MA-thesis in International Affairs Setting Sights on Human Rights How China Is Undermining International Human Rights and Responses from the Liberal World Friðrik Sigurbjörn Friðriksson October 2018 Setting Sights on Human Rights How China Is Undermining International Human Rights and Responses from the Liberal World Friðrik Sigurbjörn Friðriksson MA-thesis in International Affairs Advisor: Marc Lanteigne Faculty of Political Science School of Social Science University of Iceland October 2018 Setting Sights on Human Rights This thesis counts as the final project for a Master of Arts degree in International Affairs from the University of Iceland This text may not be reproduced without the author‘s consent © Friðrik Sigurbjörn Friðriksson, 2018 kt. 210986-2359 Reykjavik, Iceland, 2018 Abstract The rise of China in the international sphere has in recent years occupied increasingly greater space in geopolitical debate. Musings on the effect that China is having on the liberal international order, which has remained nearly unaltered since the end of World War II, are highly conspicuous. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the visible impact of China on one of the principal components of this system, i.e. international human rights. The basic concepts of human rights studies, universalism on the one hand, and cultural relativism on the other hand, are employed in order to examine how Communist China has interpreted human rights in international discourse, in opposition to the general interpretation of the majority of liberal states and leading international organizations, such as the United Nations. Furthermore, the manner in which China has been exerting itself to change this system according to its interpretation of whether human rights are universal or relative and aligned with the whimsy of the reigning governments of sovereign states is looked into. Then, the extensive financial expansion China has been undertaking in the last decades is scrutinized, as well as how the increased influence of the country within other states could reduce the prominence of human rights in coming years. Lastly, Iceland is used as an example of a liberal state that adopts a certain vision of human rights in the international arena, its relationship with China is discussed, along with the possibility of opposing the watering down of ideas regarding universal human rights in the international sphere. 3 Útdráttur Ris Kína á alþjóðasviðinu hefur á síðustu árum tekið ört meira rými í alþjóðapólitískri umræðu. Vangaeltur um þau áhrif sem Kína er að hafa á hið frjálslynda alþjóðakerfi, sem staðið hefur nánast óbreytt frá lokum seinna stríðs, eru þar mjög áberandi. Markmið þessarar ritgerðar er að greina þessi sýnilegu áhrif sem Kína er að hafa á einn lykilkima þessa kerfis, eða málefni mannréttindi í heiminum. Hér er grundvallar hugtökum innan mannréttindafræða beitt, annars vegar alþjóðahyggju og hins vegar menningarlegri afstæðishyggju, til að greina hvernig Kína kommúnismans hefur túlkað mannréttindi í alþjóðasamskiptum á skjön við almenna túlkun flestra frjálslyndra ríkja og helstu alþjóðastofnanna, líkt og Sameinuðu þjóðanna. Jafnframt hvernig Kína hefur verið að beita sér fyrir því að umbreyta þessu kerfi eftir sinni túlkun á hvort mannréttindi séu algild eða afstæð og bundin geðþótta ríkjandi stjórnvalda fullvalda þjóðríkja. Þá er farið yfir þá miklu efnahagslegu útrás sem Kína hefur staðið fyrir á síðustu áratugum og hvernig aukin áhrif landsins innan annarra ríkja gæti dregið úr mannréttindaáherslum á komandi árum. Síðast er Ísland tekið sem dæmi um eitt af fyrrnefndum frjálslyndum ríkjum sem tileinka sér ákveðna sýn á mannréttindi á alþjóðavettvangi, samskipti þess við Kína og möguleikar þess á að spyrna á móti útvötnun hugmynda um algild mannréttindi á alþjóðavettvangi. 4 Preface Throughout my studies at the University of Iceland, China has played a significant role. As a part of my undergraduate degree in History, I completed two courses on Chinese history and wrote my BA thesis on the perception of Communist China by Icelandic socialists in the years 1949–1971. As I moved on to my graduate studies in International Affairs, my intentions from the start were to continue on the topic of China. What steered me in the direction of writing on the interaction between China and the international human rights regime was an interest in the endurance of the liberal world order, created in the aftermath of World War II, and what its potential future might be as a result of disunity and illiberal proliferation within the Western world in recent years. By now, the claim that China will reshape this order in the coming years seems self-evident. Therefore, I specifically chose the topic of human rights, as it is central to the liberal world order, and has been a major point of contention between China and the Western world for the last thirty years. This thesis accounts for 30 ECTS credits of my Masters of Arts degree in International Affairs from the faculty of Political Science at the University of Iceland. Written during the summer semester of 2018, this thesis demanded much patience from my family. Especially my partner and the mother of my children, Guðrún Valdimarsdóttir, who studiously reviewed every chapter for me throughout the process. Thank you my love for your thoughtful and attentive composure these last few months. To Guðrún and my three beautiful children, Paulo, Lóa and Halldóra, with all of my being, I love you. Finally yet importantly, I would like to extent gratitude to my instructor, Dr. Marc Lanteigne, Senior Lecturer at Massey University, New Zealand, for his very helpful advice and comments throughout the entire process of researching and writing this thesis. 5 As the sun goes fading in the west There's an army east that's rising still Spoon Rainy Taxi They Want My Soul, 2014 6 Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................... 3 Útdráttur .................................................................................................................... 4 Preface ........................................................................................................................ 5 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 8 2. Approaches to Human Rights ................................................................................... 12 2.1 The Terminology of Human Rights ..................................................................... 13 2.2 The Universal Human Rights Regime ................................................................. 14 2.3 Relative Universality ............................................................................................. 18 3. China’s Historical Perspectives on International Human Rights .......................... 24 3.1 The Republic of China’s Alternative Interpretation of History ....................... 26 3.2 The People’s Republic of China’s Initial Human Rights Identity .................... 27 3.3 Navigating the International Human Rights Regime ........................................ 29 3.4 A New Century, a More Assertive Tone ............................................................. 33 4. China’s Contribution to an Illiberal Order ............................................................. 38 4.1 Human Rights Advocacy in the Xi Jinping Era ................................................. 40 4.2 The Belt and Road Initiative ................................................................................ 42 4.3 China in Africa ...................................................................................................... 46 4.4 Reactions from the Liberal Order ....................................................................... 49 5. Iceland as a Promoter of Universal Human Rights ................................................. 55 5.1 Human Rights in Icelandic Foreign Policy ......................................................... 56 5.2 Balancing Human Rights and Trade in Sino-Icelandic Relations .................... 60 5.3 A Cautionary Tale in Sino-Norwegian Relations ............................................... 65 5.4 Prospects for Future Pushback ............................................................................ 69 6. Discussion .................................................................................................................... 74 7. Conclusions .................................................................................................................. 81 Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 83 7 1. Introduction An unavoidable theme in current political analysis and international relations is the rise of China, whether it is its economy, which is poised to become the world’s largest by 2030,1 or its growing influence in the developing world, and on global affairs more generally.2 This study is mainly focused on the latter, although the two are in every practical sense, interconnected. Progressively over the past three decades China has established itself as a great power in international affairs, along with being well on its way, barring any unforeseen downturn in its steady economic and military development, to becoming a regional hegemon in East and South-East Asia.3 In terms of investment, free trade and global commerce, the emerging China market, bolstered