Li Yunlong

Like most countries in the world, China supports the ideal of human rights depicted and advocated in theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights and other international documents and agrees with the idea that human rights should be universal. However, China also holds that to better realize the common goals of human rights requires that each country explore and find the best and most efficient way in accordance with its own conditions. One of the reasons for the fast development of human rights in China since its reform and opening-up is that China has chosen a development path for human rights according to its own conditions. The path fits the conditions of China and therefore efficiently promotes the realization of universal human rights.

I.Promoting the realization of economic, social and cultural rights on the basis of full economic development

Economic, social and cultural rights are provided by a country or society to individuals to support their material and cultural life. These rights are a kind of national or social benefit that requires strong financial support. Many social rights can be achieved only after the economy has improved to a certain level. With the economy lagging behind and people suffering from poverty, economic, social and cultural rights are only luxuries that are out of reach. Only when the economy reaches a certain level can these rights be realized. Put another way, realizing economic, social and cultural rights is in fact a kind of reallocation of social resources. There must be enough resources available for allocation. Therefore, economic development is a prerequisite for realizing economic, social and cultural rights.

Before reform and opening-up, China could not provide enough goods due to its backward economy and scarcity. To change this status, the Chinese government formed the strategy of “three steps for modernization.” Step one: by the end of the 1980s, the GDP should be twice that of 1980 and people’s basic need for food and clothing should be satisfied; Step two: by the end of the 20th century, the GDP of 2000 should be double that of the late 1980s and the people should enjoy a fairly well-off life. Step three: By the middle of the 21st Century, per capita GDP is expected to be on par with mid-ranking developed countries and the people will be living a well-off life. At that time, China will have basically realized modernization.¹For many years, China has been taking economic development as its top priority and the work of developing the economy as its core task. All levels of government and officials from the central government to local levels have made economic development their top agenda and all other work has been spontaneously supportive of this overwhelming task.[page]

As great attention has been paid to economic development and a correct strategy has been adoptedacross the entire country, China’s economy has realized continuous fast growth. It is precisely because of this rapid development that China has better conditions for achieving economic, social, and cultural rights. With the growth of its economic and financial power, China has dramatically increased its investment in poverty alleviation, education, medical care and social insurance, which has resulted in a sharp decline in the number of poverty-stricken people, fast growth in the length of schooling for people, obvious improvement in public health, and the establishment of a social security system.

II.Promoting full development of human rights by takingthe realization of economic, social and cultural rights as the starting point

Human rights are comprehensive and interlinked. They should be developed in an all-round way. Civil and political rights are the guarantee for fully realizing economic, social, and cultural rights, while the latter are the basic conditions for realizing the former. Both of the two are indispensable aspects of human rights. They are equally important, necessary, and required for development. But developing human rights is not a simple task, as it involves the reallocation of interests among different groups, the adjustment of the social structure, and a change in the way the country is managed. It even impacts the behavior and self-identity of the people in the country. It’s not a task that can be fulfilled through government notices or decrees. To what level human rights can be achieved is closely linked to the entire development level of a society. Only those rights that meet the demands of social development and are beneficial to social and economic advancement can be truly realized. Therefore, the government must find the best way to develop human rights in line with the conditions of the country by following the principle of improving human rights in a comprehensive way. Taking a historical view of human rights, it can also be found that countries with a long history of human rights have achieved their goals one by one overa long period of centuries. Each right, being the result of struggles and compromises among different social groups, is a consensus reached by all the people in the process of exploring the direction in which their society should head. Also, the key task of human rights shifts as time changes. [page]

Since its reform and opening-up, China has adopted the strategy of taking economic, social and cultural rights as the starting point for promoting the development of all human rights. In accordance with the practical demands of economic development, China has paid particular attention to developing economic and social rights. For instance, workers who rushed into the second and tertiary industries in cities during the process of industrialization required proper rewards and social insurance like old-age pensions and medical care. As restructuring of the economy and industrial upgrading deepened, the demand for a high quality work force effectively promoted universal coverage and improvement of education, and finally promoted the development of the right to education. Asthe economy further develops to a new level, consumption will becomes the crucial element blockingeconomic development. Sound economic development can be maintained only when workers’ income is properly increased, a social security system that covers the whole society is established, economic and social rights are widely expanded, and the consumption power of the entire society is strengthened. China has realized a balance between efficiency and fairness by following the principle of “Efficiency First, Fairness is Indispensable” in the process of developing the economy. A series of social policies have been formulated by the Chinese government in accordance with social conditions to meet the demands of economic development, enabling more people to enjoy the results of economic development. Thus, obvious changes have taken place in most people’s living conditions. Their economic and social rights are properly guaranteed. Meanwhile, China promotes the development of civil and political rights based on the needs of economic and social development. The modern economy requires people, with laborers as its majority, to be able to move freely, to exchange ideas and information freely, to have more individual freedom, and to have more political involvement. To meet the demands of economic and social development, the Chinese government has gradually lifted the ban on migration, supported freedom of speech and information circulation, and expanded individual freedom to promote human rights by developing socialist democracy and opening the path for citizens’ orderly political participation.[page]

