CHEN Shiqiu*

 

China has developed its own views on human rights and pursued its own path of human rights development in light of the UN Charter principles, its national conditions, and its experience over many years. Human rights in China have scored remarkable achievements. The Chinese perspective on human rights and the Chinese path of human rights development has become a shining example for the whole world.

 

 

The Party places “respecting and protecting human rights” as its main purpose and goal and has written it into the Party Constitution. 

 

It proves that the Communist Party of China believes that the goal of the Chinese revolution and construction is highly consistent with the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which both aim at pursuing the full realization of human rights. From the moment of its birth, the goal of the Communist Party of China has been to fight for freedom, justice, democracy and human rights for the Chinese people. These most plain and essential contents remained unchanged. The written language of these contents is keeping pace with the times and has met the needs of different historical stages and different historical periods. With the deepening of China’s reform and development, at the turn of the century, as conflicts in the area of rights, interests and social benefits of the people grow more complex than before, the protection of human rights has been given greater priority in the policy of the Communist Party of China. Regarding its ruling goal and mission, at its 15th National Congress in 1997, the Communist Party of China stated that it attached equal importance to “ensuring that the people enjoy extensive rights and freedoms endowed by law, and respecting and guaranteeing human rights.” It also stated it would “lead and support the people in exercising the power of running the state, holding democratic elections, making policy decisions in a democratic manner, instituting democratic management and supervision.”[page]

 

Since then, every session of the Party Congress has solemnly reaffirmed the undertaking of “respecting and protecting human rights.” In 2004, through the advocacy and recommendation of the Communist Party of China, the statement, “the State respects and protects human rights,” was included in the Constitution of the PRC, which every Chinese person must abide by. Subsequently, at the 17th CPC National Congress, “respecting and protecting human rights” was writteninto the Party’s constitution as a programmatic oath of the Party. These actions have proved beyond all doubt that with the deepening and development of China’s socialist reform and construction, the Party and the country have placed much more attention on human rights.

 

In November 2012, the 18th CPC National Congress opened a new era of deepening reform in an all-round way and striving to achieve the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. A clarion call has been sounded for the full realization of the two “century goals” and the building up of a socialist country under the rule of law with clear-cut objectives  anda firmer determination to “respect and protect human rights.”It is no doubt that the conviction and aspiration of the full realization of human rights are included in the process of striving to achieve the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the nation.

 

 

China never denies the universality of human rights, but believes, as do the vast number of developing countries, that they also have particularity, and these two natures are unified and indivisible.

 

The universality of human rights comprises three perspectives: First, the universality of human rights subjects. Every natural person is the subject of human rights, and it is no exception that everyone deserves human rights; Secondly, the universality of the basic principle and content of human rights. Civil rights, political rights, economic rights, social rights, cultural rights, individual rights, collective rights are all included in the human rights accepted by the international community. All human rights are interdependent, indivisible and correlated with each other. Thirdly, the universality of responsibilities and obligations. Regardless of political and legal system, ideology, religious background, civilization, culture, history or level of development, countries all over the world all promise and accept the belief in protecting and promoting human rights.[page]

 

Theparticularity of human rights means that to realize the aim of people enjoying human rights, due consideration must be given to the national characteristics, geographic features and different backgrounds of history, culture and religion of different countries. Namely, the realization of human rights must be in accord with national conditions. We cannot require all countries to adopt the same policies on the basis of the universality of human rights. Moreover, we cannot letcertain countries or groups impose their own views on human rights and human rights models, which are often claimed to be “universal principles accepted by the international community,” on other countries. We Chinese people recognize both the universality and particularity of human rights, and oppose that some countries always brand its outlook on human rights as “universal values” and impose those on others. The universality of human rights cannot be misinterpreted, nor can it become the tool of politics.
 

Based on the above, with the combination of the universality of human rights and China’s national conditions, China has already worked out a series of practicable strategies, policies and measures in the field of human rights. China also regards human rights undertakings as an important component of socialist construction and its Five-year Plan, establishing and implementing the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010) and National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2012-2015). Chinese people’s belief in the full enjoyment of human rights will go together with the glorious goals of building a moderately prosperous society and the realization of the great rejuvenation of Chinese nation. 

 

 

In light of its history, culture, tradition and development level, China has established its own human rights model and made the right to subsistence and the right to development as the primary human rights without neglecting all other human rights. However, a large population and weak per capita resources remain the national conditions for China. China accounts for 23 percent of the world’s population and 7 percent of the world’s arable land. The annual net population growth in China reaches 75 million , which is nearly the same as the total population of a mid-sized European state. Besides, China’s economy and culture remain underdeveloped. Faced with such conditions, it’s quite natural for China to take the rights to subsistence and development as its priorities. And that is also the most reasonable and humane and also the best option for the Chinese people. There are still some critics who say that China only attaches importance to economic, social and cultural rights but not political and civil rights. This is a very narrow-minded view. Actually, the right to subsistence includes many other rights in addition to the right to live. The right to live does not only include the right to life and maintaining the lowest standard of keeping a roof over our heads. We human beings not only need to live,but also need to live with grace and dignity. Moreover, we need to constantly improve our level of material and spiritual enjoyment,as well as health and culture. The right to development is a combination of individual rights and collective rights.[page]

 

International human rights instruments have explicitly defined the right to development as “an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development.” It is ill-founded in theory and not based on fact to hold that China values collective human rights rather than individual ones. China’s practice has been proven to best suit the actual conditions of China, has yielded fruitful results, and has satisfied the Chinese people. Human rights represent the will, aspirations and demands of the people; therefore, the people’s contentment is the sole criterion for judgment.

