Abstract: Under the background of the fact that human rights protection has become an important part of the socialist construction with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and with the international background of the strengthened trend of mainstreaming of human rights, Xi Jinping’s series of speeches and the 19th CPC National Congress reports comprehensively explained the construction of human rights in China and the development of the international human rights. The important discourse on human rights by General Secretary Xi Jin-ping is people-centered: people’s yearning for a better life is our goal and reveals the source of human rights. Chinese Dream is a dream of the country, of the nation, and of everyone in China. The close integration of individual and collective human rights points out that the state and people are important parts of collective human rights and it is an effective response to the “human rights over sovereignty” of Western countries. That there are not the best human rights, but the better ones; fighting for human rights is not always done, but always doing scientifically reveals the operational form of human rights. The right of survival and development is the primary human right; to attach importance to the right of peace conforms to the reality of our country and it has the support of the vast number of developing countries. Building a community with a shared future for human beings is a new vision for the development of the international human rights. Only when the perfection and implementation of Constitution and law are paid attention to, and the democratization and legalization of the international human rights cause are promoted, can the guarantee be provided for the realization of human rights. The important discourse on human rights by General Secretary Xi Jinping is guided by Marxism, carries the communist party member’s original intention of serving people and is deeply rooted in the masses of the people. It inherits the theory of “benevolence” and “harmony” in Chinese culture, stands at the height of history and times, and points out the direction for the all-round development of Chinese people and the overall progress of society, and for the liberation of all mankind. This scientific theory is successfully guiding China’s human rights construction constantly towards new achievements and has had a profound and extensive impact on the international human rights cause.

 

Keywords: human rights theory     the origin of human rights     collective human rights     operational patterns     a community with a shared future for human beings

 

The important discourse on human rights by General Secretary Xi Jinping is an important part of Xi Jinping’s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era. New achievements have been made in human rights protection in China under the guidance of the theory since the 18th CPC National Congress, and it has also has a profound and widespread impact on human rights protection worldwide. This paper attempts to make a preliminary study of the important discourse on human rights by General Secretary Xi Jinping and its development process.

 

 

The pursuit of human rights, liberation and all-round development of people has been an important objective of the revolution and national construction in China in modern times. The CPC has fought for the human rights of the Chinese people since its foundation. Protection of human rights and liberation of the people have been inspiring rallying cries in different historical periods. It should be admitted that the process of practice has made detours and experienced mistakes, yet the original aspiration to serve the people and realize the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has never been forgotten. After the “cultural revolution” (1966-76), the Party and the people drew a lesson from that bitter experience. The Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee clarified the confusion and brought things back to order through establishing the principle of “free our minds for reform and opening-up”, which greatly strengthened the socialist democracy and rule of law. Since then, the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics has maintained rapid development. The National People’s Congress (NPC) passed amendments to the Constitution in 1999 and 2004 respectively to include “law-based governance and socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics” and “respect and protect human rights by the country” into the Constitution, which became milestones in the development of law-based socialism and human rights protection in China. Now, human rights protection is an important part of the building of socialism with Chinese characteristics in a new era. Human rights protection is also becoming the mainstream in the international community. Adhering to this trend, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, has made new contributions to the development of human rights protection with a series of expositions on human rights theories from a historical height and the reality in China under the guidance of Marxism after grasping the pulse of the times, drawing conclusions on the historical and practical experience and absorbing the excellent achievements in the development process of human civilization.

 

 

The new contribution to the important discourse on human rights by General Secretary Xi Jinping can be summarized in the following aspects.

 

 

The concept to put the people first inherits and develops the traditional culture that “people are the foundation of the country”¹ and “the governance of a country should be based on the benefits of the people”.² It was mentioned in the literature of the CPC for the first time in the Scientific Outlook on Development put forward during the Third Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee. On this basis, the development ideology to put the people first has been further emphasized in the 18th CPC National Congress and a series of speeches by Xi Jinping. The development ideology to put the people first reflects the purpose of the CPC to whole-heartedly serve the people, the position of the people as masters of their own destiny and the historical materialism that people are the fundamental driving force for social development. As Xi Jinping has said, “Looking into the future, we should be always together with the people. It is the people who create the history. Therefore, we should rely on the people, give full play to their potential, respect their initiative and work hard for them.”3 Moreover, we should “learn from the people with an open mind, listen to their voice and draw on their experience. We should take their support, approval, happiness and consent as the fundamental criteria for evaluating our work to solve the most concerned, direct and realistic issues of interests.”⁴ In short, we should pay attention to the people’s claim for different rights and take the will of the people as the will of the Party and the country. “The people’s wish for a good life is our goal.”⁵

 

What is the people’s wish for a good life Xi Jinping asked on November 15, 2012, summarizing it as: “Our people have an ardent love for life. They want to have better education, more stable jobs, more income, reliable social security, better medical and health care, improved housing conditions and a beautiful environment. They hope that their children will have sound growth, good jobs and more enjoyable lives.”⁶ If these words focused on protection of economic, social and cultural rights, then he stressed on December 4, “We must ensure that all citizens enjoy extensive rights in accordance with the law, that their right of the person and property and basic political rights are inviolable, and their economic, cultural and social rights are exercised. We must safeguard the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people and fulfill their aspirations for and pursuit of a better life.”⁷ Four years later, he point-ed out on the basis of the new development of society, economy and culture in China at the opening ceremony of a study session attended by officials at the provincial and ministerial levels on July 26, 2017, that “the living standards of the people have markedly improved, fostering higher expectations for a better life and diversified needs for development.”⁸ Under these circumstances, Xi Jinping made a more comprehensive elaboration from an higher angle and answered the question how to grasp the characteristics of social development at the current stage in the report he delivered to the 19th CPC National Congress on December 18, 2017, “As socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, the principal contradiction facing Chinese society has evolved. What we now face is the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life... The needs to be met for the people to live better lives are increasingly broad. Not only have their ma-terial and cultural needs grown; their demands for democracy, rule of law, fairness and justice, security, and a better environment are increasing. We must recognize that the evolution of the principal contradiction facing Chinese society represents a historic shift that affects the whole landscape and that creates many new demands for the work of the Party and the country. Building on continued efforts to sustain development, we must devote great energy to addressing development’s imbalances and inadequacies, and push hard to improve the quality and effects of development. With this, we will be better placed to meet the ever-growing economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological needs of our people, and to promote well-rounded human development and all-round social progress.”⁹ In the above mentioned exposition, Xi emphasized that we should put the people first and adhere to the position of the people as masters of their own destiny in order to grasp and solve the principal contradiction facing Chinese society. In this way, people throughout the country can full enjoy their human rights.