III.Enlarging the space for individual and societal freedom on the basis of maintaining social stability

Developing and expanding human rights is a process of reallocation of interests. This process will result in crucial changes in existing interest relations and the social structure and willshift political rights, the right to freedom, and economic, social, and cultural rights to new groups, which may cause resistance from vested interest groups. From the history of human rights development in all the countries in the modern world, it can be seen that no human rights achievements were made easily. There were fierce political struggles, and occasionalstrong social turbulence, or even revolution in extreme cases. Among all human rights, the right to freedom is particularly connected to social stability. To enlarge the space for individuals and society means to lessen the original control over society, and this may lead to social instability if there is no relevant political and legal framework in place. Also, in contrast with other rights, the right to freedom also serves as an instrument for fighting for more rights and interests. With an expanded right to freedom (of speech, association, gathering, etc.) in hand, each social group will compete for its own rights and interests. If they exceed existing institutions and laws, they may threaten social stability. History shows that stability arises easily when a society expands the space for freedom. In the process of establishing a modern political and social system, it’s of crucial importance to follow a proper pace in expanding social and individual freedom. The expansion of social and individual freedom should be synchronized with the general requirements of the public and the change in the political and legal systems. Without a proper political and legal system in place, it’s inevitable when avoiding social turbulence to quickly losethe original social control. Therefore, for any country it’s a hard challenge to maintain social stability during the process of expanding social and individual freedom.[page]

In fact, for the entire time since reform and opening-up, China has adopted the policy of increasing social and individual freedom. But it has not been pursuing this policy simply for freedom by throwing away all social controls. Instead, the Chinese government has been continuously improving its social administration to increase the space for social and individual freedom while at the same time maintaining an orderly and stable society. Therefore, with the emphasis on developing human rights and enlarging freedom on the basis of maintaining social stability, the Chinese government has achieved both the goals of granting more space for freedom to individuals and maintaining the orderly and steady operation of society. As personal liberty, employment freedom, marriage freedom, religious freedom, and freedom of speech, etc. for Chinese citizens all expand, Chinese society is becoming more and more vigorous and stable.

IV.Promoting planned and controlled development of each human right downward from the central government

In the countries where human rights originated, these rights developed spontaneously and upward through conflict. Each human right is the result of long-term struggles among different social groups. Compared with many developed countries that took hundreds of years to explore and develop human rights, China has enjoyedan obvious late-development advantage in promoting its human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed 40 years before the Chinese government fully affirmed and made a commitment to developing human rights after the Cold War. Without the involvement of China, human rights had seen major international development. With the adoption of a series of international conventions on human rights, like the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the basic international framework for protection of human rights was established. These international instruments on human rights are mature and provide examples for China’s development of human rights. Referring to other countries’ experience, China set up clear goals, determined its path, and made a detailed plan to develop human rights. Thus, leapfrog development of human rights was achieved in China. While its people were not fully aware of human rights nor understood them in detail, the Chinese government was leading the way in understanding the significance and value of human rights in modern society through close connection withthe international community. Therefore, there was a big difference between the progress of human rights in China and that of other countries: In many countries, it’s the general public and the lower classes that made progress in human rights; while in China, it is the Party and the Government that holds the banner of leading and protecting human rights. Therefore, China’s human rights cause shows its own characteristic of developing from the top down.[page]

V.Developing China’s human rights gradually in accordance with the general requirements of its conditions and economic and social development

Sticking to the principle of gradualism, China has made its real conditions the basis for developing human rights step by step. China has never set aims beyond its reach nor pursued a great leap forward in this; instead, it has takena human rights development path that will promote comprehensive social advancement according to the development of the Chinese economy and society. Economic, social and cultural rights are tightly linked to economic status. No country can realize these rights above their economic level. As its economy grows, China has been strengthening its efforts to combat poverty through increasing financial investment and raising its poverty line standard. The standard was a per capita net income of 206 yuan for rural households in 1985. That was raised to 530 yuan in 1995, 786 yuan in 2008, 1,196 yuan in 2009, and 2,300 yuan in 2011. As the Chinese government has promised, the standard will be raised as China’s economy continues to develop. Regarding the right to education, China chose not only to speak, but, seeing the low enrollment rate of 57.7 percent for junior middle schools in 1978, it set the goal of roughly realizing universal nine-year education, which was realized around the year 2000. Further, China has set a goal of achieving universal high school education by 2020. In addition, social security in China has also seen gradual improvement.² Since the 1990s, the Chinese government has expanded its original pension system and free medical care system for state-owned enterprises to all urban employees to form a basic pension system and a basic medical care system for urban employees. The individual contribution amount for the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme was raised year-by-year from 20 yuan to 300 yuan in 2012 and the proportion and types of treatment that can be reimbursed have also been growing. These characteristics of gradualism can be seen in the development and expansion of all economic, social, and cultural rights in China.[page]

