CRITICISM AGAINST HUM AN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN C. HOPE FLINCHBAUGH’S NOVEL
DAUGHTER OF CHINA (2002)
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CRITICISM AGAINST HUM AN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN C. HOPE FLINCHBAUGH NOVEL
DAUGHTER OF CHINA (2002)
By
Allen Rufaida Purianingt yas S200110034
This art icle has been approved by advisors on: Day : ………
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ABSTRACT
Purianingt yas, Allen Rufaida. S200110034. 2014. Crit icism Against Human Right s Violat ion in C. Hope Flinchbaugh’s Novel Daught er of China (2002). Thesis. M agist er Program of Language St udy. School of Post graduat e. M uham m adiyah Universit y of Surakart a. Advisors: (1) Dr. M och. Thoyibi,M .S , (2) Dr. Phil. Dew i Candraningrum, M .Ed.
This research deals w it h t he following aims: (1) describing t he cont ext of Daught er of China, (2) explaining the crit icism of t he aut hor against violation of human right s, (3) describing the author’s evangelical mission. The qualit ative research is out lined by the descript ive m et hod. The w rit er of t he thesis collect ed and cat egorized t he dat a obt ained. The first step w as exposing the cont ext of Unit ed St at es of America and People’s Republic of China Societ y at t he end of t he t w ent iet h cent ury. Then it w as follow ed by the analysis of t he author’s crit icism against hum an right violation and the author’s evangelical mission. The result of t his research are as follow s: (1) there w as correlat ion bet w een aut hor’ s social background and int ent ion and the social cont ext of People’ s Republic of China and Unit ed St at es of Am erica, (2) author’s crit icism about hum an right s violation can be cat egorized into upper class int imidat ion, social disparit y, the rigid governm ent rules w hich consist of One Child Policy and loyalist com munist obligation, gender inequalit y w hich consist of abandoned baby girl and att itude t ow ard girls’ educat ion, st arvat ion of children’ s orphanage, t he limit ation of religious freedom, and the peasant s’ obligat ion to the governm ent , (3) The evangelical m ission conveyed by t he author w hich had been identified w as based on the following principals: (1) faithful, (2) loving and confident, (3) tolerant and respect abilit y, (4) recognizing others, (5) religious freedom, (6) peace, (7) exemplificat ion, and (8) dialogue.
I. Introduction
People’s Republic of China had been a rem arkable count ry dealt w it h human right s problem s. Som e event s becam e t he evidence of t he humanit y crisis exist ed t here. Tiananmen Square bloody t ragedy became the w orld at t ention since t he Chinese people dem onst rat ion w as at t acked brutally by the t roops since t heir claim of dem ocracy in China (Shat tuck, 2003:22). Those w ho w as caught to act relat ed t o t heir polit ical view w as im prisoned and som e of t hem w ere execut ed (Fukuyama cit ed by Shat tuck 2003: 222). The expose t o t he humanit y crisis t o Tibet an had got serious at t ent ion from Unit ed St at es (Zhou 2005: 110).
Daught er of China was a novel w rit t en by C. Hope Flinchbaugh about the st ruggle of a young girl, Kwan M ei Lin w ho w as in dilem mat ic and daring position t o defend her fait h or her fat e as a m inorit y group in a Communist st at e, People’ s Republic of China. Although t he exposes t o human right s violat ion w as delivered t o China, this count ry seem ed t o have t he lack at t ent ion about som e foreign crit ics. China’s react ion to overcom e t his sit uation w as affect ed t o t heir relat ionship tow ard Unit ed St at es and it had made Washington t o have t he m ore underlined problems about hum an right s problem in China (W an: 2001: 8).