 

It should be pointed out that the assertion of Xi Jinping to “put the people first” and “the people’s wish for a good life is our goal” also reveal the origin of human rights and thoroughly answer the question what human rights are. When thinkers put forward the concept of human rights, they provided an objective and scientific but rel-atively primitive definition, which pushed forward the history in the bourgeois revolution. However, after the bourgeoisie took power, they ruthlessly castrated the concept of human rights proposed by the original thinkers according to their own needs. In terms of the subjects of human rights, they not only set various conditions to try every means to deprive working people and peasants of their human rights through legislation but also imposed many restrictions on the rights of women of their own class. As for the people in the colonial and semi-colonial countries, they didn’t even consider them as human beings at all. In terms of the objects of human rights, they only focused on the civil and political rights while ignoring economic, social and cultural rights for a long time. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights passed at the UN General Assembly in 1966 is the fruit of the long-term struggle of people all over the world and the socialist countries. However, the United States still has reservations about many parts of it and the US Congress has not passed it yet. As for the Right to Development, the United Nations has confirmed it as an important human right in its declaration, yet Western countries including the United States still deny it. Their description of human rights is dignified in form but insincere in substance. In fact, all their concepts and policies are based on the interests of their own countries, so they are definitely narrow-minded and incomplete. Nevertheless, they still consider themselves to be the appraisers and referees of human rights for histori-cal reasons. Xi Jinping regards the aspirations of the people to live a better life as our goal and lists the specific human rights that the people yearn for, which reveals such fundamental characteristics of human rights as their being people-centered, and their universality and equality, and his thought fully reflects the concept human rights of socialism with Chinese characteristics. As a new contribution to the human rights theory, it will definitely have a profound impact on the cause of human rights worldwide.

 

 

Soon after Xi Jinping became general secretary of the CPC Central Committee after the 18th CPC National Congress, he put forward the goal to realize the Chinese Dream when visiting the exhibition The Road to Rejuvenation in November 2012. The exhibition reviewed China’s past, showed the present and looked to the future of the Chinese nation with pictures and cultural relics. After visiting the exhibition, Xi summarized revolutionary history since 1840 and combined it with the reality of socialist construction after the foundation of the People’s Republic of China to put forward the Chinese Dream as the ideal and pursuit of generations of Chinese people. He said, “The Chinese Dream is the dream of the country and the nation, but also of every ordinary Chinese”.¹⁰ “The Chinese dream is about the quest for happiness... Our goal is to provide everyone with the opportunity to both develop himself and contribute to the society, to live up to his full potential.”¹¹ The realization of the Chinese dream “will safeguard the human rights of the Chinese at a higher level.”¹²

 

Xi Jinping’s concept of the Chinese Dream and elaboration on it further clarified and developed the theory of human rights.

 

First, the dominant role of the country as an important part of collective human rights is emphasized. Undoubtedly, people are the subject and core of human rights. In the context of rapid economic and technological development, individuals, nations and countries are becoming closer and closer. It has been repeatedly proven in history and reality that individual human rights can only be effectively guaranteed when collective human rights are recognized and respected. The dominate role of countries in human rights should not be ignored. There is a principle on this in the Charter of the United Nations. It is clarified in the introductory note of the Charter of the United Nations that, “We are determined 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.” It is clearly declared that the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small are basic human rights. If someone thinks that that is not enough to clarify that human rights also require equal rights between nations, let’s take a look at the Declaration on the Preparation of Societies for Life in Peace and the Declaration on the Right to Development passed by the UN General Assembly in December 1978 and December 1986 respectively. It is declared in the former that “we reaffirm the rights of individuals, states and all mankind to life in peace” and “every nation and every human being, regardless of race, conscience, language or sex, has the inherent right to live in peace.”¹³ In the latter, it is confirmed that “the right to development is an inalienable human right and that equality of opportunity for development is a prerogative both of nations and of individuals who make up nations.”¹⁴ It is clear that the two declarations regard nations as well as the individuals who make up nations as the subjects of the right to peace and the right to development and they stress that this right of nations is prerogative and inalienable. It has been repeatedly stated in the documents on human rights passed by the United Nations and World Conference on Human rights, that “all human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated.”¹⁵ Despite the Charter of the United Nations and a large number of documents adopted by the United Nations, the United States and some other Western countries have denied or ignored nations as the subject of collective human rights on various occasions. Their purpose is to serve their policy of hegemony to interfere in the sovereignty of other countries with the excuse that “human rights are above national sovereignty.”

 

As an important part of collective human rights, nations are indeed different from other collective human rights. Internally, nations have the rights and obligations to make appropriate policies for safeguarding the economic, political, social and cultural rights of the people, accepting the justified demands of the people and providing relief in accordance with the law. Externally, nations have the right and obligation to organize all the people to fight against foreign aggression and defend the people’s interests and will in the country, which are reflected politically in national sovereignty. In the international community, member countries have the obligation to create the conditions for all countries, especially developing countries and less developed countries, to realize their development goals in accordance with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and 2020 Agenda for Sustainability, and international documents on human rights. “States have the duty to cooperate with each other in ensuring development and eliminating obstacles to development.”¹⁶ According to the Charter of the United Nations and international law, the international community has the responsibility to maintain world peace and security. When a sovereign country is under attack by armed forces or international terrorism, the international community is obliged to provide assistance. Nevertheless, the implementation of the measures for assistance should be passed by the UN Security Council in accordance with the provisions in Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

 

Second, the close relationship between individual human rights and collective human rights and among individual rights, national rights and national sovereignty is further elaborated on. When some Western scholars talk about human rights, they will often stress merely individual rights and freedom, which is used as the criteria for evaluating the human rights development situation of other countries. China attaches importance to both individual rights and freedom and collective rights and freedom. China is a unitary multinational state under the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The destiny of individuals and nations is in close relation to the fate of the country. It is the inheritance of the Chinese history and culture as well as the experience of history and contemporary practice. From the perspective of historical development, the unified and highly centralized dynasty took shape 2,000 years ago in China. Even during national division, the regimes hosted by both Han and ethnic minorities shouldered the responsibility to unify the country and integrate the Chinese nation as a whole. The struggle against the aggression of imperialists in modern times further enhanced the close ties between different ethnic groups. It has been repeatedly proved in history and modern socialist construction that the country would be disunited and fall into the miserable situation under the bullying of other countries if the fate of individuals, ethnic groups and the country is not closely integrated. Therefore, Xi Jinping pointed out, “the future and destiny of each and every one of us are closely linked to those of our country and nation. One can do well only when one’s country and nation do well.”¹⁷ We are building socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era with the development goal of emancipation of every individual. “Empty talk harms the country, while hard work makes it flourish.” Only when we roll up our sleeves and work with added energy together can we create a more solid foundation for the full enjoyment of human rights. For this reason, Xi said, “we should rally all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation around us in common efforts to build our country and develop our nation.”¹⁸

