of minorities – minorities face discrimination in work and education -, as well as China’s poor performance in the environmental field, particularly the treatment of pollution and soil degradation. The violation of human rights and the neglect of environmental issues by China has not been limited to within China, but has extended to those regions of the world where China has political and economic influence².
Media reports and reports of some independent institutions outside China indicate that the Chinese government prevents the basic rights of its own people, which is why it has been able to remain in power. People in China are under constant state surveillance, cannot freely follow their religion and beliefs, cannot freely express their opinions, communicate or form groups, organize demonstrations and follow their political rights. They fear that doing these things will lead to harsh punishment and no one will defend them.
The COVID policy of the Chinese government in (2020-2021) was an example of how much the government wants to control its own people, suppress their rights, and limit their movement and freedom. The government was ready to pursue its harsh policy even though it would lead to the loss of thousands of human lives and the physical and psychological suffering of many more. According to the Human Rights Watch organization, millions of people faced fear, hunger and death in China as a result of harsh quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic³. In other words: the death and discomfort that people might have experienced from the pandemic was much less than the discomfort and suffering they experienced as a result of the measures taken by the Chinese government under the pretext of controlling the pandemic. COVID control measures in China caused the death of many more people compared to the number of deaths caused by the pandemic itself⁴.
The disappearance of defenders and human rights activists is a dangerous sign for the future of human rights in China. It indicates that the Chinese government is not ready to improve its record and listen to people’s problems and complaints. There is great despair for people in China and outside China who for many years have seen defenders and human rights activists, lawyers, university professors, journalists… etc.; subjected to expulsion, disappearance and imprisonment without trial. This writing of ours reaffirms the reality that human rights as well as the environment in China have been poorly treated and suggests that continuous and long-term progress in China and that country’s position in the world is directly related to improvement and reform in these areas. This article also reveals that the lack of necessary attention from global media to human rights and environmental issues in China has caused that country to be portrayed and known only for its industrial aspect and abundant and rich goods, in Iraq for example.
- Human Rights Violations
Human rights violations in China can be understood at two levels; the first level is less dangerous and is against people in general, and the other level is very dangerous and harsh and reaches collective punishment and sometimes crimes against humanity, which is against minority and religious groups.
2.1. People in General
People in general in China suffer from various forms of oppression, from violations of their rights when they wanted to raise their voices at the level of government policies, at the level of economic conditions such as unemployment and low wages and pensions, poor working conditions, or farmers when they expressed dissatisfaction over the forced occupation of their lands by government officials, as well as dissatisfaction with domestic violence… etc. Many people have been arrested or imprisoned for long periods without trial and many have been given harsh sentences. According to activists, thousands of people are executed annually in China⁵.
Freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and gathering has been severely restricted for Chinese residents. This restriction is often done under the pretext of protecting national security and within the framework of implementing anti-terrorism law and counter-terrorism strategy. Many people have been imprisoned for long periods for participating in peaceful demonstrations against government policies⁶. People have been arrested and imprisoned for years because they posted videos on social media calling for peaceful demonstrations⁷.
The laws under which people are arrested is another problem, as we mentioned. The laws are often unclear and can be used by authorities to prohibit and prevent all kinds of work, activity and even peaceful movement. The Public Security Administrative Law, they want to manipulate it and prohibit all work, speech and clothing that harms the Chinese national spirit or hurts the feelings of Chinese people. We see how unclear and elastic the law is. Human rights defenders, civil society activists, academics, researchers, lawyers, journalists, bloggers and social media activists have faced great harassment from authorities, including harassment, arrest and imprisonment. Individuals in this research have been tried and charged as a threat to national security under a set of laws drafted in the interest of the state⁶.
With harsh measures, people in China do not have free access to information, they only get information that is approved and filtered by the authorities. The Internet is severely restricted. Much of social media and dozens of channels are blocked and the vast majority of information sources are censored. Groups and individuals, including religious and community leaders, must obtain official approval to be able to spread religious guidance, or any activity they want to do online, otherwise they face legal prosecution. In general, people are afraid of government retaliation if they want to access information that the authorities have banned⁸, ³.
The government has a special cyber space administrative unit to track and deal with social media accounts, posts, messages and websites that are identified as threats to power. In August 2023, that special unit revealed that they had tracked 1.34 billion social media accounts, deleted 22 million messages, and closed 3,200 websites³.
The situation in the Tibet region is another manifestation of China’s internet policy. Many people in Tibet are arrested and imprisoned and subjected to physical and psychological pain and suffering because they have put and kept something on their mobile phones that the authorities have not approved or shared information that was prohibited³.
Another violation of human rights is against those who have turned to China, mostly those who have fled from North Korea, or those who have left China and turned to another country. According to reports, China has forcibly sent hundreds of North Korean refugees back to their own country, despite protests and warnings from the United Nations and other organizations that when these people are forcibly sent back to their country, they face elimination and death sentences. China has also pressured those countries to return their refugee citizens and when they have been sent back, very harsh punishments have been imposed on them⁹.
