J@pan Inc Newsletter<br><div class="gmail_quote"><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c">The 'JIN' J@pan Inc Newsletter<br>A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends<br>in Japan.<br>
Issue No. 462 Wednesday April 30, 2008, Tokyo<br><br>
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More about PBXL: <a href="http://www.pbxl.jp/aboutus2" target="_blank">http://www.pbxl.jp/aboutus2</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>China rights spotlight<br><br>The season for anti-China activity and reporting is upon us. <br>
Groups such as 'Reporters Without Borders' have visited Japan <br>to protest at the Olympic torch carrying in Nagano and are <br>making moody noises about China's recent treatment of Tibetans. <br>Interestingly, the Secretary General of the latter activist <br>
group was actually arrested for his efforts to disrupt the <br>lighting of the Olympic flame in Greece. Whether we sympathize <br>or not with the plight of the Tibetans, clearly there are good <br>grounds for seeing such Western activists as troublemakers. <br>
Raising awareness is one thing but activists, particularly ones <br>from thousands of miles away, run the risk of delegitimizing <br>domestic resistance groups, uniting xenophobic anarchists and <br>of sparking reactionary crackdowns by their actions. <br>
<br>Another feature of these protests is the way that they use the <br>language and rhetoric of human rights. However, the vast <br>majority of issues relate to the territorial integrity of the <br>Chinese state. There are many injustices for which the Chinese <br>
government is responsible, but how valid or useful are these <br>claims in light of the objectives of the campaigners? When it <br>comes to the Tibetans, the Uighurs, and the Taiwanese, many <br>local activists know that there are plenty of countries where <br>
a few gory stories of mistreatment at the hands of the Beijing <br>authorities are enough to whip up an outcry from a range of <br>civil rights groups. And yet, many prefer not to go down this <br>route because in doing so, they leave themselves open to being <br>
rolled into the general anti-China din that is hard to take <br>seriously due to the level of hyperbole and range of political <br>forces at play. From governments to arms companies, there are <br>many who gain by portraying China as a monster. <br>
<br>Additionally, so far as the territorial question goes, if one <br>group of independence activists gets associated with another, <br>it makes it much harder for the Chinese Communist Party to make <br>any concession. To do so in one instance would obviously <br>
compromise its stance in another. In the same way, Japan is <br>unlikely to be able to make a concession on any one of its <br>territorial disputes with China, Russia and Korea, without <br>coming under increased pressure to do a deal on another. <br>
<br>The human rights issue also accuses the Chinese authorities of <br>excessive violence and suppression of the press – Menard of <br>Reports Without Borders willfully conflates these two by taking <br>a 'reporter's stance.' Again, there is a degree of validity in <br>
these accusations but China seems to be singled out for its <br>misdemeanors much more than many other countries with equally <br>poor track records. Writing in a paper for the Cornell <br>International Law Journal, Randall Peerenboom argues that China <br>
is subject to a 'human rights double standard' and that China <br>critics tend to put an unhelpful bias on political and civil <br>rights. The massive leaps forward in terms of social and <br>economic rights, including rapid and significant increases in <br>
the quality of life for millions of ordinary Chinese citizens, <br>are ignored because they either serve no higher political <br>purpose or simply because economic statistics make less <br>interesting reading than a tortured political dissident. Tiny <br>
groups/cults such as the Falun Gong seem to attract massive <br>international media attention and yet their number, taken as a <br>percentage of the Chinese population, is miniscule. As <br>Pereenboom observes, 'when placed in a comparative <br>
perspective, China outperforms the average country in its income<br>class on all major human rights indicators except civil and <br>political rights.'<br><br>For all its xenophobia towards China, evident in such episodes <br>
as the recent gyoza scandal (<a href="http://www.japaninc.com/node/2891" target="_blank">http://www.japaninc.com/node/2891</a>),<br>Japan has actually been one of the few industrial nations to be <br>extremely moderate in its criticism of China's human rights <br>