 

 

Xi has pointed out, “The cause of human rights cannot be the best but only better.”¹⁹ “The development of human rights is always progressive but not completed and it can only be better, not the best.”²⁰ It is a scientific judgment on the past, present and future of human rights from the height of historical development under the guidance of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, which concludes and looks forward to the development of human rights. As Karl Marx wrote in Critique of the Gotha Program, “rights can never be higher than economic structure of the society and its cultural development conditioned thereby.”²¹ It means that human rights should be under certain conditions of social, economic and cultural development. Without these conditions, it is impossible to have the sense or demand for rights. Otherwise, it would be a fantasy and illusion which could only appear in myth. Of course, it is in terms of the overall situation of the development of sense and demand for human rights of human beings. As for specific countries and regions, the social, economic and cultural development in the world remains imbalanced. With the influence of the media, although some countries and regions haven’t reached a certain level of development, the people also have demand their rights. However, the realization of them is still restricted by the level of social, economic and cultural development, so it is necessary to create corresponding conditions. For our country, even though better conditions have been created and human rights protection has reached a comparatively high level, we should bear in mind that “the cause of human rights cannot be the best but only better” to encourage ourselves. We should neither rest complacently on our achievements nor break away from reality to make impractical demands. As Xi Jinping said, “With a large population, great geographical differences and uneven development, China is still facing many challenges in further improvement of people’s livelihoods and hu-man rights... We will continue to proceed from our national conditions, put people first and always take their wishes and requirements into account to adopt effective political measures for vigorously promoting social equality, justice and harmony and making new progress in the cause of human rights.”²²

 

These assertions of Xi Jinping are from his speech at a welcoming luncheon hosted by friendly organizations in the United States in May 2012 and at the joint press conference with President Barack Obama in January 2015, respectively. The audience for the two speeches comprised President Obama, friendly organizations in the United States and American journalists. It was hoped that his message could be passed on to the public in the United States. Because the speeches reveal the general pattern of the way human rights operate, people from all over the world can be inspired. Considering the criteria in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Human Rights Conventions, no country in the world dares to say that they have no human rights problem or can guarantee that there will not be human rights problems in their country. Although some Western countries, including the United States, claim that human rights are the “cornerstone of their foreign policy”, they adopt a double standard and focus merely on developing countries with different ideologies and so-cial systems. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, they have adopted human rights as a political tool to use against China and attempt to demonize China in morality and contain China economically with the support of some media and international organizations keen to promote their values and institutional models. Xi Jinping has taken history as a mirror for those with such prejudice in his speech and urged them to calmly examine the human rights development in their own countries, from cruelly driving the native peoples from their land and slaughtering them, the slave trade, racial segregation, and plundering the wealth of colonies and semi-colonies. Facing up to the past history of their own countries for over 200 years, they would find that there are still social conflicts resulted from racial discrimination. Doing so would help them look at the glorious achievements in human rights cause of people in developing countries, including China, after the invasion and plunder of imperialism and colonialism in an objective way.

 

Those who believe that their human rights conditions are the best fail to recognize that the demand for rights develops with social, economic, scientific and cultural improvement. They are either prejudiced or ignorant about the need to strengthen their own human rights system. The concept is against historical laws and leads to the theory for the end of human rights development, which would hinder the development of the human rights cause in practice.

 

 

It was put forward for the first time in the white paper Human Rights in China published by Chinese government in 1991 that the right to subsistence and the right to development are the foremost human rights. Of course, the so-called right to subsistence covers the basic necessities for human survival, including food, clothing, housing and transportation, because “when people can’t have a full supply of food, clothing, housing and transportation in both quality and quantity, they can by no means be liberated at all.”²³ Meanwhile, the right to subsistence of the country and nation, the right to people’s democracy and the right to freedom which is closely related to it are of equal importance. The modern history of China for over 100 years and the living reality have proved from both the positive and negative aspects that the subsistence of people cannot be guaranteed without national independence. People in China were greatly inspired and the whole world astonished by the comprehensive and historical interpretation in the white paper Human Rights in China. Deng Xiaoping said that the white paper was of vital significance. It is completely correct for China to emphasize the right to subsistence considering the historical reasons and the international and domestic reality. Xi Jinping said, “For a long time, China has insisted on combining the universality of human rights with the reality in China to continuously promote social and economic development, improve the people’s well-being, social equality and justice and enhance the legal protection of human rights for the comprehensive and coordinated development of economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights. With significant improvement of the protection of people’s rights to subsistence and development, China has found a path of human rights development in line with the national conditions in China.”²⁴ Social and economic development is the prerequisite for the survival of the country and people as well as the key to solve all problems of the nation and people. In order to realize the right to subsistence, attention should be paid to the right to development. Under the leadership of the CPC and guidance of the principle, China has made great progress in the human rights cause through unremitting efforts. After the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core has further elaborated on the realization of the right to development. The position of the people as masters of their own destiny should be upheld for development centered on the people, with promoting the well-being of the people and their all-round development as the starting point and foothold. People’s democracy should be carried forward in development to maintain social equality and justice, and guarantee the equal rights of people to participate in governance and develop themselves and ensure that development is of direct benefit to the people. In order to realize this development goal, Xi Jinping put forward the vision of “innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development” in the Notes on the Proposal for the Formulation of the 13th Five-year Plan. The development of a socialist economy with Chinese characteristics has entered a new normal to optimize the economic structure and improve the quality of products and services. With supply-side reform, domestic demand is being further expanded while promoting continuous development of foreign trade to satisfy the ever-growing material and cultural needs of the people. It has been proved in practice that the scientific development philosophy is generating tremendous material power.

