Derrick+and+Josh+-+CP+-+FA11+-+Closing+Statement+China+Debate

= **Dalai Lama Closing Statement** =


 * Is China responsible enough - to its citizens and global community - to be an example to emerging/growing nations? Back up with remarks from other groups from the debate. **

There is no denying that China is a huge influence on much of the world and has had immense growth in the past few decades. All aspects of their country, including economy, government, and treatment of people, have dramatically improved from the days of Mao Zedong, as Mao himself mentioned. While China is growing evermore powerful, some areas are progressing better than others. The economy is one of the biggest things that China has done right. They expanded their economy extremely rapidly, taking over the spot for second largest economy 10 years before they were predicted to. In this aspect, new and emerging countries would be imbecilic not to take note of what China has done. Unfortunately, there are still issues of wealth distribution and poverty, as mentioned by multiple participants in the debate. China’s example also becomes more questionable on the topics of government and human rights. Their government, while not nearly as strict or violent as it was under Mao’s rule, is still oppressive of the people, and while Jiabao stated that China is moving towards democracy, there is simply no current evidence to back that up. Communism may have been seen as the ultimate answer to all economic woes, but it has proven that it is not the most effective. As both Jintao and Jiabao said, China is currently working to undo the negligence of the previous rulers, an endeavor that could require much time and resources. Nowhere, however, did they mention anything about a governmental shift towards that of transparency and democracy. The human rights are also a big negating factor in China. As the Dalai Lama has pointed out time and again, while freedoms like speech, press, and assembly are addressed in the Chinese constitution, it is all “symbolic” (to quote the United States). There is very little currently being done to give people the justice and freedom that they deserve. Because of this overwhelmingly negative overview of China’s current status, at this time they cannot be considered an example to emerging nations. While their economy is booming, the quality of life of their citizens is not. If China continues to work towards these ultimate goals, as both Jintao and Jiabao stated they would, then China may be a viable example in the future; however, this will not be anytime in the near future. China definitely has a lot of potential, but until it is capitalized on, it cannot be seen as a good example for new nations.