Unit ed St at es. Gyat so (1999) in his art icle China and Human Right s: The St ruggle for Freedom had exposed t he Chinese governm ent lack at t ent ion to the racial and discrimination problem s t o Tibet an. The next issue w as out lined by Qi Zhou (2005) in an art icle ent it led Human Right s bet w een China and US. He assert ed t hat the relationship bet w een China and US w as in a t ension because of t he int ent ion from US government t o do int ervent ion t ow ards China domest ic problems. In the other side, t here w as an opport unit y from US tow ard t he left ist and some count ries w ith t he different view t o have human right s abuse problems. The last reference w as w rit t en by W endy M cElroy (2008) in an art icle ent it led China’s One Child Disast er. He had out lined t hat the int ention of Chinese governm ent t o cont rol the population bomb had creat ed som e crit ics from count ries in t he w orld since t here w as an indicat ion that it had been cont ra t o t he human right s concept .
Sociology and lit erat ure had creat ed a synergy in t he production of a lit erary w ork, w hich in this case in a novel (Swingew ood,1972: 11) had defined sociology as essent ially the scient ific, object ive st udy of man in societ y, t he st udy of social inst it ut ions and of social processes. An aut hor as a member of societ y had been a major component who connect s t he lit erary w ork and societ y or vice versa (Wellek and W arren, 1972: 18). The social background and experience of t he author can influence t he cont ent of the st ory. A lit erary w ork can be an effect ive media for the w rit er t o express her special purposes. Sw ingewood (1972: 17) em phasized that lit erat ure had reflect ed som eone’ s anxiet ies, hopes, and aspirat ions and response t o social problems.
404). Then, it w as developed into almost thirt y com ponent s in Universal Declarat ion art icles. The violation relat ed to human right would be overcom e by t he set of law . Non-Governm ent Organization (NGO), Amnest y Int ernat ional, Int ernational Court of Human Right s, and Securit y Council occurred t o guarant ee t he prot ect ion of individual right s.
Regarding t he aut hor’s role in the production of t he novel, t he social background of t he author plays im port ant part . C. Hope Flinchbaugh is t he author of Daught er of China novel. Her social background as a writ er w ho has t he more int erest and att ent ion to t he problems relat ed t o religion, st at e, children, and hum an right s had influenced Daught er of China.
The Evangelical m ission w as em erged as t he ot her finding aft er t he problem s of hum an right s violation. An evangelical is a person w ho spread out the Christ ian belief. Evangelical is anyone w ho has a fully belief and recognit ion of t he exist ence of t he Bible as t he God’s revelat ion by having t he deep underst anding t o be shared t hrough evangelism (Balmer, 2004: 236). Then the t erm of evangelism is relat ed t o the action relat ed t o the spreading out of t he Christ ian glory. Evangelism includes t he sharing of com mit m ent t o cert ain essent ial t heological t rut hs and their pract ical implicat ions (M it chel, 2003: 107). The exist ence of evangelical and t he rising of Christ ian right became t he special not ion in Unit ed St ates at t he close of the t w entiet h century. President George W. Bush’s religiosit y is param ount since her leadership as t he Governor of Texas. Under his leadership, the Texans becam e more religious (Philips, 2004:221). His w inning on Unit ed St at es general elect ion could not be alienat ed from the backing of some religious groups especially evangelicals.
II. Research M ethodology
em ploy qualit ative research m et hod. Denzin and Lincoln as cit ed by Cresw ell (1998: 15), define qualit ative research as follow s:
Qualit at ive research is mult imet hod in focus, involving an int erpret ive, nat ur alist ic approach t o it s subject mat t er. This means t hat qualit at ive researches st udy t hings in t heir nat ural set t ings, at t empt ing t o make sense of or int er pr et phenom ena in t erms of meanings people bring t o t hem. Qualit at ive research involves t he st udied use and collect ion of a variet y of em pirical mat erials – case st udy, personal experience, int rospect ive, life st ory, int erview , observat ional, hist orical, int eract ional, and visual t ext s t hat describe rout ine and problemat ic moment s and meaning in individuals’ live.
