Overview of the Symposium on Human Rights Cause in China in the New Era
WANG Huan*
Abstract: The symposium on the “Progress of Human Rights Development in the New Era in China” was jointly hosted by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and the Publicity Department of the Guangdong Provincial Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and organized by Guangzhou University Institute for Human Rights in Guangzhou on 19 December 2017. Scholars and experts from more than 20 universities and institutes, as well as delegates from over 10 ministries and commissions under the State Council participated in the symposium. The symposium explored four themes: “Human Rights Connotations in Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, “The Progress of Human Rights Development in China after the 18th National Congress of the CPC”, “The Prospective of Human Rights Development in the New Era in China”,as well as “Building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings and the Progress of the Human Rights Development of the World”. This Paper is a record of the important opinions articulated during the Symposium.
Keywords: Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings, human rights
The Symposium on the Human Rights Cause in China in the New Era was held in Guangzhou on December 19, 2017. This academic conference, hosted by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and the Publicity Department of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China and organized by the Human Rights Research Institute characteristics. In addition to the basic human rights protection, the two aspects of the community need to be emphasized. First, an international human rights guarantee of Guangzhou University, gathered together the principal force of human rights research in China. Over 70 representatives from the state human rights education and training bases, the human rights research institutes of universities and colleges, and related departments engaged in human rights work participated in the symposium. The symposium explored the significant progress in the human rights cause in China since the 18th CPC National Congress and gave an outlook on the development of China’s human rights cause in the new era.
Lu Guangjin, Director General of the Human Rights Bureau of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the CPC and Secretary-General of the China Society for Human the right to health, obvious effect of reform measures, and the results of the right to Rights Studies on behalf of Cui Yuzhi, the Vice-Minister of the Publicity Department of CPC Central Committee, and Deputy Director of the State Council Information Office governance modernization: the expression and practice of Chinese theory”. Professor and Vice-President of China Society for Human Rights Studies, delivered keynote speech at the meeting. The speech elaborated on the rich and profound human rights connotations contained in Xi Jinping Thought on Social ism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era from four aspects: First, Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is people-centered and fully embodies the value of respecting and safeguarding human rights. Second, Xi Jinping Thought is geared to the key issue of tackling uneven development and underdevelopment, reflecting the fundamental requirements for safeguarding the rights of the people to development. Third, Xi Jinping Thought seeks the modernization of China at a strategic level, demonstrating the firm belief in that people should fully enjoy their human rights. Fourth, Xi Jinping Thought insists on building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings with all countries, showing the mission of promoting the development of human rights in the world. In this symposium, the human rights theory community and human rights practice community discussed such topics as the human rights connotations of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the development of human rights in China since the 18th CPC National Congress, the vision for the development of human rights in China in the new era and building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings and the development of the human rights cause in the World. Below is a brief overview of the viewpoints expressed at the symposium.
Ⅰ. Human Rights Connotations of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era
In this unit, the participating scholars shared their views on the human rights connotations of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Some scholars interpreted the human rights connotations of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in its entirety, and some elaborated on the human rights thoughts contained in the report of the 19th CPC National Congress.
Professor Liu Hainian, honorary member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and director of the Center for Human Rights Research, explained the new thoughts of Xi Jinping on human rights theory. Professor Liu Hainian held that Xi Jinping’s new thoughts on human rights theory mainly focus on the following six as pects: first, adhere to the people-centered approach, put forward the people-centered development concept, realize all-round development of the people, and take people’s longing for a better life as the source of human rights, revealing the human nature, universality and equality of human rights. This contrasts sharply with the Western countries’ definition of human rights based on their own class and development stage.Second, propose the realization of the Chinese dream and emphasize the principal status of the state in human rights. This clarifies the confusion caused by some politicians in the United States and other Western countries on human rights theory. Third,reveal the development pattern of human rights scientifically, pointing out that human rights issues are an ongoing process, and there is only better rather than best. This is the application of dialectical materialism and historical materialism to the field of human rights. It is a potent response to the strong power logic of United States and some Western countries, which seek to suppress those countries with different ideological and social systems on the pretext of human rights. Fourth, take the right to existence and right to development as the primary human rights, stress the study of the right to peace, pursue the path of peaceful development, and unswervingly advance the cause of peace in China and the world. Fifth, propose building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings, pointing out new visions for the human rights development in China. Sixth, attach importance to the protection of human rights by the constitution and law, strengthen cooperation in international human rights, and achieve democratic, system-based and law-based international human rights cause. Prof. Liu Hainian pointed out that Xi Jinping’s discourses on human rights follow the logic from the general to the specific, from history to reality, from China to the world, and from the origin of human rights to the specific operations. This is the experience accumulated by the Communist Party of China in leading the people in their fight for human rights, and also the development of the Marxist concept of human rights on the basis of absorbing the achievements of human civilization.
