Child Labor in China

Annotated Bibliography

Yu, X. (2008). Impacts of corporate code of conduct on labor standards: A case study of Reebok’s athletic footwear supplier factory in China. Journal of Business Ethics, 81(3), 513-529. Retrieved from: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-007-9521-2

This resource examines the social effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies associated with labor or, in other words, discusses the corporate codes that are essential in upholding standards of labor. In order to deliver its inspiration, this article conducts a case study of CSR and implementation of codes of Reebok which is a major branded company that has been enjoying a very good reputation for its high achievements in human rights enhancements. In essence, it acknowledges and analyzes large amounts of data about activities that take place in the Taiwanese region of South China that is highly infested with child labor while the specific company establishes a clear distinction in the process. From this resource, it is clear that the implementation of labor-related codes led to a scenario of ‘race-to-ethical as well as legal minimum’ standards. Before carrying out these codes, however, this article cites a scenario where Chinese workers, who included individuals under the minimum age of 18 years, were a part of the extensive workforce presenting a case of child labor in the large part of Chinese industries. While this scenario remains valid in a number of areas, this resource indicates that many organizations have sought to implement minimum standards as far as the child labor force is concerned hence reducing incidences of using child labor across most regions in China.

Arat, Z. F. (2002). Analyzing child labor as a human rights issue: Its causes, aggravating policies, and alternative proposals. Human Rights Quarterly, 24(1), 177-204. 

This resource presents an analysis of child labor as a basic human right violation within the context of China and the globe as a whole. Indeed, it expresses recent concerns that the international community has raised over the issue of child labor which has been considered as not only human rights violation but also one of the greatest societal vices. This resource provides a historical point of view on child labor that has been manifesting itself over time with key insights on the role of the International Labor Organization through its establishment of 14 years of age as a minimum employment age. The majority of international communities have also changed this age to suit their respective economies most of them setting it at 18 years old. In a major insight into this issue, this resource also analyzes the concerns raised by the United Nations on the conventions of children’s rights through a special status accord. This is presented with a review of the Chinese case where child labor has been presented as a major challenge affecting the country’s labor sector.

In this regard, this resource also focuses on the various elements that are the potential contributors or causes of child labor. In the context of China, the author argues that a lack of proficient academic or education policies has been one of the main contributors to child labor expansion in many economic sectors of the country. Some children have also been employed formally and introduced in the work environment in the view of pursuing internship offers. However, it later emerges that such offers concern only certain entities, particularly within the private sectors. Nevertheless, while the government is charged with protecting its people, the author clearly defines the acute disregard of the officials of their role in the issue as they have done very little to curb the vice other than frustrating other entities that seek to control the vice internally and externally. Indeed, it has been viewed as a great violation of human rights and the children’s rights in particular.

Hong Kong Liaison Office (IHLO), Play Fair Campain. (2007). Child labor forced labor and ‘work experience’ in China — the blurred lines of illegality. Retrieved from http://www.playfair2008.org/docs/Child_Labour_July_2007.pdf

This resource presents a report that focuses on the extreme cases of child labor usage in China. With regard to this article, the author looked at the growing effort and measures to research the issue as far as the Chinese context is concerned. While directly facing the course of the problem which encompasses children working in factories among other industries where they serve, this report presents analysis-based information obtained from interviews with children in China who have been subjected to this issue and therefore present credible information on child labor.

It also clearly articulates the roles of advocates in China as well as the international community who must advance their influence on the measures to curb this vice. In order to demonstrate the actual state of affairs, the author cites some of the legislations existing in China but credit the situation with the lack of effective enforcement coupled with the lack of transparency across most private sectors. The author however acknowledges China as a highly industrious country in relation to its competitors. In essence, by virtue of being very industrious, the zeal for economic achievement has been perceived as a reason for enhancing human rights, particularly, by promoting children’s rights free from child labor.

Law, W. W. (2007). Legislation and educational change: The struggle for social justice and quality in China’s compulsory schooling. Education and the Law, 19(3-4), 177-199. 

This article presents an ideal analysis of the Chinese case of child labor. In essence, it focuses on the legislations against child labor and questions the effectiveness of such laws in bringing any change to the issue. In particular, the author mentions that revised legislation on compulsory schooling in China of 2006, as well as its functions and limits, are concerned in enhancing educational performances. In essence, this resource analyzes the manner in which China has been relying on instrumental mechanisms of laws to enact change and correct problems that were unresolved by previous regimes or laws. In this regard, this article presents an analytical perspective in which laws can be used as important tools for defending children’s rights as far as child labor is concerned under the context of China.