A qualit ative research m et hod elaborat es t he researcher’s underst anding and int erpret at ion of t he case exposed. By em ploying t his research m et hod, t here w ill be t he descript ion, explanat ion, int erpret at ion, and assumption of som e issues from t he dat a obt ained.
The object s of t he research are divided into t wo groups, they are mat erial and formal object object s. The m at erial object of this research is a novel w rit t en by C. Hope Flinchbaugh ent itled Daught er of China. Then, the formal object is human right s violation and t he author’s evangelical mission reflect ed in the novel.
The dat a sources are divided into the prim ary and secondary dat a. The prim ary dat a is t he novel Daught er of China published by Bet hany House Publishers in 2002. The secondary dat a of this research are books, art icles and academic journals which relevant t o t he t opic of Hum an Right s, t he inform at ion or biography of C. Hope Flinchbaugh as the author, and evangelical m ission.
The t echnique of dat a collect ion is not e- t aking. The st eps are reading t he novel m ore t han t hree t im es, signing t he im port ant information, m aking a not e for t he im port ant inform at ion, and the obt ained inform at ion is placed into one file.
informat ion from the obt ained dat a, and int erpret ing t he inform at ion from each dat a obt ained.
III. M ain Finding and Discussion A. Voices of the Author
The aut hor’s voice of hum an right s violat ion can be divided int o som e point s in the following explanations,
1. Upper Class Int imidat ion
Upper class int imidat ion w as reflect ed w hen t he PSB’ s cadres at t acked Past or Chen’s house. They embarrassed Liko and M rs. Chen in front of the public and announced that they w ere cont raband (Daught er of China, p 67). In China, a cadre w as an exclusive position. His w elfare w as guaranteed by the governm ent , Wang (1985: 135). The cadres had seriously int imidat ed Past or Chen’ s fam ily w ho was a represent at ive as a lower class in societ y. Having t he noticeable posit ion in the governm ent had m ade t he cadres had t he good welfare st andard of living, They w er e guarant eed by the exclusive facilit ies (Wang, 1985: 135) in his int erview w ith one of the governm ent cadres nam ed Chen Yun.
2. Social Disparit y
because she appeared among the luxurious life and glamorous people in Nanjing Xi Lu. The descript ion of the glam our cit y in a block of Shanghai’ s posh shopping had described as a w ealt hy reflect ion w ith a dynamic and modern lifest yle, but in t he same block it ’s em erged t he inequalit y as small children w it h t he povert y w rit t en on t heir faces and on t heir clothes (Guthrie, 2006: 196)
3. The Rigid Governm ent Rules a. One Child Policy
The China governm ent had launched policy t hat had forced and tied t he societ y. It was One Child Policy t hat had forced t he societ y t o have only one child and the w om en w ho were in t heir second pregnancy w as caught . The One Child Policy became a solut ion but in the im plem ent at ion it had been a scary policy t hat int imidated t he societ y (Guthrie, 2006: 85). Liu An was a represent at ive port rait of this condition. She ran aw ay in the dark night in order to avoid t he Wom en Federat ion t hat finally knew her pregnancy. She was in her scary and looked so exhaust ed aft er having on foot from Du Yan village (Daught er of China, p 55).
b. Loyalist Comm unist Obligat ion
Communist t hought what ever t he profession or t he background of t he China society (William s, 1960: 9). It is a must for all of Chine w ithout except ion to obey and follow the Communism view w it hout concerning t hey act ually agree or not .
4. Gender Inequalit y a. Abandoned Baby Girl
sophist icat ed t echnology, the advanced cont rol of fem ale baby can easily det ect ed (Guthrie, 2008: 85)
b. At t itude tow ard girls’ education
The China old t radit ion also recognized t hat t he w om en should not get t he proper education. Am ah was so ast onished why M ei Lin w as so ent husiast ic t o st udy. How English could change som eone’ s life. It ’s m ore appropriat e t o a girl to prepare t o be a w ife w ho fully t akes care of her family w ithout career (Daught er of China, p 23).
