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Author Weatherley, Robert, 1967-

Title The discourse of human rights in China : historical and ideological perspectives / Robert Weatherley
Published New York, N.Y. : St. Martin's Press, 1999

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Description 1 online resource (ix, 185 pages)
Contents Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- Human Rights in Western Liberal Thinking -- Rights, Human Rights and Chinese Confucianism -- The Discourse of Rights in Late Qing and Republican China -- Marx, Marxism and Rights -- Rights-Thinking in the People's Republic of China -- New Departures in Chinese Thinking on Human Rights -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index
Summary There can be few countries in the world that have faced more intense external criticism of their human rights record than the People's Republic of China. Indeed, in the eyes of many Western governments and human rights watchdog organizations, the words 'China', 'human rights' and 'abuses' are synonymous. In seeking to defend itself, the Chinese government has accused the West of imposing a distinctly liberal criterion of human rights on a country with a markedly different conception of the subject which is grounded in its own historical, cultural and philosophical background. This book explores the validity of such claims, paying particular attention to the state ideologies of Confucianism, Republicanism and Marxism. It is suggested that the joint influences of these doctrines helps to explain, amongst other things, the contemporary emphasis attached to socio-economic and collective rights in China, and the importance accorded to citizens' duties in relation to the exercise of their rights. The author also identifies a growing number of Western-influenced Chinese rights theorists whose ideas cautiously challenge the dominant government stance on the subject
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 169-179) and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Human rights -- China
Ideology -- China
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Political Freedom & Security -- Civil Rights.
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Political Freedom & Security -- Human Rights.
Human rights
Ideology
Idéologie -- Chine.
Droits de l'homme -- Chine.
China
Form Electronic book
ISBN 0333982975
9780333982976