 

Realization of the rights to subsistence and development is required for a peaceful environment. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People in their War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War, Xi Jinping summed up the historical experience, “In modern times, Chinese people have experienced hardships and sufferings, so we deeply un-derstand the great significance of the value of people, basic human rights and personal dignity to social development and cherish the hard-earned environment for peaceful development. We will unswervingly pursue peaceful development and promote the human rights cause in China and worldwide.” Facing the new situation, he attached great importance to “promote all parties to deepen the consideration of protection of rights to peace and development.”²⁵ The reason is that the current world is under-going profound and complex changes. On one hand, the trend of the times, which is characterized by peace, development, cooperation and prosperity for all, is growing stronger; on the other hand, injustice and inequality in international relations are still prominent, global challenges are emerging and regional conflicts and local wars are rising one after another. With advances in science and technology there has been rapid development of weapons of mass destruction and their proliferation is unpredictable, the consequences will be unimaginable should international terrorism organizations or a maniacal leader get their hands on them. It is crystal clear that all countries, nations and mankind can truly enjoy the rights to peace, subsistence and development when there is lasting peace in the world.

 

In the 1990s, the Soviet Union collapsed and “color revolutions” happened in many Eastern European countries. As a result, the United States became the only superpower in the world. In order to seek hegemony in the world, the United States began to unscrupulously suppress countries with different ideologies and social systems and force them to follow its institutional mode. For this goal, it disregards international law and interferes in the internal affairs of other countries through manipulating the media to demonize and smear other countries, imposing economic sanctions to contain them and even openly launching armed invasions or wars. It has caused massive humanitarian disasters in the gulf countries of the Middle East and North Africa and seriously violated the human rights of these countries and their peoples. The resulting wave of refugees has also caused social tensions in many European countries and even seriously influenced world peace, security and development. Meanwhile, all people are endangered by the spread of international terrorism and extremist groups, the continuous development of weapons of mass destruction, climate change triggered by the greenhouse effect and large-scale infectious diseases. Facing all these, how can we govern the world and promote the development of the international human rights cause? Xi Jinping has provided a resounding answer to this question: by building a community with a shared future for human beings.

 

A community with a shared future for human beings calls for all countries, nations and individuals in the global village to make joint efforts and take effective measures for common interests and a shared destiny. Although the term “human rights” is not in the phrase “a community with a shared future for human beings”, its realization will push the human rights protection cause to a better stage on the basis of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As for building a community with a shared future for human beings, Xi Jinping has made a comprehensive and systematic interpretation from the following aspects:

 

First, sovereign equality should be upheld. “Sovereignty is the most important feature of any independent state as well as the embodiment and safeguard of its national interests.26 All countries, regardless of their size, are equal members of the international community and important parts of collective human rights. The basic human rights of all countries and people can only be guaranteed when sovereign equality is upheld.

 

Second, common security should be upheld. All countries should establish universal, common and sustainable security concepts to respect and protect the security of all countries. As Xi Jinping has said, “It is unacceptable to have security just for one country or some countries while leaving the rest insecure, and still less should one be allowed to seek the so-called ‘absolute security’ of itself at the expense of others’ security.”²⁷ We need to step up cooperation and jointly counter traditional security threats and non-traditional security threats which are increasing, fight against all forms of terrorism and remove the breeding ground for extremism. Disputes and differences between countries should be resolved through dialogue, consultation and peaceful means. We should increase mutual trust, and settle disputes and promote security through dialogue. Willful threats or use of force should be rejected. All countries should be brought together in a common endeavor to maintain peace and security in both or region and the world.

 

Third, common development should be upheld. When developing themselves, countries should actively work for the common development of others, combine their own interests with the interests of other countries and strive to expand the convergence of common interests. We should adhere to the new concept of win-win coopera-tion in our communication to push forward South-South cooperation and North-South dialogue and enhance the capacity of developing countries for independent development. We should reject the obsolete notion of a zero-sum game or winner take all and respect others’ interests while pursuing our own and advance the common interests of all.

 

Fourth, inclusiveness and the mutual learning from different civilizations should be upheld. Different races, religions and cultures coexist in the world. There are differences and contradictions, which have even triggered wars. Nevertheless, all people have the longing for a better life based on the nature of human kindness. Different civilizations have their own distinct features. No one is superior or inferior to others. We should promote mutual learning and draw on all that is good to “ensure that exchange will replace estrangement, mutual learning will replace clashes, and coexistence will replace a sense of superiority for different civilizations and boost mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual trust among different countries.”²⁸ We should make joint efforts to create a splendid human civilization.

 

Fifth, a green economy should be upheld. Nature is the foundation for the development of human society. Man and nature are interconnected and interdependent. Protection of nature and building an ecological civilization is protection of ourselves. Chinese culture promotes “harmony between man and nature”. “Man models him-self after the Earth; The Earth models itself after Heaven; The Heaven models itself after the Tao; the Tao models itself after nature.” Tao is the tur path. “We should help each other out in times of difficulty and assume both29 rights and responsibilities. We should work together to address growing global issues such as climate change, energy and resources security, cyber security and major natural disasters, in a common endeavor to protect our planet which is so crucial to our survival.”³⁰

 

 

In practice, human rights should be presented in the form of obligatory rights, legal rights and actual rights. In domestic institutional arrangements for human rights, the Constitution and the law play a key role in the effective enjoyment of human rights. Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the Constitution because “the rights of the people” are included in it. He proposed that the Party should “rule the country in line with the Constitution” and considers the rights and freedom of citizens to be equal in front of the law, and respect and protecting human rights the touchstone for the sup-port of the people for the Constitution. He said, “The underpinning of the Constitution is the people’s heartfelt support, and the power of the Constitution lies in the people’s sincere faith. Only by ensuring that all citizens are equal before the law, by respecting and protecting human rights and by ensuring that the people enjoy extensive rights and freedoms as prescribed by law, can the Constitution take root in people’s minds, can it be well received by the people, and can all the people take the initiative in implementing the Constitution.”³¹ This shows his belief in the supremacy of the Constitution as well as the attention he gives to human rights.

 

As the “parent law”, the Constitution is the core of the legal system. After the 18th CPC National Congress, the Chinese government enacted the General Provisions of the Civil Law and amended the Criminal Law, the Criminal Procedure Law, the Law on Lawyers, the Law on Environmental Protection and a series of other laws and reg-ulations based on the stipulation that “the state respects and protects human rights” in the Constitution, which has further improved the protection of such human rights as property rights, social rights, cultural rights, rights of the person, and political rights by the legal system centered on the Constitution. The vitality of the Constitution and laws lies in their implementation. Xi has pointed out that the implementation of the Constitution and laws should uphold the Party’s leadership, maintain the people’s dominant position and ensure that all citizens are equal before the law. Equality is the basic attribute of law-based socialism and the basic requirement of socialist politics. The goal that all citizens are equal before the law should be reflected in legislation, law enforcement, and justice. People, in turn, should be law-abiding. All organizations and individuals should respect the authority of the law and act within the scope of the Constitution and laws to exercise their rights and perform the obligations. No one has the privilege of transcending the Constitution and the law. Anyone who violates the Constitution or the law should be punished. No one is allowed to override the law by fiat or tailor the law to suit selfish ends with any excuse.

