Keywords:  right to peace  human rights  China  Anti-Fascist War

 

Peace is the perpetual pursuit and beautiful ideal of all mankind. After the miserable sufferings during WWII, peoples’ desire of peace grow more urgent. At the commemoration of the 70thanniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Chinese president Xi Jinping said: “War is like a mirror. Looking at it helps us better appreciate the value of peace. Today, peace and development have become the prevailing trend, but the world is far from tranquil. War is the sword of Damocles that still hangs over mankind. We must learn the lessons of history and dedicate ourselves to peace. In the interest of peace, we need to foster a keen sense of a global community of shared future. Prejudice, discrimination, hatred and war can only cause disaster and suffering, while mutual respect, equality, peaceful development and common prosperity represent the right path to take.” Peace and human rights are closely intertwined. So how should we understand their correlation? How do we evaluate China’s contribution to human rights and world peace? This paper will explore these questions from the following three aspects.

 

 

Humans aspire for peace, but war never leaves us. In the recorded history of the past 3,421 years, only 268 witnessed no war¹, but human beings never stop pursuing peace.

 

After WWI, the Covenant of the League of Nations marked the international community’s first attempt to establish a collective security mechanism with the purpose of preventing future wars, safeguarding world peace and institutionalizing international cooperation. Under this Covenant, nations are under an obligation not to engage in military intervention.

 

In 1928, 63 states signed the Pact of Paris², providing for the renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy for the first time. The Pact renounced war as illegal and renounced the use of war.

 

WWII was the largest catastrophe in human history, with casualties greater than any previous wars. From Europe to Asia, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, over 2 billion people from 61 countries and regions were dragged into the war and countless historic and cultural heritages were destroyed. 

 

In the post-war world, the international community has been learning from this painful experience and exploring new approach to maintain world peace. In 1945, the United Nations was founded. Its primary mandate is to maintain international peace and security. The Preamble of the United Nations Charter sets one of its aim is “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small”, associating peace with human rights for the very first time. “Human rights” appears seven times in the Charter. Article 1 states that “to maintain international peace and security”, “to develop friendly relations among nations” and “to promote and encourage respect for human rights” are the three pillars of the United Nations. The UN is a new mechanism for the protection of world peace and security and its Security Council is responsible for achieving that mandate. Principles of international law recognized in the Charter are the great intellectual treasures and important guidelines for advance the mission of peace and human rights.

 

The Declaration on the Preparation of Societies for Life in Peace adopted at the UN General Assembly 1978 recognized peace as a human right, “reaffirming the right of individuals, States and all mankind to life in peace” and stating that “every nation and every human being, regardless of race, conscience, language or sex, has the inherent right to life in peace. Respect for that right, as well as for the other human rights, is in the common interest of all mankind and an indispensable condition of advancement of all nations, large and small, in all fields.”

 

In 1984, the Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace adopted by the UN General Assembly reaffirmed the right to peace as a sacred human right, solemnly proclaiming “that the peoples of our planet have a sacred right to peace”. It pointed out that arms race in all its aspects, particularly the nuclear arms race, new weapons and weapon systems are grave threats to peace. The UN was “aware that in the nuclear age the establishment of a lasting peace on Earth represents the primary condition for the preservation of human civilization and the survival of mankind.” It also declared “that the preservation of the right of peoples to peace and the promotion of its implementation constitute a fundamental obligation of each State”.³

 

On 7 September 2001, the General Assembly called in its Resolution 55/282 for the International Day of Peace to “be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence and an invitation to all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Day”. It also “invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, regional and non-governmental organizations and individuals to commemorate, in an appropriate manner, the International Day of Peace, including through education and public awareness, and to cooperate with the United Nations in the establishment of the global ceasefire.”
 

Only several decades after WWII, peace has been transformed from a human aspiration to a human right, reflecting the profound understanding of the correlation between peace and human rights and the urgent pursuit of peace in today’s world.

 

The inherent correlation between peace and human rights are reflected in the following aspects:

 

First, human rights are the foundation of peace. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that the “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”; the “disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people”; and “it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law.”