 

 

The Communist Party of China, as the ruling party, constitutes the core of leadership for the country’s human rights protection system, and shoulders major responsibility for protecting human rights together with the people’s government. In accordance with the constitutional principle of “the State respects and preserves human rights,” the overall strategic objectives and policy orientation of the Communist Party of China and the people’s government are better at meeting the people’s expectations, satisfying their demands and protecting their interests, thus providing firm political and policy guarantees for China’s human rights cause. “The State respects and protects human rights” has not only been written into the Constitution of the Communist Party of China, but also embedded in the Party’s guidelines, principles and policies, and expressed in its practical actions and implementation.

 

China’s National People’s Congress system protects human rights at both the national political system level and legal system level. As the highest organ of state power and the nation’s highest legislature, the National People’s Congress represents the essence that the people are masters of the state. The people can fully enjoy all human rights through exercising their power of management, legislation and supervision. [page]

 

The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference is a unique institution of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Patriots without party affiliation, people’s organizations, as well as representatives from all ethnic groups, religious circles, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), Macao SAR and Taiwan are all participants. The CPPCC institution is broadly representative in organization and has great political inclusiveness, which reflects the great unity of the Chinese nation. On the basis of democratic consultation, the CPPCC can reflect social conditions and public opinion, hold consultations and discussions, perform its functions of political participation, supervision, criticism and advice. Therefore, the CPPCC institution is another important guarantee for consultative democracy and human rights protection in China.

 

In China, human rights have a cast-iron guarantee through the rule of law. A characteristic of China’s human rights cause is that in accordance with the law, the people enjoy and exercise human rights; the government protects and promotes human rights. In other words, China uses the law to protect human rights and the exercise of human rights should also comply with the law. Full enjoyment of human rights is the people’s ideal, goal and inherent right. However, to make these inherent rights practical they must first be made legal rights. Therefore, the rule of law is a necessary guarantee for the full enjoyment of human rights. China’s legal guarantee of human rights has been continually strengthened with the deepening of economic and political system reform and has established a legal guarantee system for human rights with the Constitution at the core. A variety of laws and regulations concerning human rights protection have been drawn up or improved, which protect all human rights in accordance with the law and provide laws for the punishment and sanction of behaviors that violate human rights. The Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on Certain Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Advancing the Law-Based Governance of China, approved at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in October 2014, is a declaration to accelerate our efforts to build a law-based government and a mobilization order for strengthening the law-based guarantee of human rights. The Resolution points out that “we must persist in the fact that construction of the rule of law is for the people and relies on the people, for the purpose of the benefit and protection of the people; the starting point and ultimate objective of the construction of the rule of law is to protect the fundamental interests of the people so that they can both enjoy broad rights and freedom and fulfill their obligations; the construction of the rule of law will promote social equality and justice, and contribute to common prosperity.” We can boldly assert that the cause of comprehensively advancing the law-based governance of China will bring about the bright prospect of comprehensive protection of human rights in accordance with law. [page]

 

That the government and civil society work together to protect human rights is another characteristic of China’s human rights protection system. The State, national and local governments and officials shoulder the primary responsibility for protecting human rights. Civil society also plays an indispensable role in the national human right protection system, in which NGOs, civil groups and academic and research institutions are all active participants. These participants use their own means to promote and protect human rights, by communicating with governmental entities and authorities, conducting consultations, counseling, proposing advice as well as conducting education and training on human rights. Their contribution to the cause of promoting and protecting human rights is appreciated by the government, and the government encourages and supports civil society in making more contributions. The government and civil society work together with good interactions, full understanding and mutual trust. They closely cooperate but do not confront each other. 

 

 

China firmly believes that human rights are essentially internal affairs of sovereign states and opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs on the pretext of human rights. Every country has the right to decide its own political, economic, social and legal system, and its development model that includes the development path of human rights, in which foreign countries have no right to interfere. Primary responsibility for human rights protection rests with the country’s national government. International protection of human rights has to comply strictly with the stipulations of the UN Charter. No country should abuse “humanitarian interventions” or interfere in sovereign states’ internal affairs in the name of “responsibility to protect,” incite and support “color revolutions” or change the legitimately elected government. 

 

 

China has always been a strong advocate and exemplary practitioner of constructive international cooperation, and has taken the initiative to contribute to the sound development of the global cause of human rights. China always participates actively in international human rights activities, sticking to principles and truth, upholding and promoting justice, faithfully fulfilling the obligations prescribed in international human rights instruments, which makes China a righteous force for human rights that supports good and eliminates evil under the UN system. Thanks to the determined persistence and active promotion of China and other righteous forces, unhealthy practices like politicization, double standards, directive selection and persecution, which prevailed for a time in UN human rights work, have been contained or reversed to a certain extent; at the same time, equal consultation dialogue and cooperation have become more popular practices. China advocates that countries should conduct constructive dialogue, consultation, exchange and cooperation on the basis of equality, mutual trust and respect so as to broaden common ground, reduce differences, establish mutual trust, bridge gaps, expand understanding and promote cooperation. China has earnestly practiced what it advocates and has conducted fruitful bilateral dialogues and exchanges in the field of human rights on a regular basis with the European Union and many countries bilaterally, including both developed and developing countries. [page]

 

The human rights outlook with Chinese characteristics takes a clear-cut stand and has distinctive features. The clear-cut stand is based on the fact that it is a human rights outlook of a socialist country under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. The distinctive features lie in its unique stand and ideas on many critical issues, which does not mean that it completely goes its own way. China’s socialist values do not conflict with the globally recognized conception of human rights, but have much in common. China’s development path for human rights has broad and bright prospects. Practices have proven that socialist China, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, has always been and will always be a faithful practitioner and vigorous defender of human rights. 

 

* CHEN Shiqiu(陈士球) ,vice president of the China Society for Human Rights Studies.