Globalization and human rights in China and Vietnam

(This is in response to an article posted on Helium.com claiming that globalization has led to the erosion of human rights in Vietnam.)

Don't blame trade for Vietnam's erosion of political rights. There was political suppression in Vietnam long before they opened up to the outside world.

The same is true for China.

Yes, advanced technology has made it easier for these governments to suppress their people and stifle freedom of expression, but stopping trade with them won't stop the repression.

If leaders want to keep tabs on their populace and spy on them, they'll do so whether we trade with the country or not.

Burma (Myanmar) is a case in point. So is North Korea. Both these countries are much more closed to outside trade than Vietnam or China, yet they suppress their people even more.

Remember that trade and investment have provided the average Vietnamese and Chinese with many benefits, even as they continue to lack a political voice.

There are more job opportunities in both countries, for example. Thousands of companies have sprung up, both state-owned and private, to satisfy export demand.

Foreign companies have set up many manufacturing plants in Vietnam and China as well, creating even more jobs.

This has led to a rapid increase in standards of living. Life has improved markedly for the average Vietnamese and Chinese.

Yes, Beijing and Hanoi restrict what their people can watch on TV or access on the Internet, but even so, the introduction of such technologies (brought in by foreign trade) has made life better. The average Vietnamese and Chinese have access to much more information and are more connected to the world than ever before.

And don't overlook all the medicines and medical technology that have poured into these countries from abroad. The average Chinese and Vietnamese have benefited from these as well.

This is not to minimize the human rights problems in both countries. Chinese and Vietnamese political dissidents face imprisonment, torture and even death.

This is an outrage.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other organizations should spotlight these human rights abuses and trading partners should pressure Vietnam and China to cease them.

But isn't this easier to do when you're already dealing with a country, as through trade, rather then completely from the outside?

(This article has also been posted on Helium.com.)