Forced Labour Prison Camps Cultural Studies Essay

Forced restriction Prison Camps heathen Studies Essay china has a long history and has been through many political changes to this day. This snip emphasizes the Chinese human proper problems, parturiency rights in the state and cases of companies that argon best and bad examples of line of train ethics. Furthermore there is an emphasis on how chinawargons rescue is faced against the human rights issue and CSR corporate social business of the companies studied. humankind rights in mainland china hit the international sense when confronted with the hatful that ar forced to work in prison house camps. The denial of these rights to the the great unwashed makes them alert below the level of acceptance for frugal reason of separate ca exercise, e.g. (supply cosmic string of multinationals). And they continue doing it and selling the considerablys produced internation each(prenominal)y. As regards the advertise Rights, China is a late player that had in 1995 created the early comprehensive proletariat Law. On the other hand, Indep overthrowent worker unions ar non allowed making the g overnment with h unrivalledst empowerment control by the measures of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU). As to symmetry between trustworthy and bad examples we shake up pointed away HEG Electronics Samsungs Chinese supplier (as a bad example) and KPMG China William E. Connor Associates Ltd. (as genuine example). The offshoot company, the bad example, seems to use child bray, excessive overtime, lack of safity edu suffertion, lack of labour protection and so on. That creates a heavy(p) gap between official labour jurisprudence and the actual fact. The second examples are two companies, based in Hong Kong, that are doing a good job in maintaining a exhaust evironment of work to employees and taking care of business, social and public sectors.INTRODUCTION China has a 5,000- course history of civilization. We decided to constitute a b rief review of some(a) key dates that rush marked Chinas history, which pull up stakes allow us to expire a better on a lower floor(a)standing of what is happening today in China.Our first taper will be on the plosive speech sound from 1966 to 1976, known under the name of Cultural Revolution. (Szczepanski, n.d.) Under the lead of Mao Zedong, the young people of China rose up against what they called the Four Olds of age(predicate) customs, old culture, old habits and old ideas. Mao Zedong, used this wave of communist sweat to take in the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) in charge of the country.The revolution generated a big chaos for the Chinese people and the country as a whole. The scrimping was collapsing, objects associated with Chinas pre-revolutionary past were liable to be destroyed, religion was banned, etc. nearly importantly, for the entire decade of the Cultural Revolution, schools in China did non plight this left an entire generation with no formal educati on.pointed forbidden by Szczepanski (n.d.) The sufferings for the chinese population was enormous.At the end of the 1970s, the CPC had learned painful littleons from the ethnic revolution and decided to shift the focus from national work to collective modernization, as wellspring as adopted the policies of reform and opening-up.The second focus of Chinas modern past will be on the Democracy movement in 1989.( BACKGROUND TO THE 1989 DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT, n.d.)During the spring of 1989, a peaceful jib movement had been carried out by students and civilians in Chinas study cities over a period of two months. to a greater extent than a million people demanded a democratic reform and a halt to Chinas escalating corruption problem.The troops of the govermnent heart-to-heart fire on unarmed students and civilians who resisted the suppression. It is said that more than 2000 people died and slightly 500 were imprisoned, and the official functions of dead, imprisoned or disappeared people is unknown be stimulate the Chinese government refuses to carry out a investigating or accounting of the even upts of June 1989.Today, China has a major political and economical importance in the contemporary world. Its phenomenal economic progress has make China one of the most important players in world economy. Its developing economic power has strengthened its political authority in Asia and the world.China is still widely perceived as a country which does non, or only scantily respects human rights. This ugly reputation does not just refer to Communist China in global and the Cultural Revolution, but has been carved into our brain since the violent crackdown of the 1989 democracy movement.Whether we are heart-to-heart critics of China as one of the worst human rights offenders or come up it is better to praise China for its progress than to nag on the shortcomings, it is clear that the issue is of major importance and that the future of China and human rights ar e interdependent.Tiananmen Square 1989 ChinaLaogai forced labour prison campsAs we have seen in our introduction, China is still in their first steps of seemly a democracy in western sandwich standards. Its recent history is marked by communism, where human rights were not always respected. One example to adorn this are the forced labour prison camps known as Laogai. We will see how these camps are directly or indirectly linked to western corporations and how products made by people in those prison camps under very poor working conditions end up in our hands.First of all, lets have a neighboringr look what a Laogai camp exactly isThe marches Laogai means reform through labour, which is the Chinese system of labour prison factories, detention centers, and re-education camps designed by Mao Zedong in the early 1950s. It has been capable across China to punish and reform criminals by enforcing them working as free labour. Howeverinstead of looking at the contribution to the Chin ese economy made by those prision labour forcethe Laogai system hightlights the de roleure of individuals of basic human rights. It can be easily found inside the Laogai system that prisoners are frequently exposed into cirrcustances such as cruel,degrading sermon and oftentimes tortured. These human rights abuses to a large degree, violate both Chinese and international human rights norms. (Pejan, n.d.) While, The Laogai system has withal been criticized of creating an incentive to incarcerate increase numbers of potentially innocent individuals. (THE LAOGAI EXERCISING DICTATORSHIP OVER DISSENT,n.d.)It has been escort by LAOGAI RESEARCH FOUNDATION(2011, p.5) that Chinas Laogai system is mainly drived by production for both domestic and international consumption. The involements of Laogai camps in production process are super varied. For instance, Laogai prisoners may take care of the whole production process of one trustworthy item or just simply assemble part of it. The thi ng is those products made under laogai system are not accept by U.S. ratified philosophy. Which means it is illegal to import products produced in Laogai camps to the USA market. However, it seems this law is not widely respected by big multinational corporations. As Corsi (2006) argued in his article that most of U.S companiesincluding Wal-Martare willing to sell Chinese made goods by taking advantage of the chinese slave labor. Moreover, even worse in Europe, there is no regulation make it that forbids the meaning of such goods, claimed European Parliament(2010).More recently, the broadcaster Al Jazeera pointed out the Laogai camps by launching a documentary called Slavery A 21st ampere-second Evil.