 

Human rights cannot be maintained without peace and the disregard of human rights is the root cause of war. WWII shows that nations that disrespect human rights, like the formerly Fascist States of Germany, Italy and Japan, are bound to wage wars of aggression. They established brutal dictatorial rule of their own peoples and engaged in aggression wars in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific region. Fascism not only threatened human existence but also destroyed civilizations. Reflecting on such painful lessons, the international community came to realize the close relations between peace and human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted at the General Assembly sets up the peremptory status of human rights by making the promotion and protection of human rights as one of the important mandate and guiding principle of the UN and establishing an international human rights protection mechanism.

 

Second, peace is a human right. War is the most brutal violation and severest damage to basic human rights, including the right to life, dignity, property and environment. The atrocity of Fascism is a vivid example. The Japanese Aggression Army trampled on the sovereignty and territory of China, they employed the “Three Alls Policy” (kill all, burn all and loot all), murdered Chinese civilians and soldiers, exploited forced labor, raped women, used germ and chemical weapons and committed numerous outrageous and inhumane crimes like the Nanking Massacre. The victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War is the victory of justice and human rights, which will have long-lasting impact on the value of human rights.

 

The blood and fire of WWII warned us that human rights and peace are intertwined and inseparable. To hold dear the aspiration for peace is not enough. Aspiration must be transformed into sacred rights to protect our life in peace and prevent the tragedy of war from repeating itself. Peace is indispensably significant to human existence and welfare. It is the inevitable choice for us to make peace a human right if we want to maintain peace and advance human civilization. As an important part of the third-generation human rights, the right to peace is receiving more attention and support and its protection mechanism is up and evolving.

 

Today, the United Nations’ peace agenda is based on the respect and protection of human rights, aiming at preventing conflicts, reaching peaceful settlements, and creating and safeguarding peace. For instance, the UN Peacekeeping programs employ emergency or long-term operations to protect and improve human rights; in addition to protecting the human right of individuals and their right to appeal, the UN Peacekeeping programs also advance legal, judicial, public security and prison reforms, while strengthening the state’s ability to safeguard the rule of law and human rights. The respect and protection of human rights will create a new world with perpetual peace.

 

Third, international peace is the premise of the protection of human rights. The peaceful and secure international environment is the fundamental for human rights. Today, peace has already become an irresistible trend of our time. However, regional wars and conflicts happen every now and now. Some people even denied the aggression during WWII and attempted to overthrow justice. In the complicated and ever-changing international context of hegemonism, power politics, terrorism, frontier disputes and other hotspot issues, all these conflicts and disputes poses grave threats to peace and people’s livelihood.

 

After two world wars, people aspire for peace more than ever. They understand that there is no peace without human rights; maintaining peace means safeguarding human rights. History has taught us that to love peace and to protect human rights are the shared responsibility and obligation of the international community.

 

 

The victory of the China’s contribution to the world Anti-Fascist War is not possible without the arduous efforts and hard fight of the Anti-Fascist Allies and all the peace-loving people. As a crucial battlefield in the war, the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression was supported by the USSR, the United States, the United Kingdom and other allies. Inspired by the Anti-Japanese National Front led by the Communist Party of China (CPC), Chinese people of all ethnicities, non-Communist parties, anti-Japanese groups, patriots from all walks of life and overseas Chinese, with solidarity and bravery, finally achieved the great victory of the Anti-Aggression War. This is a war of national liberation as well as the first complete victory over foreign aggressors in China’s modern history. China, as one of the four major Anti-Fascist nations and one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, made great contribution to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War.

 

 

The Word’s Anti-Fascist war began in China. On September 18, 1931, Japanese troops invaded the northeastern region of China and established its puppet state of Manchukuo. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugouqiao Incident on July 7, 1937 marked the start of the full scale Japanese invasion of China. China was the first country in the world to declare war against Fascist aggression. China’s War of Resistance opened the first large-scale Anti-Fascist battlefield in the eastern front. The fourteen-year long war claimed the lives of over 35 million Chinese soldiers and civilians. 

 

China’s War of Resistance could influence the fate of the World Anti-Fascist war, making it one of the critical battlefields at that time.⁴

 

China, as the main battlefield of the World Anti-Fascist war in the eastern front, not only disrupted Germany, Japan and Italy’s strategic plan but also supported the Allies to defeat the Fascist enemies one by one.