issues, particularly at the official level. Perhaps being closer<br>in terms of proximity, Japan is more aware of the improvements <br></div></div>that have been made in Chinese society since the Mao era and, <br><div class="Ih2E3d">
aware of its own abusive treatment of Chinese people during the <br></div>
war. In fact, Japan is relatively silent on rights with several<br>regional governments that come in for criticism including Myanmar<div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c"><br>and Indonesia. While it is often criticized for this by <br>
activists, there is a good case to be made that this actually <br>
gives Japan more credibility when it comes to engagement and <br>shows a humble self-consciousness of Japan's imperial history. <br>Ultimately, it would most likely weaken Japan's influence on <br>Beijing if it were to start preaching about Tibet or the <br>
freedom of the Chinese press. <br><br><br>Peter Harris<br>Editor-in-Chief<br><br>++FEEDBACK<br>Want to comment? It is now even easier to voice your opinion<br>than ever before! Simply post a comment below the article<br>
online at <a href="http://www.japaninc.com/jin463" target="_blank">www.japaninc.com/jin463</a><br>
<br>++EVENTS<br><br>----------- Metropolis and eigoTown.com Parties -----------<br><br>Metropolis - Tokyo's favorite lifestyle magazine and<br>eigoTown.com - Japan's premier English language learning<br>website - join together on May 10, 2008 to bring you<br>
the Metropolis and eigoTown.com Party!<br><br>Roppongi hotspot Alife will host over 500 revelers for an<br>evening of fun with people from different backgrounds<br>coming together for eating, drinking and making friends.<br>
<br>CORPORATE SPONSORS WELCOME<br><br>Website: <a href="http://www.metropolis.co.jp/party" target="_blank">www.metropolis.co.jp/party</a><br><br>-- Entrepreneur Association of Tokyo - Wednesday, May 7th --<br><br>Title: 'Venture Financing in Japan'<br>
<br>Speakers: Takaaki Hata, Principal of Globis Capital Partners<br><br>Are you interested in learning how to raise venture capital<br>in Japan? If the answer is YES then you are in for a treat<br>at the next EA-Tokyo seminar.<br>
Takaaki Hata will be sharing his inside knowledge of the<br>VC industry in Japan and the process for fundraising.<br><br>Please sign up early while seats are available.<br><br>Date/Time: Wednesday, May 7th, 7:00 pm<br>Location: Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan<br>
Language: English<br>Website: <a href="http://www.ea-tokyo.com" target="_blank">http://www.ea-tokyo.com</a><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br>Marcus Evans Events - Supported by J@pan Inc<br>
<br>Customer Relationship Excellence, 15th - 16th April 2008, Tokyo<br>
<a href="http://www.marcusevans.com/html/eventdetail.asp?eventID=13548" target="_blank">http://www.marcusevans.com/html/eventdetail.asp?eventID=13548</a><br>Featuring speakers from American Express International and others<br>
<br>Compensation and Benefits Forum, 27th - 28th May, Tokyo<br>
<a href="http://www.marcusevans.com/html/eventdetail.asp?eventID=13778" target="_blank">http://www.marcusevans.com/html/eventdetail.asp?eventID=13778</a><br>This event provides Japanese firms the 'how-to' of investing in<br>
their employees to sustain their businesses.<br>
Supported by JSHRM<br><br>3rd Annual LNG World, 15th - 16th July 2008, Tokyo<br><a href="http://www.marcusevans.com/html/eventdetail.asp?eventID=13569" target="_blank">www.marcusevans.com/html/eventdetail.asp?eventID=13569</a><br>
This event focuses on key operational aspects of LNG business and<br>
current market dynamics to succeed in this competitive market.<br><br>'J@pan Inc readers are entitled to a 10% discount upon<br>registration with Ms. Esther Wong.'<br>Contact: +603 2723 6736 Email: <a href="mailto:estherw@marcusevanskl.com" target="_blank">estherw@marcusevanskl.com</a><br>
<br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Start a Company in Japan<br><br>Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar 31st of May, 2008<br><br>If you have been considering setting up your own company,<br>
find out what it takes to make it successful.<br>Terrie Lloyd, founder of over 13 start-up companies in Japan,<br>will be giving an English-language seminar and Q and A on<br>starting up a company in Japan.<br>This is an ideal opportunity to find out what is involved,<br>
and to ask specific questions that are not normally answered<br>in business books.<br>All materials are in English and are Japan-focused.<br><br>For more details:<br><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar" target="_blank">http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar</a><br>
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