(2012)Shortly after this, the international broadcaster Al Jazeera was forced to close its offices in China.( Al Jazeera English forced out of China,2012)http//www.taichichuan.co.uk/information/articles/images/heterodox001.jpg childbed RightsIn China, as we saw with the example of the Laogai prisons, basic human rights can be closely related to the labour rights. We will now have a closer look on the evolution of labour rights in China and how they are (or not) respected by international corporations.Chinas socia harken legal system was first set up in 1949. During he period from 1949 to the mid-1950s, China promulgated the Common Program of the Chinese Peoples Political advisory Conference, in the character of an interim constitution and some other laws, which had a material influence on consolidating the innovative-born political power, maintaining social order and reviving the national economy.The concept of a labour law is very recent in China. Its first comprehensive labour law went into effect on January 1. 1995, and represents the regimes most recent efforts to grapple with problems brought on by the transition to a socialist market economy.The PRC Labour Law extends a number of specific hits to workers. These include guarantees respecting equa l opportunity in employment, job selection, compensation, rest, leave, resort and health care but also vocational training, social security, welfare, and the right to submit disputes to arbitration.The Peoples Republic of China has seen many changes in the structure of its economy and in the treatment of workers employed by economic enterprisingnesss. While the Labour Law of the PRC represents a major step toward articulating legal norms on the protection of workers rights, it still reflects the imperatives of Chinese government policies of economic growth and the Chinese Communist Partys concerns with political control. Thus provisions on contract labour and the role of trade unions appear to serve the interests of the Party/state to a greater extent than they do the interests of Chinese workers. The impudently law also faces significant impediments to full implementation. Nonetheless, in the context of the transition to a socialist market economy the new labour code does repres ent significant progress in the ongoing challenge of managing labour relations in China.In 2008, the government introduced a Labor Contract Law that roll back some of the laissez-faire approaches to the workforce that the government introduced in the 1990s. This new law abolished the system of at-will employment for most full-time employees and required employers to extend employees with written contracts. Since 2008, the government has also revisited its policy of tight control over the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU). While all unions must still be approved by and affiliated with ACFTU, it appears that the government is allowing the ACFTU greater authority to embolden for the rights of workers than it did just a few years ago. That said, the government continues to imprison workers who urge on for the formation of self-sustaining trade unions.In China, 2010 was a year of import in the growth of labour-related legislation. It saw the 60th anniversary of New Chin as first Trade Union Law and the 15th anniversary of the countrys first Labour Law. It was also a year that witnessed a significant increase of labour disputes in the country, including the scandal of workers suicides in Foxconn (Apples contract manufacturer for many products) and the strikes in Honda China. It was against this background that an international conference Chinese Trade Union and Labour Law Past, Present and Future was organised in expansive in Beijing to critically review and assess these laws and their implementation as well as other relevant issues concerning labour in China and to name the prospects for Chinese workers in future.( Zhao,Zhao and Fan, 2011)It has been well illustrated in World Report 2012 China (2012), China 2011 presented a lack of good example work union which creates a problem for the workers that cannot ask for the betterment of wages and general conditions. The government prohibits independent labour unions which makes out of All-China Feder ation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) the only legal representative of workers in China. outlineic discrimination on migrants is continued to be oblige by the hukou (house hold registration), said a government survey on migrant workers in January. The system unfairly limits the access to housing, medical services, and education. In august 2011 the government ordered closure of 24 illegal private schools that catered to migrant children. Most found alternate schools other had their children was sent to hukou-linked schools in rural areas because the parents could not afford school in Beijing.1) HEG Electronics Samsungs Chinese supplier Employs Underage WorkersWith the example of HEG Electronics we will try to illustrate that the labour rights in China are in some cases not respected which leads to poor working conditions for their employees.China Labour Watch, a non-profit organisation based in New York. As stated on their official website, they have been aimed at assessing and re-evalua ting labour conditions in hundreds of manufacturing factories most of whose partners are transnational companies. In August 2012, it published a report called Samsungs Supplier Factory Exploiting Child Labor(2012) which points out the following working conditions in HEG ElectronicsChild Labour Abuse Hiring inequalityExcessive OvertimeLabour Contracts, Wage Rates, Reward and Punishment SystemAppalling Cafeteria and Dormitory ConditionsLack of Safety Education and Labour security departmentThe problems also haven been addressed by European Parliament (Infringement of mean(prenominal) labour standards in some Chinese factories, 2012), especially the abuse of pocket-sized labour. As indicated by membersofChinaLaborWatch, the student labour accounts for 80% of total labour force in HEG factories and most of them work under the same harsh working conditions as adults but with even less wage paid. (ChinaLaborWatch, 2012,p.3)Furthermore, an interesting website called stop samsung no mo re deaths describes the correlation coefficient between Samsung and his subsidiary HEG ElectronicsSamsung provides fixed assets and other equipment to the Chinese contractor, the survey said. More than 50 Samsung employees are posted to HEG production facilities.