 

By occupying 60% of the Japanese ground force and 40% of its navy, China’s War of Resistance contained Japan’s northward and southward invasion plans and protected the USSR on the north and the Pacific islands on the south. China played a strategic role for the Allies.⁵

 

Before the outbreak of European hostilities in 1939 and the United States entered the Anti-Fascist War in 1941, China had already been fighting against Japanese aggressors for several years. Following the Anti-Comintern Pact, the Fascist Axis signed a series of pacts of “mutual aid and cooperation”, hoping to further collude and seeking strategic synergy. The history of WWII proved that the political and military alliance of the Axis failed to achieve its intended effect, in particular the alliance between Germany and Japan. One of the main reasons is that China’s sustained fight contained Japan’s northward and southward invasions, prevented Axis’s joint military action, and thwarted Germany’s plan to invade the USSR and take over the Middle East. On May 27, 1941, President Roosevelt spoke highly of the strategic role and significance of China’s War of Resistance, saying that Hitler's plan of world domination would be near its accomplishment today, were it not for the magnificent defense of China.⁶

 

China's greatest contribution to the World Anti-Fascist War was the successfully crushing of Japan’s plan, whose the original purpose of which was to conquer China in the short term for the domination of Asia.  The Chinese people achieved this under extremely difficult conditions and relying on their own. Thanks to this, the substantive establishment of Fascist Military Alliance was greatly slowed. 

 

However, for a long time, the role and function of China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression failed to be appropriately recognized and appreciated. In his book "Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937-1945", RanaMitter, Director of the Center for Chinese Studies at Oxford University, points out that: “For decades, our understanding of that global conflict has failed to give a proper account of the role of China.” He further points out that if we want a correct view of that history, we have to “restore China to its place as one of the four principal wartime Allies, alongside the US, Russia, and Britain.”⁷

 

Meanwhile, China's protracted war of resistance forced Japan to abandon plans of invading the USSR, creating conditions the latterthat prevented Japan from to avoid fighting on two fronts. Although Germany launched the war against the USSR in June 1941 and urged Japan to take concerted action and use force against the USSR in the Far East, Japan was just not able to dispatch troops to complete that. There are many reasons for this, and a significant one among them is that Japan’s plan was delayed by the Chinese People's War of Resistance, which contained and eliminated a large number of Japanese troops, ensuring that the USSR and Britain could concentrate on dealing with Germany. The Secretary of the British Association of Veterans of World War II who participated in the Normandy landings, Veteran Bartz, said that China's role in World War II was evident for all to see, as the Chinese army effectively withstood the powerful offensive from Japanese fascists, greatly easing the pressure on World Anti-Fascist Alliance so that Britain, France and the United States could concentrate on fighting with Hitler's army. If Japan had quickly occupied China and formed a joint force with German fascist forces, then the result of World War II would be unimaginable. “China's contribution to the victory of the World Anti-fascist War is so much that the history will be rewritten without China's active participation and energetic fight.”⁸

 

Furthermore, the Chinese Anti-Japanese Aggression War paid a great cost to ensure the implementation of Allies’ strategy--"Europe Prior to Asia", laying the foundation for victory in the war against fascism. As for the "Europe Prior to Asia" strategy adopted by the United States, Soviet Union, Britain and other countries during World War II, it has been highly praised by all the relevant parties, yet a significant reason for its successful implementation iswas the tenacious persistence displayed by China’s Anti-Japanese Aggression War. Chinese Communist leaders, including Mao Zedong, spoke highly of this strategy and expressed support. Thus, with almost no foreign aid and scarce weapons and equipment, Chinese people managed to persist in fighting against Japanese, showing no concession or discouragement in the adverse living environment and withstanding major attacks from Japan for the long term. Practice shows that the process of implementing the strategy "Europe Prior to Asia" is also the process of China making great sacrifices and paying the price. 