Professor Zhang Yonghe, Executive Director of the Human Rights Research Institute of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, elaborated on the human rights connotations of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. He pointed out that Xi Jinping Thought contains rich human rights connotations. He said that to correctly understand and grasp the human rights theory of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, attention should be paid to the following five aspects: first, how to correctly grasp the principal idea of “people-centered” human rights; second, how to correctly understand the human rights connotation of “a better life”; third, how to correctly grasp the path of unique human rights development in China; fourth, how to use Chinese human rights discourse to share the practices of human rights in China; fifth, how to correctly understand the concept of “a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings” as a global human rights governance program. According to the answers to these five questions, Professor Zhang Yonghe summarized the human rights connotation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in four dimensions: human rights subjectivity theory, human rights goal theory, human rights path theory, and human rights discourse theory.
Professor Yang Guang, former Secretary of the Party Committee of Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, explained the connotations of right of personality in the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. First, personality and dignity are the high-level of human life and human nature. Second,changes in the basic social contradictions in the new era enrich the connotations of human rights. Personality and dignity demand new, higher and more concrete requirements. Third, the right of personality with Chinese characteristics upholds Marxism and is a scientific new system in line with the rules.
Professor Chang Jian, Director of the Center for Human Rights Research at Nankai University, considered that the report of the 19th CPC National Congress has responded to the new needs of human rights protection in the new era in an overall manner. He proposed that: first, people require comprehensive human rights protection in the new era; second, people require balanced human rights protection in the new era; third, people demand full protection of human rights in the new era; fourth, people demand more reliable human rights protection in the new era; fifth, people require global human rights protection in the new era. In response to the aforesaid requirements, the 19th CPC National Congress proposed a variety of requirements and measures, demonstrating the clear political will and firm determination for action of the central collective leadership to meet people’s increasing demand for human rights protection in a new era.
Professor Yang Chunfu, Dean of Hohai University School of Law, focused on the program of action for human rights protection with Chinese characteristics in the new era. He considered that the report of the 19th CPC National Congress contains the ideological and theoretical basis, path selection, and institutional design for human rights protection with Chinese characteristics in the new era. First, the issue of human rights protection is a core issue in the process of the rule of law in a country, and also a goal-oriented problem in the modernization of a country. Second, the people-centered development concept is the political theoretical basis for human rights protection in the new era. Continuously promoting the all-round development and common prosperity of the people are the goals of human rights protection in the new era. Third, the implementation strategy of the human rights protection path is implicit in the overall plan for economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological progress under socialism with Chinese characteristics; fourth, the law-based protection of human rights is strengthened through advancing and deepening the law-based governance of China.
Professor Zhao Shukun, assistant to the Dean of the Human Rights Research Institute of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, shared her views on the human rights direction of a better life in the new era. She said that the report of the 19th CPC National Congress emphasized that putting people first, being people-centered, adhering the principal position of the people, and building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings take the “people” as the starting point and ultimate goal. Therefore, the good life is interpreted from the perspective of human rights, and it clearly shows the human rights direction of a better life for Chinese people in a new era. The direction of human rights for a better life is based on the basic contradiction of Chinese society. It can be expressed concretely as the balanced right of equality and full right to development.
