PS 212

Child labor is a problem in many countries in the developing world. However, it is especially devastating in China. It is very common to see young girls, rather than young boys, involved in child labor. Child labor has existed ever since China began. In the beginning child labor was not viewed as wrong. In the 20th century those opinions began to change and the first law that dealt with child labor was passed in 1923, however, this law was not strictly enforced until the Chinese Communist Party began its rule in 1949 (Schmitz, Traver, & Larson, 41). The CCP in a way made the situation better if only temporarily. They enforced the laws that needed to be in order to ensure that children had promising futures. In China, like the U.S., they believe that children are the future. They believe the government is responsible for the well being of their children. Unfortunately, the CCP was overthrown and things went back to the way they used to be. The government has still pursued laws that ensured the safety of children and made sure that they were not subjected to child labor. However, despite all their efforts child labor is still seen in China, but today they are very secretive about it.

Some say that child labor was not necessarily bad in the earlier years, but things are beginning to change. The exploitation of children in China is far worse than it has ever been. The jobs that these children are given are not very hard; the tasks are jobs that they are very capable of doing physically. However, due to industrialization, there have been many openings of new factories and mills and here the children are being exploited (Burton, 53). Child labor in China is still present today, and it is only going to get worse. However, it seems that there are a few ways that this can be prevented.

Children are the future of the world, no matter where they live. Many children in the developing world have far less educational opportunities than those in the U.S. I believe that children should have the same rights and opportunities everywhere. In the U.S. we have a great education system; we know that when we grow up we are going to have the opportunity to make a name for ourselves. Children in china and in many developing countries are destined to work in factories, under oppressive conditions, with low pay for the rest of their lives and even laws cannot change that. I think one possible solution would be to improve the educational systems in China. We all know that Chinese people are very intelligent and those kids working in factories and mills in China are just as smart. I think an improved educational system would help, but I also believe that more foreign aide would be beneficial. A lot of the kids who are apart of the child labor movement have dropped out of school to take on these jobs to support their families. I believe foreign aide would help the economy, which would in turn help the children of China.

Problems that are developing in the developing world, I believe, stem from one thing: poverty. Poverty has taken its toll heavily on women and children there forcing them to work under oppressive conditions. China, like many other countries, needs to find a way to deal with this. However, they cannot change on their own. They need the help of bigger countries, with stronger economies, like the U.S. If we do not help, no one else will. And if no one else will then children in China are going to be stuck working in factories and mills already knowing that one day their children will be working there as well.



Sources:

Cathryne L. Schmitz, Elizabeth Kim Jin Traver, and Desi Larson. Child Labor: A Global
View. Greenwood Press: Westport, CT. 2004.

Burton, Margaret. Women Workers of the Orient. Harvard University: Massachusetts.
2005.

Labels: GLR #3

posted by Kelly Wiley @ 3:25 PM