 

The judiciary is an integral part of the rule of law and the last line of defense for the healthy operation of the rule of law and protection of human rights. Xi Jinping pays special attention to the judicial protection of human rights. He has pointed out that judicial justice plays a leading role in social justice. It requires us to promote ju-dicial justice in practice to protect those suffering from infringements on their rights and punish those participating in criminal activities. In this way, the law can play its role to settle disputes and judicial trials can make the final decision. On the contrary, judicial injustice is fatal to social justice. If the infringement of rights cannot be protected through the judicial process, it means that the judiciary lacks credibility and thus the people will not have faith in it. Any case in which people are unjustly, falsely or wrongly charged harms not only the legitimate rights of the people but also the peo-ple’s trust in social fairness and justice. When the people cannot redress an injustice, disturbances will occur in the society. Xi has said, “I once quoted a paragraph written by (Francis) Bacon, the British philosopher. He said, ‘One foul sentence does more hurt than many foul examples. For these do but corrupt the stream, the other corrupts the fountain. “There is profound truth in it.”³² For the problems influencing judicial justice that exist in China, he demanded that we should further reform of the judicial system to ensure the independent and impartial exercising of judicial power and procuratorial power and improve the judicial power operation mechanism and the system for judicial protection of human rights to remove the system and mechanism barriers and “strive to let the people enjoy fairness and justice in every judicial case.”³³

 

While attaching importance to strengthening domestic judicial protection for human rights, Xi Jinping also attaches importance to international exchanges and cooperation in the field of human rights and proposes countries promote democracy and legalization in international relations. He pointed out, “A just cause should be pursued for the common good.” “We should work together to promote democracy in international relations. The destiny of the world should be controlled by the people all over the world and the things in the world should be done by different governments and people through consultation.”³⁴ “We should jointly promote more balanced international relations, advance reform in global governance in keeping with new changes in the relative strengths of international forces, respond to concerns and aspirations of various parties, and better uphold the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.” In order to ensure the sustained reform, he has proposed that, “We should jointly promote the rule of law in international relations. We should urge all parties to abide by international law and well-recognized basic principles governing international relations and use widely applicable rules to tell right from wrong and pursue peace and development.”³⁵ In this way, people and countries would be able to realize fairness and justice and fully enjoy human rights in exchanges and cooperation.

 

From China to the world, history to the reality, general to specific and human rights concepts to the subjects and objects of human rights, the thoughts of Xi Jinping on human rights in his series of speeches has made new progress in the theories, development forms and realization of human rights. Theory comes from practice and guides practice. The development of human rights theory by Xi Jinping has played and is playing an important role for further pushing forward the institutional arrangements of human rights protection by improving China’s policies and laws on human rights and it is having far reaching impact on the international community.

 

 

The author considers the major progress made by Xi Jinping to the human rights theory to be the following aspects:

 

 

Human rights and people’s emancipation have always been the banner held high by people of all ethnic groups under the leadership of the CPC in the pursuit of nation-al independence and people’s liberation as well as the objective of socialist construction by the people under the leadership of the Party. The founding of the People’s Republic of China marked a new stage of their journey. The policy of “land to the tiller” has been realized through land reform in rural areas. Workers and farmers exploited by feudal forces have been emancipated through democratic reforms in the cities. In 1953, large-scale economic construction began and the Party and government took satisfaction of the ever-growing material and cultural needs of the people as the goal of socialist development. However, due to lack of experience, “those problems not belonging to class struggle were still regarded as class struggle by the leaders of the Party in the complex struggle environment in late l950s.36 Such mistakes as expansion of the class struggle and the decade-long “cultural revolution” were made, which resulted in detours in human rights development. As mentioned previously, the prin-ciples of “free our minds” and “reform and opening-up” were established during the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee. The Party and the people drew a lesson from the bitter experience to improve the awareness of socialist democracy and the rule of law, enhance the socialist legal system and promote a socialist market economy with economic construction at the center. In order to adapt to the development of the new situation and meet the wishes of people in all over the country, the CPC Central committee put forward the suggestion to amend the Constitution in hope of “improving the comprehensiveness and accuracy of our Constitution to ensure the rights of the people to actually manage organization at all levels and different enterprises and undertakings for fully enjoyment of civil rights.”³⁷ Later, the National People’s Congress passed the 1982 Constitution on the basis of the 1954 Constitution. After 1982, the National People’s Congress passed amendments to the Constitution in 1999 and 2004 respectively to include “law-based governance and socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics” and “respect and protect human rights by the country” in the Constitution. Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the socialist democracy and rule of law have been gradually enhanced according to the Consti-tution and the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics has been gradually improved. On the basis of the sustained development of the national economy, the people’s living standards have been greatly improved, yet such problems as uneven regional development, widening income gaps, tens of millions of people living below poverty line in rural areas and corruption of public officials are still exist. The people have put forward new requirements for deepening reforms, guaranteeing a better life and the protection of various rights. Human rights protection has become the main content of China’s socialist development.

 

Meanwhile, a new situation has emerged in the development of international human rights cause. Some Western countries including the US take “human rights” as the excuse to suppress countries with different ideologies and social systems. Their hegemony has triggered increasingly dissatisfaction in the international community. With the joint efforts of the vast number of developing countries, the United Nations passed reform to establish the Human Rights Council in 2006 in place of the human rights committee under the Economic and Social Council. The Human Rights Council became a body directly affiliated to the UN General Assembly and is considered to be one of the “Three Pillars” of the UN together with the Economic and Social Council and the Security Council. Its activities have further promoted human rights as a main-stream issue within the international community, attracting the attention of different countries and international media. With the rapid development of economic globalization, many problems are still to be solved for struggle and cooperation of international human rights.

 

It is precisely at the historical moment of the new development of domestic human rights protection and international human rights cause that Xi Jinping has provid-ed a systematic answer to the healthy development of the human rights cause suitable for the domestic and international situation of human rights struggle as a Marxist politician and the leader of a major power in the world.