In essence, it defines the scenario under which change-effective legislations can thrive by citing favorable economic conditions as an important component that must always be cultivated for realizing the intended positive impacts of legislations. The author cites the existence of very proactive educational legislation but a lack of proper enforcement and correlation with labor legislation as one of the main challenges that have been affecting the positive achievement of the legislations. In this regard, he proposes the development of a typical framework that adopts strategic influence of all the stakeholders in the Chinese economy towards reducing and finally resolving the issue of child labor which spoils the nation’s brand or image hence reducing its ability to lure potential, beneficial foreign direct investments among other possible benefits.

Dongfang, H. (2007). Small hands: A survey report on child labor in China.” China Labour Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.clb.org.hk

The report presented in this resource refers to the incidences of child labor used in a bulletin in China. It mainly focuses on certain divisions and categories of child labor within the Chinese context. Besides giving statistical data regarding this scenario, this resource provides a contextualized analysis of the situation in the specific instances where illegal use of child labor has been witnessed in China. To enhance the analysis, the author breaks it down into the parts correspondingly to the regions across China that have been subjected to this problematic issue. Besides, this is also showcased using gender and other elements of labor. The findings of this resource are also supported by the results of individualized interviews involving children workers in China as the respondents. This instance provides an effective avenue for analyzing the main cause of child labor in the country.

In this regard, due to the analysis, it is possible to have a multi-dimensional perception of the reasons behind the existence of child labor in China. Another important aspect that this article embarks on is the enhanced understanding of the persistent child labor incidences in China as well as its increased frequencies. The author further defines the reason why child labor in China differs significantly from those in other countries worldwide. According to this resource, child labor in this state is a major issue that has been affecting the country’s image over time but as the author indicates there have been very minimal if any productive measures that have been taken towards averting the vice. The author indicates that child labor is a major menace to the international image of China despite its lucrative economic performance.

French, H. (2007, June 21). Fast-growing China says little of child slavery’s role. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/21/world/asia/21china.html

The Chinese community has been in a series of challenging social situations connected with the increased persistence of child labor over time. In mid-2007, information regarding manipulating hundreds of people with very many children being among them, who were released through the operations of the Bricks Kilns. Instead of consolidating effort and making significant attempts towards addressing the issue, this resource shows that the Chinese government simply evaded the influence of the press. Besides, the author also indicates that the officials prohibited further generations of information regarding this issue on the aspect that was perhaps demonstrating the government hand in perpetrating the vice, though indirectly. In essence, this could be viewed as the move by the government to turn negative publicity in the international domain and restrain further decline in the national figures as a country with sound inclination to human rights as far as the rights of children are concerned.

From the perspective of French, despite the fact that child labor has been recognized and very pronounced in China, the government has been allowing it directly to persist in the country. One of the elements that demonstrate this scenario is the fact that the government has been blatantly disregarding any offer that would lead to the stoppage of the vice while wholly refraining from critics on the issue. This is a major vice that many international communities may never wish to be associated with them as it deteriorates the country’s branding image very fast.

Indeed, the author of this resource also indicates that the government has been avoiding the horrific incidences of child labor from being publicized as such is perceived to work negatively on the impression that the majority has about the country, especially, from the international perspective. The majority of parents asked by the author of this article are also highly disgusted about the revelations of high prevalence of child labor in China since they had been tricked into allowing their young ones to take part in programs that were dabbed, ‘internships’ while in real sense they were taken into workforce as child workers. Indeed, while the Chinese government and the entire republic have been perceived as geared towards establishing proficient governance with credible economic achievements, it has become clear that China has been placing economic growth of its country ahead of the children’s rights and privileges.

UNICEF. (2007). China: Statistics. Report. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/china_statistics.html.

This resource offers a discreet presentation of statistics pertaining to children in China. The main concern for the author, however, has been the rampant incidences of child labor in China which has created multiple states of challenges in the context of child upbringing as well as in the international reputation hierarchy. It is absurd to note that while the Chinese state has been considered as one of the most vibrant societies in the world, its government is less concerned about the incidences of child labor that continues to raze over time due to increased demand in the flourishing industries in China.

