CHILDREN’S RIGHTS

The most serious abuse of Children’s Rights in China is the transport of children for use in factories throughout the country. Given false papers about their age, these children often become virtual prisoners of their employers either through wages that don’t meet the cost of room and board or quite literally, by locking them in the workshop or factory buildings.

China also suffers from a large population of girls sold into slavery and prostitution both in China and throughout the Pacific Rim and beyond.

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CORRUPTION

China is one of the world’s most corrupt countries. The Chinese people pay bribes for everything from police enforcement to education and medical treatment. At higher levels, mid level officials throughout the country insist on bribes for their work and often use their position to allow illegal construction and destruction of the environment.

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ENVIRONMENT

China is the world’s number one emitter of toxic gases into the atmosphere. It also pollutes its streams and land as well as the world’s oceans by allowing industry to freely dump waste into the land and the water. Tens of thousands of Chinese die and get sick every year from local pollutants. There is little recourse in a country where the media and the courts are all controlled by the government.

HUMAN RIGHTS

The Chinese constitution guarantees Human Rights. Unfortunately, the Chinese government does not. China’s people are not allowed freedom of religion, the freedom to strike, protest or meet in large groups. The courts are state run and the police are free to arrest anyone they want, regardless of culpability. China also regulates press freedom and monitors the internet and email traffic of its citizens and regularly disrupts internet, cell phone and testing whenever it feels the need to do so. Lastly, because so many people die and suffer from the state induced pollution, China’s destruction of the environment can be considered a Human Rights violation.

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POLITICAL PRISONERS

Because the courts in China are extensions of government policy, it’s easy for the state to trump charges against anyone who threatens the Communist party or is perceived to be a threat. Those people are charged with false crimes and then sentenced to lengthy terms in jail, thereby stifling dissent and opposition, which are fundamental to any democratic society.

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POWER IT FORWARD

Do a favor, give someone a break, offer help before it's asked for. Move the world around you and it will continue to move. Paying it forward is good work, personal work. Pass it on. Tell others to do the same.

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PRESS FREEDOM

The major source of news in China is Xinhua, the state controlled news source. The press outside Xinhua in China is severely limited. Newspapers are arbitrarily shut down if they print material the state deems inappropriate. Reporters lose their credentials or are fired or jailed if they report what isn’t allowed. Foreign journalists are routinely blocked from covering stories the Chinese don’t want covered. Even when it does allow coverage, the journalists are highly controlled in terms of who they can meet and when.

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WATER

China suffers from countrywide water pollution. At least 300 million people in the country suffer from water pollution. Entire cities have at times been subject to having water trucked in as effluent, and had chemical wastes destroy resources. Additionally, as agriculture grows, streams, water sources and rivers are being diverted in order to grow more acreage. Those diversions lead to added pressures on the remaining water systems and further increase the problem.

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