 

 

In 1940, Germany, Italy and Japan signed the "Treaty of Triplye Alliance", and the Chinese government immediately offered to the United States and Britain to form an alliance against Japan. Though rejected, the Chinese proposal promoted the United States and Britain to transform their policy from appeasement to counter. In 1942, countries against aggression, headed by the United States, Britain, the USSR and China, declared the Declaration by United Nations and the World Anti-Fascist Alliance was finally established. After this establishment, China embarked from the overall situation and sought for common ground while reserving differences to resolve conflicts and maintain unity. At the same time, China did a lot of mediation work over the differences among the United States, Britain and the USSR and has maintained the solidarity and consolidation of the World Anti-fascist Alliance.  

 

 

Chinese people once supported the USSR and even sent troops into Myanmar to directly join in the Alliance operations. Meanwhile, the Chinese battlefield was also a significant rear base and a military intelligence base in the Asia Pacific region. 

 

China’s direct support for the USSR. As soon as the Soviet-German war broke out, on the following day, Mao Zedong immediately expressed the just stand of the Chinese people to firmly support the Soviet people. During 1931-1937, when China was in a difficult situation fighting against the Japanese invasion, China had maintained trade relations with the USSR, providing a variety of goods and exporting large quantities of minerals, livestock and agricultural products. 

 

China entering into Myanmar to fight with the Alliance. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Japanese troops swept through Southeast Asia, and the Allies suffered successive defeats in this region. On January 21, 1942, Churchill stated in a telegram: "If we lose Myanmar, the result will be catastrophic, because it will cut us off from Chinese people, whose troops are probably the most successful among all the armies at war with the Japanese."⁹ In this case, Britain requested China to send troops to support them. Although under extremely difficult conditions of the domestic resistance war, China still sent an expeditionary force composed of about 10 million people from the fifth, sixth and sixty-sixth army, who made an emergent entrance into Myanmar to support British operations. Chinese Expeditionary Army fought a bloody war, imposed repeated setbacks to the enemy and achieved a series of major victories. In this Myanmar battle, China had invested more than 300,000 troops in over 3 years, totally eliminating more than 60,000 Japanese troops and making significant contribution in liberating the people of Southeast Asia. 

 

China’s battlefield iswas a significant rear base and military intelligence base for the Alliance in Asia-Pacific region. After the Pacific War broke out, China’s battlefield became the Air Force Bbase for Alliance armies targeting Japan and the base for Alliance to counterattack and to attack the Japanese mainland in Asia-Pacific battlefield. During that time, China provided the required air base and the first line of field airdrome and ground crew for the United States. In order to build and protect the airport, China spent a lot of manpower, material and financial resources. In addition, Chinese soldiers and civilians also actively rescued American pilots and until the spring of 1945, more than 70 US pilots had been rescued by Chinese. 

 

The Communist Party of China also provided a wealth of valuable intelligence information to the USSR, such as when the CPC Central Committee obtained information that Hitler would launch an attack on the USSR on June 22, 1941, they immediately conveyed this important information to the Soviet intelligence group who were staying in Yan'an. After the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, the USSR, in the name of Voroshilov, sent a telegram to Commander-in-chief Zhu De to express gratitude.

 

 

In 2014, President Xi Jinping pointed out that "In the magnificent process of Chinese people's War Against Japanese Aggression, the great Anti-Aggression spirit has been formed and the Chinese people showed the patriotism of everyone being responsible for the fate of his country, the national integrity of facing death unflinchingly and choosing death over dishonor, the heroism with no fear of violence and fighting till the end, and the triumphalism with perseverance and persistence.”¹⁰

 

The Anti-Aggression spirit of the Chinese People, has spurred people all over the world, enjoying global significance. More than 70 years ago, in the case of extraordinary strength disparity, China has never submitted to the powerful opponents but eventually defeated the invaders through indomitable struggle. This great spirit has not only made an outstanding contribution to the World Anti-Fascist War, but also encouraged countries from Asia, Africa, the Third World and other areas to make unremitting efforts for national independence and liberation. The Oxford University professor RanaMitter said, "If we wish to understand the role of China in today’s global society, we would do well to remind ourselves of the tragic, titanic struggle which that country waged in the 1930s and 1940s not just for its own national dignity and survival, but for the victory of all the Allies, west and east, against some of the darkest forces that history has ever produced."¹¹

 

 