 

 

On November 2012, Xi Jinping said at a news conference to media from home and abroad after he was elected as the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee in the First Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, “I was elected as the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee. On behalf of the newly-elected leadership, I wish to express our thanks to all other members of the Party for their trust in us. We will do our utmost to be trustworthy and fulfill our mission.”³⁸ He said that the trust from the Party members and the great expectations of the people of all ethnic groups in China is an important responsibility. In order to shoulder on this major responsibility, he specially emphasized the people’s dominant position and set the aspirations of the people to live a better life as the mission of the Party and country. Since then, he has encouraged himself and warned all members of the Party in many speeches to “be faithful to the original aspiration and keep in mind the mission”. What are the original aspiration and mission? For the Communist Party of China, they are the ideal and faith to serve the people and struggle for communism and become the strong leadership core of socialism with Chinese characteristics to make unremitting efforts for the prosperity of the country, national rejuvenation and people’s liberation. Every Party member should have such faith since the day they take the oath to the Party.

 

The faith of Xi Jinping has been formed through long-term exercise and the in-heritance of the revolutionary tradition. He grew up in a revolutionary family and his parents are old revolutionaries tested by the war and socialist construction. Xi Zhongx-un, his father, joined the revolution at the age of 13. He created the Shaanxi-Gansu revolutionary base together with Liu Zhidan at 19 and was elected as the vice chairman of the border region at 21. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he served as a leader of the Party and country. After the “cultural revolution”, he took great responsibility and made new contributions to the reform and opening-up. Whether in a high position or in adversity, whether in the revolutionary base or in the construction of special economic zone, he never changed his original aspiration and his unwavering belief in communism. Mao Zedong once praised him as “a people’s leader from the people”. His mother, Qi Xin, also joined the revolution at the age of 13. She joined the Party at 17 and persistently strived for the people’s revolution and the cause of the Party over decades. His grandmother and aunt are also old revolutionaries who persisted in struggle behind the enemy lines for a long time during the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against the Japanese. Xi Jinping grew up in such a revolutionary family. When Xi Jinping went to live and work in the production team in rural areas of northern Shaanxi, he once told his teammate that his aunt said, “during the War of Resistance, only when we resolutely relied on the fellow villagers and found them could we continue our struggle and survival... If a communist left the village, he would not survive for even a day.”³⁹

 

The good examples of his revolutionary relatives helped him to overcome the confusion at the early stage of the work in rural area. He gradually became a part of the village. Through the tempering of hard work, he developed great sincerity and gained the trust of the people. From joining the Communist Youth League, the Party and serving as the secretary of the Party branch, he drilled wells, constructed dams, planted trees, helped build an iron factory, established a supply branch for methane gas together with the villagers, making great contributions to changing the situation in rural area. He was the youngest of the educated youth sent to live and work in the production team in Yan’an from Beijing, yet he stayed in the rural area for the longest time. Over seven years, he gradually established his life ideals. He regards himself as the son of the loess plateau and determined to do practical things for the people. In February 2015, he said emotionally when he returned to Liangjiahe to visit the vil-lagers in the village where he had worked, “Although I had left Liangjiahe, my mind has never left here.”⁴⁰ He also recalled with deep affection, “the people of northern Shaanxi raised me and protected me. Although I bid farewell to the fellow people in Northern Shaanxi, I could never be separated from the people.”⁴¹ His actions match his words. He bears in mind the people and those at the grassroots level. It is not only the case in Liangjiahe but also in Zhengding and Fujian. He served as the leader of Zhengding county for three years during which he visited all 25 townships and towns. Because he made great contribution to the reform and development of Zhengding, he is supported and respected by the local people. He considers Zhengding as “his second hometown”. Later, he was transferred to Ningde in Fujian province, one of the 18 contiguous poverty-stricken areas in the country at that time. As the Party secretary of the region, he traveled all over the rural areas. “He helped thousands of farmers in Ningde renovate dilapidated thatched huts and built houses for fishermen used to living on their boats.”⁴² In Fujian, he cared for the natural environment and made painstaking efforts for the restoration of the ecology and helped farmers to get out of poverty. He is still remembered and praised by the local people. The word “people” is deeply engraved in his mind. He said, “Looking back into the history, all those who gain the support of the people can finally rule the country. As ancient people said, ‘the ruler of a country should love the citizen like a parent loves his children. He would felt sad when they are in hunger and hardship.’ The ancient people know it, let alone our communists?”⁴³ “For our communists, the people are like our parents. Officials should love the people in the way they love their parents, work for their benefits and lead them to prosperity.”44 It is in this way that Xi Jinping’s human rights concept is deeply rooted in the people.

 

 

With a long history, Chinese culture is the blood of the Chinese civilization. For thousands of years, it has been the spiritual support for people of all ethnic groups to integrate with each other, integrate with the nature, build the homeland and become prosperous. The concepts of “benevolence” and “harmony” in Chinese culture have had a direct influence over the human rights consciousness of the Chinese people and they have had a profound impact on the formation and development of the important discourse on human rights by Xi Jinping. At the core of “benevolence” is attention to the people. “Benevolence is for the people.”⁴⁵ “People are at the heart of the heaven and the Earth.”⁴⁶ “Heaven produces everything and people are the most precious.”⁴⁷ The relationship between people should be “love”. “The benevolent loves others”. “Love” refers to the good feelings of the people to other people and things. This kind of emotion starts from oneself and passes from the near to the far and from the individual to the group. “Extend the respect of the aged in one’s family to that of other families; extend the love of the young ones in one’s family to that of other families.” “To achieve success, one should let others succeed as well.”⁴⁸ These show the spe-cial care for the old and young and the integration of the individual into the group. “Harmony” means peaceful relationships. “Harmony is precious.”⁴⁹ “Harmony makes peace.”⁵⁰ It is true within a country and between countries, so we should “make all nations exist together peacefully.”51 “Harmony” refers not only to the relationships between people and between countries but also the relationship between man and nature. “Nature and man are in unity.”⁵² “The world becomes prosperous when there is harmony between man and nature.”⁵³ As the result, “with harmony, the world is in good order.”⁵⁴ “Good order” is a universal criterion. “Order” and “morality” come from the same source. As Confucius said, “morality is from the nature.”⁵⁵ Both order and morality come from the nature. The theory is also used in the humanities field. In this way, order and morality with “benevolence” and “harmony” as the major content become the common standard for government officials and ordinary people to follow. In ancient times, to rule with order and morality was called “benevolent rule”. The supreme ruler who ruled with order and morality was called the “wise emperor”. The ministers of the Emperor who were faithful and benevolent and acted selflessly in the people’s interests were called “capable ministers”. Those people upholding loyalty, filial piety, friendliness, self-cultivation and family morality were called “gentlemen”. Although China was under feudal autocratic rule for a long time, with hierarchical privilege and different requirements for the emperors, officials and ordinary people in traditional morality, there was a spirit of equality in this concept. The wise emperor, capable minister and honest and upright officials were praised for generations. Heroes loyal to the country who sacrificed their lives for righteousness, as well as the benev-olent gentlemen and those helpful to others and those who set a good example for others and have been forever remembered. It is this spirit that sustains the common development of the Chinese nation in a complex environment. It is this spirit that keeps the local religion at peace with other religions introduced into China and different schools of religions at peace with one another. Deities of different religions can even be worshiped in the same temple. It is this spirit that ensures a friendly reception to foreign guests visiting China for business, tourism, or cultural exchanges. They have left their footprints in Xi’an, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Xiamen, Quanzhou and Guang-zhou. Looking back through history, the traditional order and morality characterized by the concepts of “benevolence” and “harmony” have become the support for united endeavor of the Chinese nation at critical moment of development and the sentiments for friendly exchanges with people from all over the world.

