Human Rights in East Asia: An Evaluation

Abstract The human rights recognized by the intemational community are itemized and summarized under ten values: integrity, well-being, education, sociality, legality, participation, esteem, affection, freedom, and community. These values and rights delineate the intemational political norms which are generally accepted in East Asia (the People's Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea), as elsewhere. However, there are certain elements of the history and culture of the region which distinguish its practice of human rights from that of the West; and particular elements of politics and society in each of the three countries have additional impact on their performance on human rights standards. Based on the ten values identified earlier, the paper concludes with an overall evaluation of the three countries of East Asia on their current practice of human rights and on the trends in that practice during the contemporary period.