Professor Xian Kailin, Executive Director of the Human Rights Research and Education Center of Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, gave a speech on how to boost China’s cultural confidence in human rights from the perspective of cultural awareness. He argued that China’s cultural confidence in human rights has traditional genes. China’s cultural confidence in human rights stems from the profound Chinese traditional culture and the ideas of human rights; the genes of China’s cultural confidence in human rights include the cohesiveness and centripetal force of human rights culture, and the gene of innovation in ancient China, and that the human rights culture genes for which the Chinese have bitterly fought in contemporary times, and that of human rights culture gene combination in which China is confident; the scientific guidance of China’s cultural confidence in human rights include cherishing our cultural roots, drawing on other cultures, and be forward-thinking.
Professor Ji Yaping, Deputy Dean of the School of Administrative Law of Northwest University of Political Science and Law, talked about the experience of learning the report of the 19th CPC National Congress from the perspective of human rights development. Professor Ji believes that the report of the 19th CPC National Congress, the achievements since the 18th CPC National Congress, the positioning of changes in principal social conflicts, the establishment of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the goal of a decisive stage of building a welloff society in an all-round way, democracy, cultural progress, improvement of people’s livelihood, ecological progress and building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings show the significant progress of human rights cause in China. As a result, the 19th CPC National Congress report is at the same time a human rights declaration, letter of commitment, and an outline of the plans and program of action of the Communist Party of China.
Associate Professor Liu Hongzhen, Deputy Director of the Theoretical Jurisprudence Research Center of Jilin University, delivered a speech entitled “Political Declaration and Action Plan of the Chinese People’s Right to Development in the New Era”, in which he put forward the following points: First, the new elements on the basic connotations of the right to development. The elaboration of Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the basic policy on the overall mission of upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics, putting the people first, the new development concept, and a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings inject new elements into the basic connotations of the right to development. Second, it is the historical orientation of the implementation of the right to development in the new era. Under the new historical conditions in the new era, development is replaced by the pursuit of development quality and efficiency. the development achievements shared by all people, common prosperity, focus on the coordinated political, social, economic, and cultural progress are the historical orientation of the right to development in the new era. Third, the implementation strategy of the right to development in the new era, namely the implementation of the right to development through the overall plan for promoting all-round economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological progress, and the Four Comprehensives Strategy. Fourth, the measures taken to promote the realization of the right to development in the new era, including modernization of the economic system, the institutional framework in which people fully exercise their power as masters of the country, the value system incorporating the essence of socialism, and the modern social governance system.
Ⅱ. Development of China’s Human Rights Cause Since the 18th CPC National Congress
Many of the speakers at the symposium serve in the judiciary and government agencies. They reviewed and summarized the development of human rights in China since the 18th CPC National Congress with detailed and accurate data.
Li Xiao, the deputy inspector and senior judge of the Supreme People’s Court, made a speech on the new developments in judicial human rights protection in China since the 18th CPC National Congress. He summed up the new developments in the judicial protection of human rights in four aspects: First, reform of the litigation system and strengthening of the judicial protection mechanism for human rights; second, an improved rights remedy mechanism; third, improved litigation services, judicial publicity comprehensively advanced, and the safeguarding of people’s right to appeal, right to know, right to participate, and right to supervise; fourth, comprehensively promoting major and basic reforms and ensuring the independent and fair exercise of judicial power according to the law.
Mi Feng, Deputy Director of the Publicity Division of the National Health and Family Planning Commission gave a speech entitled “Put the people first and safeguard the people’s right to health in the full cycle”, which focused on three aspects: First, the progress and achievements of safeguarding the right to health since the 18th CPC National Congress, including the establishment of a safeguard system for health recognized; second, the Chinese road of sticking to safeguarding the right to health, namely priority for health, prevention first, public welfare guidance, fairness, inclusiveness, and shared growth through discussion; third, the implementation of the Healthy China strategy to safeguard the entire population’s right to health throughout the life.
