XIANGBA Pingcuo

 

Sponsored by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and the Publicity Department of the Tianjin Municipal Committee, the symposium on the Construction of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind and Global Human Rights Governance starts today at Nankai University. On behalf of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, I would like to extend my warm congratulations to the conveners of conference, and sincerely welcome all experts and scholars and other participants. At the same time, I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the experts, scholars and others who devote themselves to the study of human rights.

 

This symposium focuses on the “Construction of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind and Global Human Rights Governance", and the in-depth study of the theoretical value and the practical influence on global human rights governance of constructing a Community of Shared Future for Mankind as proposed by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China. In my view, it is very meaningful.

 

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, comrade Xi Jinping, as the core of the Central Committee of the CPC, has taken a broad and long-term view. Based on China's basic national conditions and the complicated and changeable international situation, Comrade Xi Jinping has accurately grasped the international trends shaping the destiny of mankind. He has offered deep insight into the changes in China's relations with the world and has comprehensively drawn up plans to address the overall domestic and international situation. He is carrying out great-power diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and has put forward a series of new proposals, new initiatives, new ideologies and new ideas to promote global governance. In January this year, when the President Xi gave a speech at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, he systematically and profoundly expounded on the construction of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind, which is a great proposition for the new era and was warmly received by the international community. President Xi's idea of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind not only points out the direction for addressing the current global challenges, but also proposes a program for strengthening and improving global human rights governance.

 

We have only planet, which is the shared home of all humans. People of all countries live on the same Earth and share a common destiny. The enjoyment of human rights by all, and the full enjoyment of human rights by all is the common aspiration of all peoples on this planet. The purpose of constructing a Community of Shared Future for Mankind is to make the peoples of all countries aware that they share the same homeland and to achieve win-win development through cooperation and mutual benefits. Therefore, constructing a Community of Shared Future for Mankind is necessary to actively promote the healthy development of the cause of human rights in the world. It provides an alternative and feasible new path for strengthening and improving global human rights governance.

 

President Xi's concept of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind contains a wealth of human rights connotations. On the one hand, it embodies the pursuit of human rights values. And it is not only the best expression of human goodness, but also the fruition of our common pursuit of civilization and progress. It has a strong moral force, which strengthens its appeal. It embodies the thoughts, ideologies and proposals of democracy, freedom, equality, fairness and justice, and is consistent with pursuit of these; reflecting the common aspirations of all mankind. On the other hand, the great ideology of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind embodies the spirit of times in pursuit of the development of human rights. It is a concrete manifestation of the right to live, the right to health, the right to security as well as the right to development in a peaceful and clean and beautiful world. It reflects the direction in which human rights are developing around the world and brings us closer together by moving in a, coordinated, balanced, inclusive and sustainable direction. 

 

President Xi's proposal for all countries to build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind promotes the development of global human rights governance in a just and rational way. For thousands of years, human society has made unremitting efforts to achieve greater awareness of the need to protect human rights, and has made great achievements in the bid to enable everyone to enjoy their fundamental rights. But we are also soberly aware that today's world is still unfair and overwhelmingly irrational, and international human rights protection remains a challenge. Local conflicts have occurred at times. Terrorism, refugee crises, climate change and other non-traditional security threats and issues continue to spread. Meanwhile, development remains unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable. The political tendency of human rights is still outstanding. The United States and other Western countries are still pursuing double standards on human rights and implementing human rights hegemony. The protection of basic human rights is still a serious challenge. The existing international governance model and human rights protection mechanism have been unable to fully guarantee the basic human rights of people in all countries. In this context, the idea of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind offers a Chinese way of solving many serious problems in today's international community. (It is also evident that it is shouldering its responsibility as a great power.) From a long-term perspective, the idea of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind has important guiding significance for the development and improvement of global human rights governance, and for promoting the healthy and sustainable development of the international human rights cause.

 

President Xi’s proposal that countries construct a Community of Shared Future for Mankind has greatly raised China’s influence in the international human rights discourse. Over the years, the international discourse on human rights has been dominated by the United States and other Western countries, and public opinion on international human rights has basically been one sided. In January this year, when President Xi delivered his speech at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, his proposal for countries to work together to build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind received widespread praise and an enthusiastic response from the international community. Some people believe that China has offered the possibility of abandoning the law of the jungle, not engaging in hegemony and going beyond a zero-sum game, which opens up a new road of development for human civilization; on featuring win-win cooperation, co-construction and sharing. This is an unprecedented creation and a great creation for a change in the global mindset. It is also in this context that President Xi Jinping's proposal that countries build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind has been included in three United Nations resolutions, which makes it an important part of the international human rights discourse system.

 

Friends, the idea of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind proposed by President Xi embodies Chinese wisdom, which is also evident in its Belt and Road Initiative, which has already achieved significant results. We believe that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core and with the realization of its two centenary goals and the Chinese Dream of rejuvenation, the idea of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind will definitely become a reality and China will definitely make a greater contribution to human progress.

 

As specialists in the study of human rights, human rights advocacy and public opinion guidance, the China Society for Human Rights Studies must remember its mission, play its crucial role, cherish the historical mission that the times entrust us, and seize the opportunity to continuously develop a new situation for human rights and human rights advocacy work.

 

At present, the focus of our work is to construe, understand, and publicize the idea of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind. On the one hand, we should study deeply the new thought, new ideas and the new strategies of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, interpret and outline the rich connotations of the Construction of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind, and strive to create more and better achievements and constantly enrich and perfect the theoretical system of human rights with the characteristics of China. On the other hand, it is necessary to further understand the significance of constructing a Community of Shared Future for Mankind in promoting global human rights governance and to propose a Chinese scheme for the development of global human rights governance in a more just and rational direction. I hope each member of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, and those studying human rights at different levels in China, as well as human rights scholars overseas actively participate in spreading Chinese human rights ideas and make efforts to influence the world with the human rights views of China.

 

I believe that this symposium will further deepen our understanding of the concept of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind, enhance the understanding of it, and encourage efforts to promote global human rights governance that is fair and reasonable.

 

I wish the symposium a complete success. Thank you!

 

(Translated by LI Kunyan)