The gender inequalit y in China had given t he im pact of t he educat ional syst em w hich still different iat ed the man and w om an. As t he result, t he fem ale had got some limit ations. M any of t hem were unregist ered and caused loss t he opport unity in the cases of educat ion and social welfare (Gut hrie, 2008:85)
5. St arvat ion in Children’s Orphanage Life
The bad situation about the bad condition in children’s orphanage in t he st ory was happened t o Yat ou’s friend and the ot her children in t he orphanage could be t he evidence of t he careless at t ent ion to children’ s orphanage life. Kent as cit ed by Wan (2001: 20) st at ed t hat children in som e Chinese orphanage have died of neglect and st arvat ion.
6. The Violat ion of Religious Freedom
unnecessary act ion tow ard religious meet ing w as em erged in t he sit uation when the house church meet ing had been ast onished by the cadres (Daught er of China, p 9). Being Christ ian had made Liko and M ei Lin was anxious. It could give m any risks especially to their fut ure educat ion (Daught er of China, p 44).
People’s Republic of China under M ao Tse Tung regim e w as concerned as t he dark era , because t he Comm unist view didn’t belief in t he exist ence of God. The rigid syst em of t he Com munist forced every elem ent of t he societ y t o obey every regulat ion released by t he governm ent . The leaders of religious group w ho violat ed it would be im prisoned, execut ed, or forced t o m ake public confessions of the crimes t hey had done (Williams, 1960: 12).
7. The Peasant s’ Obligation to t he Governm ent
This poor condit ion w as also added by t he special regulation dedicat ed t o t he peasant s. There w as an obligat ion t o give t heir harvest t o t he governm ent (Daught er of China, p 161). Som e Chinese governm ent regulat ion had made pressure especially for t he peasant s. The peasant s st ill had to deliver a m inimum quot a of grain to t he governm ent usually t o collect ive from w hich the land w as leased.. (Gut hrie, 2008: 42).
B. Evangelical M ission
Evangelicalism reflect ed in the novel w as pract iced in the follow ing principals:
1. Faithfull
em erged the belief t hat what happened t o their life cannot be separat ed from t he God’s hands or int ervent ion. There w as t he ext ernal pow er that t hey don’t ow e it . Their beliefs should be come from t heir deeply heart w ithout forcing (Smith 2000:38)
2. Loving and Confident
In t he novel, M ei Lin’s grandmother w as described as a fait hful Buddhist . She w as hat e t o Christ ian belief. Am ah alw ays at t acked M ei Lin w ith her w ords w hen they had their argum ent s. But M ei Lin always overcom es it with the polite at t itude and she w as st ill in her fait hful as Christ ian (Daught er of China, p 25). Smith assert ed an int erview w it h a Presbyt erian wom an from North Carolina. She explained that explained t hat t he great w eapons for Christ ians were love and forgiving w ay for t hose w ho had t he opposed thought .
3. Tolerant and Respect abilit y
Liu An w as a st ranger w ho w as helped by M ei Lin. An st ayed at M ei Lin’s house. She w asn’t a Christ ian. But M ei Lin and her fat her w elcom ed and served her as t heir relat ive (Daught er of China, p 63). The Christ ians should keep t he positive at m osphere by expressing t heir respect and t olerance t o others wit h different religion and view (Smith, 2000: 41).
4. Recognizing Others
w as persuaded her t o follow her religious faith but Ping responded it carelessly. This sit uation didn’t m ake M ei Ling was angry or having a quarrel w it h her best friend, Ping. (Daught er of China, p 72). In Christ ian evangelical, t here is t he view of accepting w hat ever t he ant agonist or adversaries’ view s. It concerned as som eone’ s right to deliver t heir idea. So, it ’s free for t hem to explain t heir mind (Smith, 2000:41).