Xia Changyong, the Deputy Director of the Policy and Regulation Division of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, spoke of China’s major contribution to the cause of human rights in the world from the perspective of poverty alleviation. The six manifestations are as follows: the elimination of absolute poverty as the primary goal, rapid development as the main approach, institutional advantage as the fundamental guarantee, targeted measures to help people lift themselves out of poverty as the basic strategy, reform and innovation as the fundamental driving force, and the stimulation of the people’s vitality as the focus.
Professor Zhu Liyu, Director of the Human Rights Research Institute of Renmin University of China, made a speech entitled “Precisely Addressing the Problem of Poverty in China through Economic Development.” He pointed out that a country’s material conditions and scientific and cultural level determines the rights and freedoms enjoyed by the people of the said country. The degree of human rights enjoyed and realized is always compatible with the level of social and cultural development. Thus, the issue of survival shall be solved through development. On the basis of developing the market economy, China solves the problem of poverty systematically; the 13th Five-Year Plan replaces the “policy support” in the 12th Five-Year Plan with the “combination of policy support and targeted poverty alleviation” to address the easiness with which people call fall back into poverty. But with the upward adjustment of poverty standards, relative poverty will persist.
Professor Li Yunlong of the National Strategy Research Institute of the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC, focused on Xi Jinping’s thought on accurate poverty alleviation to guide China’s victory in making decisive progress in the fight against poverty. Professor Li Yunlong explained the course of the development of Xi Jinping’s thought on targeted poverty alleviation in the recent four years as well as the poverty alleviation strategy and policies based thereupon, and focused on the decisive progress in Xi Jinping’s thought in making decisive progress in the fight against poverty.
Li Feixia, Deputy Division-director of the International Department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), introduced the work of MOHRSS in promoting the cause of human rights, including implementing employment policy, and expanding the scale of employment; perfecting entrepreneurial policies, optimizing entrepreneurial services, and providing a sound institutional environment for innovation and business startup; putting in place the social security network; safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of workers, and maintaining overall harmonious and stable labor relations.
Associate Professional Liu Pu, of the Human Rights Research Institute of Northwest University of Political Science and Law made a speech on the topic “Status of the protection of the right to education of persons with disabilities since the 18th CPC National Congress –analysis based on the State statistics”, pointing out that thanks to the promulgation of various laws and policies and the increased input of government funds, China has made rapid progress in the undertaking of education for the disabled;there are still weak links in education for disabled people in education at all levels, and greater efforts should be made to perfect the laws and regulations, strengthening special supervision, ensuring investment in education, establishing the “zero rejection” principle, and increasing the availability of resource rooms.
Dr. Zhong Hui of Northwest Minzu University made a speech on the theme of “New progress in the cause of right to education in China since the 18th CPC National Congress”. She believes that since the 18th CPC National Congress, China has made clear that the development of education has entered a new stage, upholds the priority of education and has made great strides in guaranteeing people’s basic right to education, the right of migrant children and left-behind children to education, and the rights of special groups to education.
Professor Qian Jinyu, Vice-Dean of the Human Rights Research Institute of Northwest University of Political Science and Law, commented on the above speeches and considered that they presented the theme of the people’s growing need for a beautiful life and the advancement of China’s human rights undertaking. This part of the symposium interpreted the 19th CPC National Congress report from many different human rights perspectives, highlighting the people-centered concept in China’s governance strategy in the new era.
Ⅲ. Vision for the Development of Human Rights Cause in China in the New Era
In this part of the symposium, the participating experts and scholars put forward ideas for the development direction, key areas, and development approaches for China’s human rights cause in the new era based on the development course and context of China’s human rights undertaking since the 18th CPC National Congress, and also outlined specific paths for their realization.
