"Orientalist scholarship in the nineteenth century perceived Asians as the mysterious and backward people of the Far East. Ironically, as this century draws to a close, leaders of prosperous and entrepreneurial East and Southeast Asian countries are eager to stress Asia?s incommensurable differences from the West and following from them, to demand special treatment of their human rights records by the international community. They reject the globalization of human rights and claim that Asia has a unique set of values, which, Singapore?s ambassador to the United Nations argued, provide the basis for Asia?s different understanding of human rights and justify the "exceptional" handling of rights by Asian governments..."