In case that UNICEF is unable to garner sufficient data regarding this statistics on child labor in China, it is therefore very important as this resource posits, to inquire into the accuracy elements of some of the reports generated in China regarding child labor issues. Besides, this article also cites the need to identify the barriers that exist in preventing UNICEF among other organizations of reputable character and value to attain essential statistics regarding child labor in China.

In essence, this report also indicates the cross-cultural differences in child rights within the labor front that are often disregarded by the majority of the employers in China. One of the key drives that this report cites is pure greed for generating the maximum possible benefits without sound view on the impact that such measures have on the human population as far as a child and whole human rights are concerned. However, despite the cravings for of UN for gaining high-level statistics on child labor in China, this effort has been long frustrated due to a lack of statistics pertaining to the subject. This is a product of the government’s laxity to overcome the issue of child labor as it is perceived to have an economic advantage for the country in the long-run.

West, A. (2002). “Childhood and children’s rights in China.” In Bob Franklin (Ed.), The new handbook of children’s rights: comparative policy and practice. New York, NY: Routledge.

With regard to this resource, there has been a prominent focus on the historical and social perspective of children, their rights and childhood in general concerning children’s rights in China. By consolidating an outline of the Chinese geography, demographic disposition and the historical perspective of the country that have had continuous effect on children, the author asserts that while the analysis of children is being taken up, there are many challenges since local disparities by culture, environment and the society at large present critical barriers that impede the entire process hence frustrating the acquisition of essential data. However, the author acknowledges the benefits in cross-locality situations involving multiple cultures as well as the macro-perspective elements that are important to the economy of a country with regard to policy generation and implementation.

Furthermore, the author supports this position through reference to the influences of international business, globalization, and trade in general. Later, he criticizes the prevalence of west-focused debate on child rights that has been persistent in China citing its impact in generating a loose and unproductive debate on children’s issues. According to the author, the western images have been manipulated and ended up in attempts to embrace while at the same time to discard their own ideals. The work of the west provides a high level of understanding of the impact of the west on situations with child labor within China as they influence the growth worldwide which every country seeks to achieve in the long-run. China is, therefore, determined to achieve growth by all means including child labor.

Tong, X., and Shizhen, L. 2004. China. In Cathryne L. Schmitz, Elizabeth KimJin Traver, and Desi Larson (Eds.), Child labor: A global view. West Point, NY: Greenwood Press.

The author of this resource reviews the historical perspective of child labor issues in China starting from as early as the 1800s. This kind of analysis, however, lacks lots of data concerning the contemporary situations. Nevertheless, the historical outline provided in this analysis is an important context within which to focus on the incidences of child labor in China. This resource, however, presents an open position upon which readers can assume their conclusions while pursuing the issue of child labor in China. Indeed, it does not create a limitation to statistical inferences or even the politically-driven kind of commentary that would article in an approach that is principally skewed towards a certain edge or interest. Besides, the author of the resource also concentrates on the majority of social perspectives as well as traditions that led to the continuation of child labor across the republic of China. These were perpetual frameworks based on the social and traditional settings of the people across the republic of China that acted to shape the current generation of highly capitalist citizens with a strong focus on nothing other than profit maximization where child labor is perceived to be an effective mechanism of cost reduction.

This article provides a critical perspective of the legal implication of the Chinese government on child labor. Although the government has been perceived to be little concerned about the situation, there are certain legal frameworks in place that have been providing guidance to the manner in which the issue of child labor is to be faced and addressed for a long term solution. However, as this resource posits, the author focuses on the laws that govern education change in China which has had a considerable share of impact on the child labor issue. In essence, he questions the justification of the fact that the Chinese being solely dependent on a set of outdated as well as mutually ineffective sets of legislations aimed at transforming and resolving the problem of child labor.

In this case, the examination of the issue is principally based on the legal influence, its enforcement, and implementation and how it could be used as an instrument of enhancing children’s rights in China. Indeed, the realization of a legal framework change demands a good social-economic environment to succeed in considerable support of extra-legal aspects and stakeholders’ support in the interpretation and enforcement of the law. This would eventually aid the enforcement of the law and perhaps curb the challenge of child labor in the country as it has always been a major national challenge while the government is perceived to frustrate the efforts of the local and international community in resolving it.