Tan Fangzheng, Deputy Director of the Department of Social Science of the Ministry of Education, talked about how to promote the development of human rights in China in the new era in terms of strengthening human rights research in universities, the establishment of think tanks and other institutions. He said that regarding the approaches and position on the human rights research, the work of study on human rights in universities shall focus on the explanation of Chinese traditional culture, its development achievements, China’s experience, and Xi Jinping’s theory on human rights (including building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings, sticking to peaceful development, the Belt and Road Initiative, etc.); with regard to the research content and perspective, emphasis should be placed on the following four aspects, namely translating major social contradictions into people’s desire for a good life, emphasizing building a beautiful China, taking beauty as the reference for human rights research, and stressing and enhancing good reputations; as the ultimate goals of human rights research, we shall love the motherland, love the people, and love the Communist Party of China.
Professor Wang Xigen, executive dean of the Human Rights Research Institute of Wuhan University, discussed five issues in a speech entitled “A new approach to boosting human rights in a new era – logical analysis based on the transformation of major social contradictions”: First, on the new starting point of human rights development in the new era. The contradiction between the people’s growing demands for a better life and the unbalanced and uneven development is a new logical starting point for the construction of human rights theory in the new era, and is also a foothold for the selection of future practices in human rights. Second, on new keynotes for human rights development in a new era. Pursuing and satisfying people’s demands for a beautiful life is the keynote of human rights development in the new era. Third, on the development issues of new human rights in the new era. Solving the problem of “imbalance” and “inadequacy” in the development of human rights is a new topic in the development of human rights in the new era. Fourth, on the new vision for development of human rights in the new era. The general vision for the development of human rights in the new era is to promote the image of human rights in the optimization of satisfying people’s demands for a better life. It adapts to the two centenary goals of the CPC in the new era, and achieves two fundamental quantum leaps in the development of human rights.
Professor Zhou Wei, Director of the Human Rights Law Research of Sichuan University, made a speech on the topic of “The sharing economy promoting the right to work and its future prospects”. Professor Zhou was of the opinion that the rapid development of the sharing economy dovetails with the requirements for the optimizing of China’s economic structure and industrial upgrading and transformation of its labor force. Thanks to its flexible and convenient participation mode, it becomes one of the ways to solve flexible employment in major cities and towns in the context of cutting overcapacity in China. At the same time, China’s employment created by the sharing economy has the problem of guaranteeing the rights and interests of service providers. It is necessary to improve the state laws to promote and develop the sharing economy, coordinate the interest relationship among related industries, and give consideration to industrial development to boost employment under the premise of maintaining the flexibility and openness of the sharing economy.
Professor Zhang Wanhong, Deputy Dean of the Human Rights Research Institute of Wuhan University, made a speech on the “promotion of major social contradictions and human rights cause in the new era.” He pointed out that the essence of human rights requires the coordination between the overall progress of the human society and the overall development of human beings. The theory of the main social contradictions in the new era points out the direction of future social progress and the overall development of human beings. Under the trend of mainstream human rights, we emphasize that human rights are the purpose and value of the state governance, and that human rights should be implemented as a means to promote the balanced economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological progress. Objectively, the advancement of China’s human rights cause helps to enhance China’s position in the global governance game, promote the national identity, and share China’s wisdom in overcoming the global modern crisis.
Professor Li Weiwei, Executive Director of the Human Rights Research Institute of Shenzhen University, gave a speech on “The path of the common development of the rule of law and human rights.” Professor Li considered that human rights development lags behind compared to the rule of law. Human rights are the soul and goal of the rule of law. In the absence of this, the rule of law may be reduced to formality and nothingness. Therefore, human rights shall be incorporated into the indicator system of the rule of law-based government in reference to the indicator system and the evaluation system of the rule of law-based government.
Liao Wengen, the editor-in-chief of the Politics and Law Office, Politics and Culture Division of the People’s Daily, talked about the innovation of promotion and publicity of human rights. He pointed out that the field of human rights is an important area of the battle for global ideology. However, due to ideological reasons, China still faces many challenges in human rights promotion. On the one hand, we need to free our minds, take the initiative to ensure openness and set the agendas, and grasp the initiative and dominance of publicity. On the other hand, we need to share our experiences and make good use the external power.