The United Nations is the product of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. And China is one of the earliest advocates for the United Nations. In 1943, China, the United States, Britain and the USSR signed the "Declaration On Common Security" in Moscow, announcing plans to build international organization after the war. In 1944, during the Oaks Conference in Washington, the Chinese delegation submitted an Abridged Basic Elements of Charter for the International Organization and comprehensively expounded China's proposition for the Charter of the forthcoming establishment of the United Nations, putting forward seven additional recommendations, and three of which were adopted. China has also firmly stood on the position of the weaker countries, asked the United Nations to act against colonial rule and implement the principle of national equality and national self-determination. In 1945, the United Nations convened the Constituent Assembly when China became one of the rotating presidency and made a positive contribution to formulating the UN Charter. In the same year, China acted as a permanent member of the United Nations and started to fulfill responsibilities. China is also the founding member of International Monetary Fund, World Bank and General Agreement on Tariff and Trade, doing its utmost in promoting the establishment of a new world economic order.¹²

 

 

The Chinese nation is a peace-loving nation, whose harmonious culture has fostered the peace-loving temperament of the Chinese nation. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the Chinese left an old saying: "A great power will certainly fail if it becomes belligerent." And the Confucianism advocates "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you", while the Mohism calls for "non-offensive". As for Lao Zi, whose anti-war thinking is particularly prominent, he believes that “weapons are ominous and people dislike them, so a man of noble character will not use it”. “People who assist their monarch in accordance with the principle of Tao, do not resort to forces to demonstrate their strength. Exhausting the troops and engaging in war is bound to pay the price. When the army arrives, thorns will spread. When a fierce war is over, famine will appear.” These ideas have deeply influenced the thinking and behavior of the Chinese nation, becoming important values for Chinese to deal with the interpersonal relationship, the relationship between man and nature and even the interstate relations.

 

The world-renowned "Silk Road" is more than a trade route, but a road of culture and peace, engraving Chinese ancients’ historical footprints of pursuing friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation with people of all countries. The famous Chinese navigator Zheng He of Ming Dynasty, captained a fleet of more than twenty thousand people and made “seven westward voyages”, traveling across over thirty countries and areas and reaching as far as the east coast of Africa and the Red Sea coast, but never leaving any record of colonization or invasion of any country on this Maritime Silk Road. On the contrary, they have displayed brilliant Chinese civilization and advanced technology, leaving the peace and friendship there. As the British philosopher Bertrand Russell said: "I notice a definitely superiority to ourselves in Chinese practice. There is much less desire than among the white races to tyrannize over other people. The weakness of China internationally is quite as much due to this virtue as to the vices of corruption and so on which are usually assigned as the sole reason. If any nation in the world could ever be ‘too proud to fight,’ that nation would be China. The natural Chinese attitude is one of tolerance and friendliness, showing courtesy and expecting it in return… Although there have been many wars in China, the natural outlook of the Chinese is very pacifistic.”¹³

 

The Chinese people have deeply felt the value of peace from its painful suffering from war and poverty in modern times. Since the founding of People's Republic of China, China has been pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace and has properly handled issues left over by history, actively improved relations with neighboring countries and made great efforts to safeguard world peace and regional stability.

 

In 1953, Premier Zhou Enlai at the meeting with the Indian Government delegation, first proposed the Five Principles of “Mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence”. In 1955, the five principles were written into the Joint Communique of Bandung Conference. China has been unswervingly adhering to the Five Principles and trying to break the barriers of ideology while actively developing friendly relations with other countries. The incorporation of Five Principles into Chinese constitution has indicated China's determination to maintain the cause of world peace. On the basis of the Five Principles, China is committed to developing friendly cooperation with all countries. For developed countries, China tries to strengthen strategic dialogues, enhance strategic mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and properly handle differences with them, exploring the establishment and development of new pattern of relationship between great powers to promote long-term, stable and healthy development of mutual relations. Moreover, China adheres to the policy of treating neighbors well as partners to remain friendly neighboring relations, developing friendly and cooperative relations with neighboring countries and other Asian countries. At the same time, China has been actively carrying out bilateral and regional cooperation to jointly create a peaceful and stable regional environment with equality, mutual trust and win-win cooperation.    