5. Religious freedom
Liu An w as willing t o be a Christ ian without pressure or int imidation. It based on her consciousness. She oft en heard about the beautiful and am azing feeling from M ei Lin. Then, she concluded it herself (Daught er of China, p 88). The evangelical has t he view t hat a belief is som et hing t hat cannot be forced ad it such kind of w illingness of being t he fait hful Christ ian (Sm it h 2000: 48).
6. Peace
The ot her case w as em erged w hen M ei Lin w as caught by Professor Jiang it the case of her worshiping gest ure at school. In order t o avoid t he hostilit y, she w as w illing t o confess her fault , asked forgiving and promised not t o do t hat act ion anym ore (Daught er of China, p 89). Christ ian belief loves t he p eaceful and positive at mosphere among t he societ y. The pow er of Christ ian faith is more import ant than everyt hing. So, they prefer t o avoid t he w ay t hat may burn t he t ension t o ot hers. (Sm it h, 2000: 44)
7. Exem plification
individual could share t heir fait h by having the personal relat ionships t o others. It was a woman from Jiazen who shared her experience of being humiliat ed by t he opposed people. She w as caught by t he principals and dist inguished by t he ringing cap in her head so everyone w ould know her coming (Daught er of China, p 85).
The experiences of t hose Christ ians becam e t he effect ive exam ples t o be shared in order t o influence t he non- Christians. It also became t he more spirit for t he Christ ians t o be more fait hful. Smith (2000: 45) st at ed, “ Their aim is not to gain cont rol of the reins of polit ics, t ake over school boards, or hound t hose w ho differ from t hem in t he public square. It is, rat her, t o build personal relat ionships w ith people, impress t hem w it h lives t hat are good examples, and share wit h t hem t heir own beliefs and concerns.”
Those Christ ian refer t o im plem ent t he st rat egic approach to the other beliefs in spreading out the spirit of Christian. It would be the good effect ive w ay t o m ake t he good impression and exam ples t o others. It w as concerned t o be t he effect ive w ay t o give a good approach to the non- Christ ians. The cont ent of t he shared experienced w ould be a reflect ion that they could keep t heir Christians fait h although t hey had t o face t he jeopardy situat ion.
8. Dialogue
w orking of individual to individual w ill be the right w ay t o influence others. In t he novel, M ei Lin em erged as t he m ajor volunt eer of having t he posit ive dialogue and com municat ion. She did it in the possible sit uation. As t he result , she could do it well. She successfully brought som e people t o be persuaded then they becam e Christ ians.
IV. Conclusion
Based on t he analyses, t his st udy com es t o t he follow ing conclusions. First , t he relat ionship bet w een People’s Republic of China and Unit ed St at es of Am erica cam e into the high t ension since t he appearance of problem s relat ed t o human right s violations at t he lat e of t he t went iet h cent ury. The Tiananmen Square bloody t ragedy becam e t he real evidence of t he humanit y crisis in that count ry. This case w as crossed t o Unit ed Stat es because at t hat tim e t hat Liberal count ry had been in a great cam paign of Dem ocracy and t he respect t o human right s for individual. Approach and invest igat ion could not m ake China confessing t he humanit y problem in t hat count ry. China had overcome t his problem t hrough the propaganda which concerned Unit ed St at es had been t oo int ervened t heir dom est ic business and increasing t he relat ionship with som e count ries in Asia in order t o have t he support against Unit ed St at es. The great development of China’s econom y sect or becam e an effect ive w eapon t o cam ouflage Unit ed St at es’ aim especially t o avoid t he distinguished problem s of human right s violation.
violation. It can be cat egorized int o som e point s. They are upper class int imidat ion, social disparit y, the rigid governm ent rules w hich consist of One Child Policy and loyalist Com munist obligat ion, Gender Inequality w hich consist of abandoned baby girl and at titude toward girls’ education, st arvat ion in children’s orphanage, t he limitat ion of religious freedom, and the peasant s obligation to the governm ent .
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