Associate Professor Liu Hongchun, of the Human Rights Research Center of Yunnan University, shared with the delegates the experience of sharing human rights work with the world. He considered that the development and improvement of global human rights governance should promote the healthy, sustainable development of the international human rights cause. To build a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings, it is necessary to give play to the constructional and constructive role of human rights undertakings in promoting the Belt and Road initiative.
Ⅳ. Building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings and the Development of Global Human Rights
This part is a detailed interpretation on the construction of a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings. It is also our expectations for the development of the human rights cause in the world. This part discussed how to actively align China’s human rights cause with the global human rights cause.
Professor Li Buyun, the honorary member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Director of the Human Rights Research Institute of Guangzhou University, gave a speech on the scientific connotations and significance of building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings. Professor Li considered that the future of humankind is essentially a human rights topic or can be translated into a human rights topic. It specifically expresses the most sufficient, comprehensive realization of various human rights; the community can be understood from both a broad perspective and a narrow one, and its function lies in safeguarding the peace and security of humanity, or promoting the realization of human social and cultural rights, or protecting the human rights through the means of development. Overall, it is related to human rights. To build a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings, we shall stick to the principle of “unity promoting cooperation, cooperation promoting development and, protecting human rights through development.” We shall pursue the track of rules or law.
Wang Ying, the First Secretary of the Department of International Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, talked about the international human rights situation and building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings based on his personal experience. First, the issue of mainstream human rights. Under the impetus of Western countries and non-governmental organizations, human rights have become the dominant factor in various UN systems and fields. Second, country specific human rights issues. Major Western countries use country specific human rights resolutions in the Human Rights Council to influence or even rectify developing countries. Third, the issue of the right to development. In the Human Rights Council, there is a great controversy over the right to development. Western countries believe that the right to development is not a basic human right, instead, they believe that human rights are necessary for development. Developing countries on the other hand hold that the right to development and the right to existence are the most important human rights.
Professor Liu Cheng, Director of the Institute of Peace Studies at Nanjing University, talked about peace building in the era of globalization from the perspective of peace studies. He believes that the concept of peace could be divided into two categories, comprising negative peace and positive peace. At present, peace studies pay more attention to the positive peace studies. Positive peace includes four aspects:First, natural peace, namely cooperation rather than the struggle among countries. Second,direct and positive peace, which consists of words and material benevolence; this is conducive to the well-being of the body, mind, and heart of the self and others, and cares for all basic needs, such as survival, happiness, freedom, and identity. Third, structural positive peace, namely freedom replacing suppression and equality replacing exploitation. Fourth, cultural positive peace, namely the legitimacy of peace replacing the legitimacy of violence. In the age of globalization, thought on peace research and peace building is the search for opportunities of globalization and its active possibilities, including overcoming the negative impact of globalization.
Professor Bai Guimei, Executive Director of the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Peking University Law School, made a speech on the theme of “Building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings – view the people’s right to self-determination in international human rights law from the independence referendum.” She first explained the understanding of a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings, holding that human rights, the environment and economic development are particularly important elements. She used the “referendum” as the object of analysis to examine possible international human rights law issues.
Professor Zhang Wei, Co-director of the Institute for Human Rights of China University of Political Science and Law, discussed global human rights governance from the perspective of a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings. Professor Zhang noted that the proposal of a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings is to change the old unfair, unjust international order. Its purpose is to promote building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings based on the existing United Nations framework. Many developing countries highly welcome this proposal and opinion; from the domestic perspective, it is of the utmost importance to promote the building of our own human rights. It is a feasible way to establish a national human rights institution.
Profession Li Zhongxia, Vice Dean of the School of Law of Shandong University, gave a speech on “Human rights protection from the perspective of building a Community of a Shared Future for Human Beings”. He pointed out that the idea of a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings is continuity and the innovation of Marxism-Leninism, the inheritance of traditional Chinese culture, and a mission on China’s road to rejuvenation. A Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings has two key factors: humans and community. Therefore, to build a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings, we should protect the basic rights. To this end, basic rights must be human rights, so that human rights constitute the core of the basic rights system. On the other hand, human rights protection must be suited to national mechanism needs to be established. Second, it is particularly necessary to establish a state-to-state communication and dialogue mechanism.
