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DEBATING HUMAN RIGHTS Human rights have become a central concern of the post-Cold War world. The United States, as the only remaining superpower, became more assertive, and several Asian governments, in response, challenged Western hegemony, asserting their own cultural values. However, there are more than two sides to this debate (East and West), and the agendas that inform it include issues of history and power as well as values. Debating Human Rights brings together a very broad range of scholars and activists from Asia and the United States to discuss the problems that so frequently cause division. It includes four opening chapters that cover the broad issues in dispute, such as the impact of globalization and Asian values. There are also separate sections on human rights in China, women’s rights, and international relations and human rights. The book concludes with a section that critiques the role of China, Japan and the US in contemporary human rights diplomacy. This volume breaks new ground by bringing together such a diverse group of contributors with controversial views. It will also be welcomed for its pragmatic attempt to reconcile at least some of their differences in an effort to find common ground. Peter Van Ness is associate professor at the Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver, and research associate, Contemporary China Centre, Australian National University. ASIA’S TRANSFORMATIONS Edited by Mark Selden Binghamton and Cornell Universities Forthcoming titles JAPAN’S COMFORT WOMEN Yuki Tanaka MODERN BANGKOK Marc Askew THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION OF JAPAN AND OKINAWA: LITERATURE AND MEMORY Michael Molasky OPIUM, EMPIRE AND THE WORLD ECONOMY Carl Trocki CHINESE SOCIETY: CHANGE, CONFLICT AND RESISTANCE Mark Selden and Liz Perry HONG KONG’S HISTORY: STATE AND SOCIETY UNDER COLONIAL RULE Tak-Wing Ngo DEBATING HUMAN RIGHTS Critical essays from the United States and Asia Edited by Peter Van Ness with contributions by Nikhil Aziz, Linda Butenhoff, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Manisha Desai, Edward Friedman, Hoshino Eiichi, Kishore Mahbubani, Chandra Muzaffar, Shih Chih-yu, Michael J.Sullivan, Daniel Wessner and Zhu Feng London and New York First published 1999 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1999 Selection and editorial matter, Peter Van Ness; individual chapters, the contributors All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-20203-1 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-26608-0 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-18506-8 (hbk) ISBN 0-415-18507-6 (pbk) This book is dedicated with love to Steve, Tom, and Harry— pioneers into the twenty-first century CONTENTS List of contributors ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 PETER VAN NESS PART 1 Issues in dispute 1 From human rights to human dignity 25 CHANDRA MUZAFFAR 2 The human rights debate in an era of globalization: hegemony of discourse 32 NIKHIL AZIZ 3 Asia as a fount of universal human rights 56 EDWARD FRIEDMAN 4 An Asian perspective on human rights and freedom of the press 80 KISHORE MAHBUBANI PART 2 Human rights in Greater China 5 East meets West: human rights in Hong Kong 101 LINDA BUTENHOFF vii CONTENTS 6 Developmentalism and China’s human rights policy 120 MICHAEL J.SULLIVAN 7 Human rights as identities: difference and discrimination in Taiwan’s China policy 144 SHIH CHIH-YU PART 3 Women’s rights 8 Reinventing international law: women’s rights as human rights in the international community 167 RADHIKA COOMARASWAMY 9 From Vienna to Beijing: women’s human rights activism and the human rights community 184 MANISHA DESAI PART 4 Human rights and international relations 10 Human rights and development aid: Japan after the ODA Charter 199 HOSHINO EIICHI 11 Human rights problems and current Sino-American relations 232 ZHU FENG 12 From judge to participant: the United States as champion of human rights 255 DANIEL WESSNER Conclusion 278 PETER VAN NESS Index 282 viii CONTRIBUTORS Nikhil Aziz is a PhD candidate in the Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver <[email protected]>. Linda Butenhoff is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at St Cloud State University in Minnesota <[email protected]>. Radhika Coomaraswamy is Director of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women for the United Nations Human Rights Commission <[email protected]>. Manisha Desai is Associate Professor of Sociology at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, in Geneva, New York <[email protected]>. Edward Friedman is Hawkins Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison <[email protected]>. Hoshino Eiichi is Associate Professor of International Relations in the College of Law and Letters at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa <[email protected]>. Kishore Mahbubani is Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Singapore. Chandra Muzaffar is President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST), and director of the Centre for Civilizational Dialogue at the University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur <[email protected]>. Shih Chih-yu is Professor of Political Science at the Department and the Graduate Institute of Political Science, National Taiwan University <[email protected]>. ix