The East Asian Challenge for Human RightsJoanne R. Bauer, Daniel A. Bell The "Asian values" argument within the international human rights debate holds that not all Asian states should be expected to protect human rights to the same degree. This position of "cultural relativism," often used by authoritarian governments in Asia to counter charges of human rights violations, has long been dismissed by Western and Asian human rights advocates as a weak excuse. This book moves beyond the politicized rhetoric that has dogged the international debate on human rights to identify the more persuasive contributions by East Asian intellectuals. The editors of this book argue that critical intellectuals in East Asia have begun to chart a middle ground between the extreme, uncompromising ends of this argument, making particular headway in the areas of group rights and economic, social, and cultural (ethnic minority) rights. The chapters form a collective intellectual inquiry into the following four areas: critical perspectives on the "Asian values" debate; theoretical proposals for an improved international human rights regime with greater input from East Asians; the resources within East Asian cultural traditions that can help promote human rights in the region; and key human rights issues facing East Asia as a result of rapid economic growth in the region. |
Contents
Introduction | 3 |
Liberal Democracy and Asian Orientalism | 27 |
Human Rights and Asian Values A Defense of Western Universalism | 60 |
Human Rights and Economic Achievements | 88 |
Toward an Intercivilizational Approach to Human Rights | 103 |
Conditions of an Unforced Consensus on Human Rights | 124 |
The Cultural Mediation of Human Rights The AlArqam Case in Malaysia | 147 |
Grounding Human Rights Arguments in NonWestern Culture Sharia and the Citizenship Rights of Women in a Modern Islamic State | 169 |
A Confucian Perspective on Human Rights for Contemporary China | 212 |
Rights Social Justice Globalization in East Asia | 241 |
Economic Development Legal Reform and Rights in Singapore and Taiwan | 264 |
Human Rights Issues in Chinas Internal Migration Insights from Comparisons with Germany and Japan | 285 |
The AntiNuclear Power Movement in Taiwan Claiming the Right to a Clean Environment | 313 |
The Applicability of the International Legal Concept of Indigenous Peoples in Asia | 336 |
| 379 | |
Looking to Buddhism to Turn Back Prostitution in Thailand | 193 |
Common terms and phrases
Al-Arqam An-Na'im argue argument Asia Asian values authoritarian basic Buddhist Carnegie Council challenge chapter China Chinese Citizenship civil and political claim communitarian concept of human concept of indigenous concern Confucian Confucian perspective Confucius consensus contemporary critical cultural debate democratic discourse East Asian economic development economic growth environmental ethics example foreign freedom Germany global groups historical idea Immigration important individual institutions intercivilizational international human rights interpretations Islamic issues Japan justification labor Lee Kuan Yew Legislative Yuan legitimate liberal democracy liberties Malaysia Mencius ment modern moral Muslim NGOs nomic non-Western norms Nuclear Power Plant Party percent philosophy political rights practice principles promote prostitution Prostitution in Thailand protection Qur'an reform region relationships religion religious role rule scholars Shari'a Singapore social society sovereignty Taiwan Power Company Thai Thailand tion tional traditional Union University Press violations West Western women