Professor Qu Xiangfei, a researcher at the Institute of International Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, delivered a speech on “a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings and human rights protection.” Professor Qu considered that building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings is an idea that is proposed by thestate leaders from the perspective of the survival or extinction of human beings. The most important and deepest meaning is that a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings is the Community with a Shared future on which the humankind relies for survival. Its purpose is to avoid humanity moving toward death; and destruction and to avoid human extinction. This leads to the human destiny of social hegemony.
Professor Qian Jinyu, Vice Dean of the Human Rights Research Institute of Northwest University of Political Science and Law, focused on the interpretation of “a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings from the perspective of global governance modernization: the expression and practice of Chinese theory”. Professor Qian considers that in the face of globalization, we face an unprecedented structural crisis and challenge which concerns the survival and development of all Human Beings at a deep level. From the perspective of coping practice, the traditional crisis response model featuring unilateralism, priority of national interests and advocacy of exclusive competition is hard-pressed to solve the structural challenges facing all humanity today. The concept of a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings can be a program for global governance modernization, and the Belt and Road Initiative provides a reference for the humankind to implement this concept.
Professor Li Erping, Director of the Human Rights Research Center (Preparatory) of Kunming University of Science and Technology, shared his views on the guiding significance of a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings” for the global human rights values. Professor Li held that a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings has universal significance but not a universal value, and thus is different from the Western concept of universal human rights. A Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings is based on the integrity of rights. Relative to individual rights, it underlines “harmony in diversity.”
Professor Mao Junxiang, Executive Director of the Human Rights Research Centre at Central South University and deputy dean of the School of Law, addressed the topic “Building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings and the change in the global human rights discourse order.” He pointed out that the discourse order of global human rights is characterized by the coexistence of pluralistic discourses, the asymmetry of human rights discourse status in the East and the West, and the discourse structure is undergoing gradual change. The construction of Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings will certainly promote the transformation of the international human rights discourse order, including changes in international system of human rights standards and in the international human rights mechanism.
Ambassador Chen Shiqiu of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted, he believes that there is a certain gap between the development of human rights and the rule of law. In the field of human rights building in China, we have taken the lead in theory development, while there are some gaps in the area of practical construction, especially human rights awareness and recognition of human rights.
Professor Sun Shiyan, a researcher at the Institute of International Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, commented on the speeches of the experts that building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings is actually an embodiment of the original aspirations for the founding of the United Nations. The masters of the world are the people of all countries, rather than governments. The central concept of a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings is to consider humanity as a whole. In the community, human rights are the foundation for world peace, freedom, and justice. There is an interactive relationship between building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings and the existing international human rights discourse: we must use building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings to influence, transform and develop the existing international human rights discourse. At the same time, the international human rights discourse can also be used by us for explanation and promotion, so that the concept of building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings can gain wider recognition.
Ⅴ. Conclusion
Under the theme of the “Development of Human Rights Cause in China in the New Era”, this symposium of experts and scholars from the human rights research institutions of universities in China and from the practice departments related to the human rights cause conducted a comprehensive review of the human rights cause in China since the 18th CPC National Congress, and on this basis produced a real outlook on the development of human rights in China in a new era. The consensus reached at the conference has important guiding significance for scholars in the field of human rights research and practitioners involved in human rights work to understand the human rights connotations of Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and carry out the publicity and research on socialist human rights with Chinese characteristics in a new era. At the same time, it will lead to the great progress in human rights research, human rights education, and human rights publicity in China and promote the human rights cause in China to play an important and irreplaceable role in the global human rights cause.
(Translated by NI Weisi)
* WANG Huan ( 王欢 ), Doctor of Law, Associate Deputy Researcher of the Human Rights Research Center at Guangzhou University