  

As the world's most populous developing country, China is making contributions to the cause of human rights and the cause of world peace by managing its own affairs well. Since the reform and opening up, China has paid further attention to human rights protection and incorporated the contenttenent ”the state respects and safeguards human rights” into the Constitution. Based on the Constitution, China has strengthened the legislation of human rights protection and established the basic protection system of civil rights, political rights, social-economic and cultural rights. In addition, China has made two significant National Human Rights Action Plans, which represent not only a solemn commitment made by the Chinese government in the field of human rights, but also a systematic deployment based on the important exploration of developing characteristics and patterns of China’s human rights cause. China has also actively and steadily pushed forward political reform, enriched the forms of democracy and continuously safeguarded and expanded democratic rights of citizens. In 2014, seventeen years after the Strategy of Ruling the Country by Law determined, the Fourth plenary session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made a new strategic deployment of focusing on accelerating the construction of the socialist country ruled by law and opened a new chapter in protecting human rights under the rule of law. Today, China has successfully made a human rights development path that is in line with its own national conditions, and there is a stable China standing in the East safeguarding human rights with the rule of law, which is China’s great contribution to human rights and peace of the world.

 

Internationally, China has earnestly implemented the UN Millennium Development Goals and become the only country in the world which achieved halving its poverty ahead of schedule. China is a member of the UN Human Rights Council, and it has actively ratified 27 UN international human rights conventions and has seriously submitted implementation reports. 

 

China has actively carried out Foreign Aids according to its capability. By the end of 2009, China has totally provided assistance of 256.3 billion yuan to 161 countries, more than 30 international and regional organizations, abated 380 debts for 50 heavily indebted poor countries and the least developed countries, trained 120,000 people for developing countries and sent a total of 21,000 medical-team members and nearly 10,000 teachers for foreign aid. China has actively promoted the least developed countries to expand exports to China, and promised the zero-tariff treatment to 95% of exports to China from the least developed countries that have diplomatic relations with China.  

 

Safeguarding world peace and promoting common development is the purpose of China's foreign policy. China has initiated and beenhas committed to working along with other countries to promote the establishment of a harmonious world with lasting peace and common prosperity. China, as one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, has been actively promoting the peaceful settlement of international conflicts.  

 

Since 1990, China has actively participated in the UN peacekeeping forces, sending all categories of personnel of more than 20,000 people for over 30 United Nations peacekeeping operations, and it is one of permanent members of the UN Security Council who have sent the most peacekeepers the United Nations. The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, Alain Le Roy said: "China's peacekeepers have shown immense dedication to work, great professionalism and strict discipline. They have successfully completed tasks assigned by the UN and made a real contribution to promoting peaceful settlement of disputes, safeguarding regional security and stability and expediting the national economic and social development.”¹⁴

 

China is the only nuclear state who has been publicly committed to no first use of nuclear weapons, no nuclear use or threat of use towards non-nuclear-weapon states or non-nuclear area. And China supports non-proliferation activities advocated by the United Nations, agrees that nuclear-weapon states should prohibit and thoroughly eliminate nuclear weapons as soon as possible. Moreover, China proposes the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of biological and chemical weapons and the prevention of the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and their means of delivery. China has always kept the quantity and size of the armed forces within the minimum degree of safeguarding national security. Since the mid-1980s, China has repeatedly initiated unilateral disarmament. On September 3, 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping again announced disarmament of 300,000 troops.

 

A constructive role has been played by China in dealing with international and regional hotspot issues, including insisting the promotion of peace talks on such issues, such as the DPRK nuclear issue and the Iranian nuclear issue, as well as promoting the formation of six-party talks mechanism concerning the DPRK nuclear issue. China has solved the border issues left over from history with 12 continental neighboring countries, adhered to the principle of settling territorial and maritime rights and interests disputes through dialogue and negotiations, proposed the idea of "putting aside disputes and seeking common development" with a constructive stance and done its utmost to safeguard the peace and stability of South China Sea, East China Sea and the surrounding areas. Through bilateral cooperation and participation in regional and sub-regional cooperation, China has been committed to promoting common development and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region.¹⁵

 

In the international fight against terrorism, China has played a positive role. In recent years, the People's Liberation Army, in conjunction with other countries’ troops as well as alone in the mainland, has held various "counter-terrorism" exercises in different sizes and forms, which has again demonstrated China’s position and attitude against terrorism, declaring its determination and confidence to combat terrorism.