 

In modern times, these sentiments are still expressed even at some severe moments. Mr. Sun Yat- sen, the forerunner of the Chinese democratic revolution and the leader to end the feudal monarchy, didn’t forget to say at the end of his life, “We should unite the nations treating us equally and fight together.”⁵⁶

 

When the People’s Republic of China was founded, Mao Zedong vowed with passion in front of the country covered all with wounds and scars after suffering from the invasion of foreign enemies for a century that the Chinese nation should stand up in the nations of the world and make a greater contribution to the future of mankind.

 

Shortly after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, China, India, Myanmar and other countries put forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence together in the face of the armed aggression of Western imperialism in Asian and African countries. These principles have since been highly praised by the international community. The Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee established the policy of reform and opening up to increase the strength of China in development and foreign exchanges and enable it to become a major power promoting the development of world economy. Although China became the world’s second-largest economy ten years ago, the per capital income of China ranks still around 80th in the world. Nevertheless, the Chinese people, who themselves lacked food and clothes in the 1960s, helped Africa to build the Tanzania-Zambia Railway. Even now, China is still not rich enough and there are tens of millions of people waiting to be lifted out of poverty, yet it follows the principle that “In hard times, try to seek self-development. In success, try to let others be benefited.”⁵⁷ China has been making continuous contri-butions to the development of international human rights cause in terms of both material and manpower.

 

After the 18th National Congress, Xi Jinping has paid great attention to absorbing inspiration from traditional culture in his governance of the country and spread the essence of Chinese culture in his articles and series of speeches. He has said: “Socialist culture with Chinese characteristics is derived from China’s fine traditional culture, which was born of the Chinese civilization and nurtured over more than 5,000 years; it has grown out of the revolutionary and advanced socialist culture that developed over the course of the Chinese people’s revolution, construction, and reform under the Party’s leadership; and it is rooted in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics”.⁵⁸ In the construction of the rule of law in China, we should “integrate the rule of law with rule by virtue and legal enforcement with ethical progress... and ensure that the rule of law and rule by virtue complement and reinforce each other.”⁵⁹ For ideological and moral education, he has proposed, “We should see that the people develop an accurate understanding of history, ethnicity, country, and culture. We will launch a civic morality campaign to raise people’s ethical standards, and enhance work ethics, family virtues, and personal integrity. We will encourage our people to strive for excellence and to develop stronger virtues, respect the elderly, love families, and be loyal to the country and the people.”⁶⁰ He is a role model for practicing family ethics, obeying social morality, being strict with himself, treating others with loyalty, honoring parents, respecting the elderly and regulating relatives to be honest and clean. Through advocating and practicing the concept of “benevolence” and “harmony” in traditional Chinese culture and the principle to put the people first, Xi Jinping has further enhanced the affinity between the people of different ethnic groups and has won the respected of the people.

 

The important discourse on human rights by Xi Jinping have been formed in the context of the historical and cultural atmosphere and socialism development in China and the needs of the contemporary international situation under the guidance of Marxism. It is Marxism adapted to the conditions in China and an important part of Xi Jinping’s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era. Meanwhile, it is an important concept for the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core and Chinese government to guide human rights construction and foreign exchanges. According to Marxism, the ultimate goal of the human rights cause is to realize the full and free human development. This requires a long historical process with corresponding economic, political, cultural and social conditions. In fact, the emancipation of an individual and society as well as the emancipation of the proletar-ian and the whole of mankind are closely linked. Only when mankind is emancipated can the proletariat emancipate itself. As for individuals, “an individual can only gain all-round development in the collective. In other words, one can only gain freedom in the collective.”⁶¹ Meanwhile, “the society cannot be emancipated if individuals are not emancipated.”⁶² As Marx and Engels pointed out in the Communist Manifesto in 1846,

 

“In place of the old bourgeois society, with its classes and class antagonisms, we shall have an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.”⁶³ A century later, the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949 to bring the country into a new society where the people are masters of the country. The socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era under construction is the collective right for every individual to bring their talents into full play for free development to replace the old bourgeois society. On the basis of previous developments, “the four-pronged comprehensive strategy” put forward by the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core and the important discourse on human rights by Xi Jinping have been guiding the all-round development of the Chinese people and social progress, which will certainly promote the development of the international human rights cause to a new stage.

 

* LIU Hainian ( 刘海年 ), a member of the Law Group of the Marxism Research and Construction project of the Communist party of China Central Committee, the honorary director of Human Rights Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Science, a professor and ph.d. Supervisor of the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Academy of Marxism of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a part-time professor and ph.d. Supervisor at Renmin University of China, a distinguished professor of China University of political Science and Law, and Honorary president of the College of Law under Nanyang Normal University. His major fields of research are history of law in China, the rule of law and human rights theories in China.

 

1. Tong Guzi, Songs of the Five Sons, Book of Documents, trans. Li Min and Wang Jian (Shanghai: Shanghai Classics Publishing House, 2004).

 

2. Liu An, Boundless Discourses, The Huainanzi (beijing: beijing yanshan press, 2009).

 

3. xi Jinping, “Speech at the Reception to Celebrate the 65th Anniversary of the Founding of the people’s Re-public of China,” in Important Documents Since the 18th CPC National Congress (II) (beijing: Central party Literature press, 2016), 81.

 

4. Xi Jinping, “Speech at the First Meeting of the 13th National people’s Congress.” People’s Daily, March 21, 2018.

 

5. Xi Jinping, The Governance of China (beijing: Foreign Languages press, 2014), 4.

 

6. Xi, The Governance of China, 4.

 

7. Xi, The Governance of China, 141.

 

8. Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Opening Ceremony of a Study Session Attended by Officials at the provincial and Ministerial Levels.” People’s Daily, July 28, 2017.