China quickly transferred its governance style to Hong Kong after its handover in 1997 by Britain. The first thing they did was to close newspapers and arrest editors under the National Security Law and also suppress all those demonstrations and protests that were carried out against these actions. The law can be used by authorities to arrest and prosecute people for separatism and other charges⁵, ³.
Hong Kong was a British administered territory until 1997. In 1984, both Britain and China signed an agreement for the handover of Hong Kong to China, but with the guarantee of protecting its semi-autonomous status and also the freedom of its people. However, a new special law on national security by China put the region under strict surveillance and restriction of freedom of expression, which led to the punishment of many intellectuals and activists whom the state considered a threat. These actions of China in Hong Kong were contrary to the agreement between China and Britain¹⁰.
2.2. Rights of Minorities
Religious and ethnic groups are more victims of human rights violations. Minorities, especially Muslims, face discrimination and are treated very poorly by the Chinese authorities. The Muslim-majority Xinjiang region, which has nearly 12 million inhabitants, is an example of this oppression. Many external observers have expressed concern about the Chinese authorities’ treatment of the people of this region, treatment so bad that it reaches the level of crimes against humanity. The British House of Lords report in 2021 refers to a parliamentary decision of that country describing the crimes of the Chinese government against Muslims in Xinjiang as genocide¹⁰. Hundreds of thousands of members of minorities are in prisons without fair trial⁹.
The violation of minority rights takes many forms including forced expulsion and suppression of cultural rights and the right to speak in one’s own language. For example, in the Tibet region, the homes and lives of its people are destroyed and foreign tourists and journalists are not allowed to go to that region to report crimes against civilians³.
According to the US State Department, from 2017 to 2021, more than a million members of ethnic and religious groups in Xinjiang were imprisoned or forced into labor camps in a systematic manner and as an attempt to eliminate their cultural and religious identity and control their reproduction. Life in those camps is catastrophic. People who later escaped from those camps talk about widespread torture, assault and sexual assault, forced drug consumption, humiliation and torture. Life outside those camps is again catastrophic, destruction and closure of mosques and other religious places, prevention of young people from participating in religious activities and forced participation in study courses (programs and education approved by the state). Also killing and torture, prevention of religious practices, forced apostasy, separation of children from their parents for the purpose of brainwashing them with the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party (the ruling party), forced marriage, forced elimination of fetuses, imposition of specific clothing, absence of independent judicial institutions and anyone who violates the laws (unjust and tyrannical laws) is then harassed, monitored, questioned, arrested, beaten, thrown into prison corners and later eliminated. The US State Department report is based on the narration of events from scholars, human rights organizations, journalists, research centers and those who have managed to escape from the camps⁸, ¹¹.
At a United Nations meeting in January 2024 dedicated to reviewing the human rights record of several countries, Britain and America expressed their strong concern about minority rights in China. Britain asked China to stop the persecution and arrest of minorities and allow freedom of religion and belief and freedom of cultural expression without fear of surveillance and torture and forced labor and sexual violence, and also asked China to abolish the National Security Law, because it is a harsh law used to arrest and punish democracy and civil activists. America also said from its side that it is necessary to free all those who have been unjustly arrested and stop the process of forced education on communist beliefs¹.
In 2021, the British Foreign Secretary spoke about the situation in the Xinjiang region and described it as one of the worst human rights situations in the present era. He said that evidence indicates the existence of a harsh program for oppression including criminalizing religious expressions, forced labor, elimination of fetuses, separation of children from their parents and putting all residents under surveillance¹⁰.
The response of the Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations was that the criticism and instructions of Britain and the United States of America is because these two countries do not have real information and understanding about China’s situation. The Chinese Ambassador said that those countries were misled due to false information and false understanding¹. The Chinese government has also responded to critics of Western countries on other occasions by saying that only Chinese people have the right to speak about the human rights situation in China⁵. Many non-Western countries agree with China’s position that China has made progress on its own in various fields, including the field of human rights¹².
- Environmental Degradation
The rapid expansion of the industrial sector in China has created major environmental problems, such as air pollution. China is at the forefront of countries that emit toxic gases into the air. China’s toxic gases in 2021 reached 12 million tons, which was 33 percent of the toxic gases of the world that were released into the air in that year. China mainly relies on coal, oil and gas as energy sources. In fact, China is the largest importer of oil and gas. China has a high record of neglecting nature and the environment, not only within China, but also in those other places in the world where Chinese companies work. China’s import of lumber from wood and food materials has led to the destruction of many of the world’s forests. Human Rights Watch has documented that Chinese company involvement in mineral extraction has led to the deterioration of agricultural land and the elimination of water resources³.
3.1. Water and Air Pollution
While many countries talk about clean energy and less environmental pollution, China continues to build coal-fired power generation stations domestically and abroad. China’s air quality continues to deteriorate since its economy began to grow in the seventies. The level of air pollution is 20 times higher than the World Health Organization standard. 48 percent of China’s toxic gases come from industries, 40 percent from power generation stations, 8 percent from transportation factors. Industries, transportation factors, power stations as well as homes annually emit millions of tons of toxic gas into the air, which causes environmental pollution and the development of diseases among people¹³.