 

On July 7, 2014, during his speech of commemorating the 77th anniversary of the National-wide Anti-Japanese Aggression War, President Xi Jinping pointed out that: “Chinese people have profound memories of the suffering from war and the tireless pursuit of peace. Looking through the world history, aggression and expansion by force is ultimately bound to fail, which is a law of history. China will unswervingly take the road of peaceful development, and China hopes that all the countries in the world can take the road of peaceful development together, letting the peace sunshine shining on the planet of human life.” “We must never forget history, cherish the memory of martyrs and the peace and maintain alert to the future, unswervingly taking the road of peaceful development and safeguarding world peace.”¹⁶ On September 17, 2015, in a congratulations letter to “2015? Beijing Forum on Human Rights”, President Xi Jinping again stressed that: “China will unswervingly take the road of peaceful development and unflinchingly push forward the human rights cause of both China and the world”.

 

In today's international community, peace instead of war is the prevailing trend and people’s desire. China will remain on the road of peaceful development and always be a staunch force for safeguarding world and regional peace and stability. China’s fate is closely linked with the fate of the world. Looking back at history and forward into the future, we firmly believe that China is bound to make greater contribution to safeguarding world peace and promoting human rights development.

 

* Zhang Xiaoling(张晓玲), Deputy Director of the Teaching and Research Department of Politics and Law, Director of the Research Center for Human Rights, Party School of the Central Committee of CPC; 

 

Liu Peien（刘沛恩）, Student, Graduate School, Party School of the Central Committee of CPC.

 

1. Will Durant, The Lessons of History,Beijing: China Fangzheng, Chengdu: Sichuan People’s Publishing House, 2015, at 43.

 

2. Pact of Paris, or Kellogg – Briand Pact is the first international law renouncing the use of war as an instrument of national policy.
 

Article 1: The High Contracting Parties solemnly declare in the names of their respective peoples that they condemn recourse to war for the solution of international controversies, and renounce it, as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another.
 

Article 2: The High Contracting Parties agree that the settlement or solution of all disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them, shall never be sought except by pacific means.

 

3. "International Day of Peace," UN News Center. UN. Web. Oct. 15, 2015.

 

4. Peng Xunhou,The Warning of History: The End and Lessons of WWII, Beijing: National Defense University Press, 2015, at 78.

 

5. Yuan Qing,"The Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression: International Significance of China’s Victory," People's Daily Overseas Edition. Guangming Online, 27 July 2015. At ,visited on Sept.23,2015.

 

6. "China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in the Perspective of World History," at Xinhua News, Aug. 31, 2010,,visited on Sept. 27,2015.

 

7. Yuan, Qing. "The Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression: International Significance of China’s Victory." People's Daily Overseas Edition,atGuangming Online, 27 July 2015, ,visited on Sept.27,2015.

 

8. “Enormous Credit for China’s Anti-Japanese Aggression War-- The International Community Spoke Positively of China's Contribution to the Victory of the World Anti-Fascist War,”China Daily,July7, 2015, at ,visited on Sept. 29, 2015.

 

9. He Husheng, “Chiang Kai-shek in the Eight-year War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression,” In People.com.  Oct.20, 2015,at ,visited on Sept.28, 2015.

 

10. "President Xi's Address at the 69th Anniversary of the Victory of Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Aggression War and the World Anti-Fascist War," People's Daily [Beijing],September 4, 2014.

 

11. Supra note7.

 

12. Hu Dekun, Yongli Han, and DunwenPeng, China's Anti-Japanese Aggression War and World History Process. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, 2015.

 

13. Bertrand Russell, The Problem of China. Trans. Qin Yue, Shanghai: Xuelin House, 1996, at 89.

 

14. “China is Sending the Most UN Peacekeepers among All Permanent Members of the UN Security Council”,in People's Government Online, 21 November 2009, at, visited on Sept. 28,2015.

 

15. China's Peaceful Development,Beijing: State Council Information Office, 2011.

 

16. Supra note 10.