 

9. Xi Jinping, Secure a Decisive Victory in Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects and Strive for the Great Success of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era (beijing, people’s publishing House, 2017), 11-12.

 

10. Xi, The Governance of China, 49.

 

11. Xi Jinping, “Address at the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of diplomatic Relations between China and France”.

 

12. Xi Jinping, The Congratulatory Letter to the “2015 beijing Forum on Human Rights,” People’s Daily, Sep-tember 16, 2015.

 

13. Dong Yunhu and Liu Wuping, Overview of the World Human Rights Laws (Chengdu: Sichuan people’s pub-lishing House, 1991), 1390-1391.

 

14. Ibid., 1365.

 

15. Wang Jiafu and Liu Hainian, Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (beijing: China Encyclopedia publishing House, 1998), 845.

 

16. Dong Yunhu and Liu Wuping, Overview of the World Human Rights Laws, 1366.

 

17. Xi, The Governance of China, 36.

 

18. Ibid.

 

19. Xi Jinping, “work Together for a bright Future of China-US Cooperative partnership---Speech at welcoming Luncheon Hosted by Friendly Organizations in the United States,” People’s Daily, February 15, 2012.

 

20. Xi Jinping, “press Conference for xi Jinping and the US president Obama to Meet Reporters,” People’s Dai-ly, January 16, 2015.

 

21. Marx, Engels, Selected Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, vol. III (beijing: people’s publishing House, 1995), 13.

 

22. Xi Jinping, “work Together for a bright Future of China-US Cooperative partnership---Speech at welcoming Luncheon Hosted by Friendly Organizations in the United States,” People’s Daily, February 15, 2012.

 

23. Marx, Engels, Selected Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, vol. xxxxII (beijing: people’s publish-ing House, 1995), 368.

 

24. Xi Jinping, “The Congratulatory Letter to the “2015 beijing Forum on Human Rights,” People’s Daily, Sep-tember 16, 2015.

 

25. Ibid.

 

26. Xi Jinping, “Carry Forward the Five principles of peaceful Coexistence to build a better world Through win-win Cooperation---Address at Meeting Marking the 60th Anniversary of the Initiation of the Five principles of peaceful Coexistence,” People’s Daily, July 30, 2014.

 

27. Ibid.

 

28. Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Opening Ceremony of The belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation,” People’s Daily, May 17, 2017.

 

29. Laozi, Daodejing, trans. Chen Guying (beijing: Zhonghua book Company, 1984).

 

30. Xi Jinping, “Carry Forward the Five principles of peaceful Coexistence to build a better world Through win-win Cooperation---Address at Meeting Marking the 60th Anniversary of the Initiation of the Five principles of peaceful Coexistence,” People’s Daily, July 30, 2014.

 

31. Xi, The Governance of China, 140-141.

 

32. The Fourth plenary Session of the Eighteenth CpC Central Committee Held in beijing, People’s Daily, Octo-ber 24, 2014.

 

33. Xi Jinping Receives the Joint Interviews of press from Four Latin American Countries, People’s Daily, July 15, 2014.

 

34. Xi Jinping, “Carry Forward the Five principles of peaceful Coexistence to build a better world Through win-win Cooperation---Address at Meeting Marking the 60th Anniversary of the Initiation of the Five princi-ples of peaceful Coexistence,” People’s Daily, July 30, 2014.

 

35. Education department of the party School of the CpC Central Committee, “Resolution of the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee on Several Historical Issues Since the Foundation of the People’s Republic of China,” in Important Documents of the Party and the State since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee (beijing: CpC Central party School press, 2017), 106.

 

36. deng xiaoping, Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, vol. II (beijing: people’s publishing House, 1994). 339.

 

37. Xi, The Governance of China, 3.

 

38. Xi Jinping, Seven Years as Educated Youth (beijing: CpC Central party School press, 2017), 39.

 

39. Ibid., 233.

 

40. Xi Jinping, Know and Love (Shijiazhuang: Hebei people’s publishing House, 2015), 244.

 

41. Xi, The Governance of China, 430-431.

 

42. Xi Jinping, Up and Out of Poverty (Fuzhou: Fujian people’s publishing House, 2014), 208.

 

43. Xi, The Governance of China, 432.

 

44. Zi Si, The Doctrine of the Mean, Book of Rites (Shanghai: Shanghai Classics publishing House, 1987).

 

45. Zi you, The Conveyance of Rites, Book of Rites (Shanghai: Shanghai Classics publishing House, 1987).

 

46. Liezi, Heaven’s Gifts, Liezi, trans. Jing Zhong (beijing: Zhonghua book Company, 2007).

 

47. Mencius, Lilou (II), Mencius, trans. yang bojun (beijing: Zhonghua book Company, 1990).

 

48. Ibid.

 

49. Confucius, Xue er, The Analects of Confucius, trans. yang bojun (beijing: Zhonghua book Company, 2006).

 

50. Zhou Gongdan, Office of Winter, Rites of Zhou (beijing: Zhonghua book Company, 2006).

 

51. Canon of Yao, Book of Documents, trans. Zhang xianglong (beijing: Sdx Joint publishing Company, 2015).

 

52. Wei Chuxiong, Significance of Ying Yang, Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals (beijing: Huaxia publishing House, 1989).

 

53. Dai Sheng, Border Sacrifice, Book of Rites (Shanghai: Shanghai Classics publishing House, 1987).

 

54. Zi Si, The Doctrine of the Mean, Book of Rites (Shanghai: Shanghai Classics publishing House, 1987).

 

55. Confucius, Shu er, The Analects of Confucius, trans. yang bojun (beijing: Zhonghua book Company, 2006).

 

56. Sun yat-sen. The Will of the Prime Minister (beijing: people’s publishing House, 2011).

 

57. Mencius, Jinxing (I), Mencius, trans. yang bojun (beijing: Zhonghua book Company, 1990).

 

58. Xi Jinping, Secure a Decisive Victory in Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects and Strive for the Great Success of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era (beijing, people’s publishing House, 2017), 41.

 

59. Xi, The Governance of China, 145-146.

 

60. Ibid., 43.

 

61. Marx, Engels, Selected Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, vol. I (beijing: people’s publishing House, 1995), 82.

 

62. Marx, Engels, Selected Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, vol. III (beijing: people’s publishing House, 1995), 832.

 

(Translated by HU Liang)