(stopsamsung,2012)On the HEG Electronics website you can find the following statementHeg always adhere to the people-oriented concept, so that development for rung development rely on employees, corporate efforts to the fruits of development to pull in the general stave.Employees are our most valuable alternatives and wealth, and the healthy growth of the employees is the success of our cause and an important foundation for enterprises to obtain sustainable development and protection. We always adhere to the people-oriented, advocating equality and non-discriminatory employment policies to respect and protect the legitimate rights and interests of employees and cherish the staff of life, health and safety respect for lab our, respect knowledge, respect talent, respect for creation, major decisions and important production operating activities focus on the mobilization of all the staffs enthusiasm and creativity, and focus on improving the quality of staff. Enterprise development innovations to benefit the general staff efforts to achieve the organic unity of the enterprise value and the value of employees.Enriching the cultural life of the employees, the company is active in a variety of cultural and recreational activities such as basketball, soccer, panel tennis, and staff in his spare time to relax, keep fit, cultivate character, heighten teamwork for employees to create a good the casual environment conditions.If you put into differentiate HEG Electronics declaration on their website where they describe their employees as their most valuable resource and wealth and the report from the organisation China Labour Watch which points out that the company is exploiting child labour, you can deduce that there is a big gap between what is the official labour law and what some companies are doing on an everyday basis.1) KPMG China Caring Company AwardKPMG China has been presented with the Caring Company Award by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service for one-tenth consecutive years (from 2002 2012). The award recognises private companies in Hong Kong which demonstrate good corporate citizenship. It is complimented by the Outstanding Partnership Project Award in 2006 and 2008, which honours KPMGs partnership with the Society of Community Organization (SoCO) for supporting the children in need and Youth Business Hong Kong (YBHK) for mentoring the entrepreneurial youth on starting signal up and running their businesses respectively.The mission of the Caring Company Scheme is to induce a caring community by encouraging corporate citizenships and strategical partnerships among the business, public and social service sectors in Hong Kong. Awards are presented each year to recog nise organisations with outstanding involvement in corporate social responsibility programmes.2) William E. Connor Associates Ltd. One of Worlds Most Ethical CompaniesBehind some of the biggest household call in luxury fashion and home accessories is a name the sightly consumer may not know, William E. Connor Associates Ltd. (www.weconnor.com). The Hong Kong based global sourcing company, representing elite worldwide brands, denote today that it has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute, the leading U.S. business ethics think-tank, as one of 2012 Worlds Most Ethical Companies. Connor is the first Asia based company in the sourcing industry to receive the award.Meeting demanding scrutiny, Connor secured a hard-earned spot on the list by employing and maintaining upright business practices and initiatives that are instrumental to the companys success benefit the communities in which the company operates and raise the bar for ethical standards within the industry. Connors b usiness model is unique among its global competitors the company does not hold an faithfulness interest in any factory, nor receive any financial benefit from factories. Connors earnings are generated only from client commissions. Connor has the highest standards in the industry, ensuring their clients and ultimately, consumers receive apparel, nonfunctional items and furniture, manufactured under responsible, fair working conditions.ConclusionChina is a country that is economically very relevant in the present times, but it potentially could easily become the first world power in a certain period of time. The question is is China ready? On our opinion, it has a long way to go, specially on the ethics field.On one hand, it is undeniable that there has been some change over the years, implementing new legislation to protect workers and to regulate the business environment, but on the other, China still has a lot of dark episodes where human rights are not respected at all, and i n order to progress, this has to change. To make this possible, a good initiative would be eliminating the Laogai prisons. They were created many years ago, and the fact that they still exist is a sign of the poor mentality that remains in certain areas of the country. To push this forward, western countries should also put political pressure on China, making them see that human rights must be respected to a higher place all things.Another good improvement would be the implementation of a renovated corporate social responsability. Although there has been some efforts, companies in China are far behind in this matter compared to other parts of the world. The end does not justify the means, and child labour or overexplotation are not acceptable in a country with so much economic weight. With a new CSR, the ethical awarness of the companies will be higher, and as a consecuence, the reputation of many enterprises will change.China has a lot of work to do, but future could be very brigh t if the rights approaches are taken. The good examples that we have found in our research show the path to follow, and hopefully with the years they can become a model of how an ethical country should be.