When we say the air is polluted, it means that it contains small toxic particles and when people breathe it, it goes to their lungs and over time becomes the cause of a collection of diseases such as: asthma, heart disease, lung cancer and chronic lung diseases. According to the World Health Organization, polluted air in China kills more than 2 million people annually¹⁴, ¹⁵.
Water pollution is another major environmental problem in China. Groundwater has become very polluted due to wastewater and toxic materials used in industry and agriculture – nearly 80 percent of factories in China are near rivers and lakes¹⁶. Nearly 90 percent of groundwater in China is polluted and not suitable for drinking, and lakes have become highly toxic. Experts have called the Yangtze River the cancer river because of all the poison that is in it. This situation has also created problems with household water in cities and villages, more than half of China’s residents do not get clean water. It is estimated that every year more than one hundred thousand people in China die due to polluted water. Animals also die by millions for the same reason. Most of them have disappeared forever.
Water continues to be polluted and diminished. Weather and human factors have led to the decline of groundwater levels, the drying of lakes and rivers, the pollution of rivers which becomes the cause of acid rain. Acid rain has had an impact on one-third of China’s soil and water scarcity has had an impact on half of China’s cities. According to some research, millions of people in China get sick annually and thousands die, including children, from diseases related to water pollution¹⁶.
China’s major cities suffer from water pollution. Rivers, groundwater and other sources have been polluted to a dangerous level. A city like Tianjin, which is on a seaport in the north of that country and has more than 10 million inhabitants, only five percent of its water sources are usable and suitable for drinking. Water pollution is mostly the result of factories and industries and local authorities in China are very inactive in solving this situation. Needless to say, household wastewater that flows directly into rivers and lakes is another source of water pollution in China¹⁷.
3.2. Soil Pollution and Desertification
Soil pollution and desertification are two other major environmental problems in China and are threats to development and well-being. Soil pollution and desertification are direct results of human activities, whether industrial or agricultural, or liquid and solid waste from cities and villages, while desertification results from human activities and climate change. A government survey in 2014 revealed that nearly one in five of China’s soil is polluted to varying degrees due to chemical residues and mineral extraction¹⁸, ¹⁹. The sources of soil pollution are many and cannot be easily counted.
Although China appears green on the map and it seems that most of its soil is fertile, it has the continuous problem of desertification, losing more and more of its fertile soil and its unusability for agriculture. According to research, more than 400 million people in China are affected by desertification. It is estimated that China has lost 27 percent of its agricultural land and little remains usable for agriculture¹³.
The areas most affected by desertification are the northern and northwestern regions. People in those areas are familiar with the scene of sandstorms and dusty and muddy winds. The dust sometimes reaches the capital of that country, Beijing. The rate of desertified area in 2019 was 2.57 million hectares, which makes 26.81 percent of that country’s land²⁰.
Climate change is another factor of desertification in China (climate change is due to human industrial activity in which China has a major hand), but other direct causes are overgrazing of animals, over-cultivation of land and overuse of water. Only 3.34 percent of China’s forests have remained safe²¹.
- Conclusion
China’s image in the world has been damaged due to that country’s poor performance in the areas of human rights and environment. The darkness of violating the human rights of the Chinese people and environmental destruction has created darkness over China’s other scene, which is the progress and rapid industrialization of that country and the rapid expansion of its economy as well as the expansion of diplomacy in the world.
China is one of those places in the world where its people live in constant fear and their basic rights are violated such as the right of expression and assembly and gathering, they are also under constant surveillance, millions have been executed, harshly treated in prisons, tortured and eliminated just because they freely expressed their opinions or practiced freedom of expression. Human rights violations have been more prominent in those areas where the population consists of different religious and ethnic minorities, especially in Muslim-majority areas. China’s poor behavior in protecting the environment has also created dangerous problems for the present and future of that country. China’s water and air continue to become bad and polluted so that they are no longer suitable for healthy living and China’s soil and earth continue to be eroded and in some areas become desert.
The Chinese government has gone a long way in saving hundreds of millions of people of that country from poverty and has also improved life for hundreds of millions of others outside China through its industrial goods and investments. Iraq, for example, is one of those states that has benefited from China’s industries, despite the poor quality of some of them. Iraqi residents have the least awareness of the Chinese government’s violations of human rights and the rights of its Muslim residents. This situation is important for Iraqis. That is, in the continuation of China’s violations of the rights of Chinese Muslims, there is a strong possibility that Iraqis will take a stance against Chinese industry and investments and the future of that country and its relations with Iraq will be in real danger. Environmental protection is also important for many of the world’s inhabitants and China’s continuation in environmental violations and non-protection endangers China’s relations and interests at the global level. China must work urgently to improve its record in the field of human rights and protecting natural resources from pollution and waste. Economic progress and prosperity in China and the world’s future dealings with that country are connected to respecting human rights and the rights of minorities and Muslims of that country by the government as well as protecting and respecting the environment and natural resources.