Also, China has taken the path of gradualism in developing civil and political rights. The space for freedom in China has expanded in a gradual way. A free and open society forms through the accumulation of individual freedom and loose pieces of freedom. It is through the same means of accumulation that freedom for individuals is formed year-by-year. The Chinese government effectively mastered the pace of expanding freedom to make the expansion of freedom and the increase of rights a booster for social advancement instead of a stumbling block that would interfere with social and economic development or put a drag on it. Moreover, in this way democracy in China has been expanded and more and more people are getting involved in the political process. Democracy in China has developed upwards from the grassroots level to give people more rights to participate. The public election of leaders has enabled more people to express their opinions over the appointment of officials while the development of internal Party democracy has given Party members more rights to democracy. All these human rights realized in a gradual way will combine together to become comprehensive advancement.

VI.Actively participating in international cooperation on human rights while defending sovereignty

After the Cold War, Western countries shifted their focal point of human rights diplomacy from the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries to developing countries. China has been the major target of their human rights criticism. As a developing country, China is now the only existing socialist country and naturally has become the human rights target for Western countries. China strongly opposes Western countries’ interference in its internal affairs in the name of human rights issues. Even if Western countries collude to impose diplomatic isolation and economic sanctions on China, China will never waiver from its position and principle on human rights. China holds that human rights are essentially a sovereign issue. Human rights protection should be realized first through legislation within a country. China considers sovereignty itself a crucial human right and the basis on which other human rights are built. Without sovereignty, there will be no human rights. China has successfully withstood the pressure imposed by Western countries in the name of human rights issues and has waged tit-for-tat struggles against their sanctions and isolation effortsin order to effectively defend its sovereignty.[page]

While defending its sovereignty, China has also actively participated in consolidating international cooperation on human rights. China deems it the responsibility of all human beings to promote and protect human rights and regards such international cooperation as an important way to promote human rights development in the world. Each country should carry out conversations and cooperation and learn from each other based on the principles of equality and mutual respect in order to pursue common advancement. In recent years, China has carried out various dialogues, exchange and cooperation with Western countries like the EU countries, Canada, the UK, Norway, Sweden, the USA, Australia and developing countries including African ones. These dialogues and cooperation can advance mutual understanding and help achieve consensus among countries. It is of great importance to the sound development of international human rights.

China respects the purposes and principles of promoting and protecting human rights stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations, supports the efforts the United Nations has made to realize this aim, and has actively participated in UN activities regarding human rights. After the restoration of the lawful rights of the PRC in the United Nations in 1971, China has taken a constructive role in discussions about human rights in conferences held by the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee and the United Nations Economic and Social Council. China also attended conferences of the United NationsHuman Rights Commission as an observer for two consecutive years beginning in 1979. In 1981, China was elected a member of the United Nations Human Rights Commission and its membership continues to the present day. Since 2006 when the United Nations Human Rights Council replaced the Human Rights Commission, China has been elected one of the council’s member states each time. The Chinese government values the importance of international documents on human rights and has now signed 27 such conventions, in addition to its practical measures in performing obligations. China boasts good cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and has received the commissioneron visits to China many times. Furthermore, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed between China and the UN. In cooperation with the UN, China has also held a series of seminars and follow-up activities like the Seminar on Punishment for Minor Crimes, the Seminar on Human Rights and Police, and the Seminar on Human Rights Education.[page]

Through international cooperation on human rights, China has quickly stepped into the mainstream of international human rights development and promoted the development of human rights in the country. The international human rights system with the UN at the core has developed a set of regulations and principles on human rights that has been internationally recognized, which is of great value to China in developing its human rights. Taking performing the obligations stipulated in international conventions as an opportunity, China has continuously promoted the normalization of human rights protection and introduced relevant concepts and terms in a series of domestic legislation. All these measures have made Chinese society more aware of human rights and related concepts. In its conversation and exchange with other countries, China has continuously promoted the mainstreaming and legalization of human rights protection to achieve development synchronized with that of the international community.

(The author LI Yunlong is Director of the International Relations Research Office of the Institute of International Strategic Studies of the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC.)

1. Zhao Ziyang, Advancing Along the Road of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: Selected Important Documents Since the 13th National Congress of CPC (I), People’s Publishing House,1991,p.16.

2. The Outline of the National Plan for Medium and Long-Term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020), Website of the Ministry of Education.