— “The Communist Party of China and the Progress on Human Rights in China” International Conference Summary

 

ZHAO Jianzhou* & GENG Siwen**

 

Abstract: The International Conference on “The Communist Party of China and the Progress on Human Rights in China” was held on April 8, 2021. It was sponsored by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and the Publicity Department of the CPC Jilin Provincial Committee and organized by Jilin University Human Rights Center, Jilin University School of Law, and Jilin University Center for Jurisprudence Research. At the conference, representatives from more than 20 countries discussed in depth the achievements, experience, and theories of the Communist Party of China in leading the Chinese people to strive for a better life and promoting the protection of human rights from dimensions of history and reality. The conference fully demonstrated the historical role and significance of the CPC’s path, thoughts, theories, and practices concerning human rights.

 

Keywords: The Communist Party of China · human rights in China · putting people first

 

2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Over those 100 years, the CPC demonstrated its resolute commitment to seeking happiness for the Chinese people and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and leading the Chinese people to strive ceaselessly for a better life. “This country is its people; the people are the country. As we have fought to establish and consolidate our leadership over the country, we have in fact been fighting to earn and keep the people’s support,” said Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central committee. The well-being of the people, the peace of the nation and the development of China’s human rights cause have always been the focus of the CPC’s efforts. The International Conference on “The Communist Party of China and the Progress on Human Rights in China” was held on April 8, 2021 in Changchun, Jilin province. It was sponsored by the China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHRS) and the Publicity Department of the CPC Jilin Provincial Committee, and organized by Jilin University Human Rights Center, Jilin University School of Law, and Jilin University Center for Jurisprudence Research. This conference, held in the year marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, was of great significance.

 

Qiangba Puncog, the vice chairman of the 12th session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and the president of CSHRS, and Jiang Jianguo, the vice minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and other members of the CPC leadership attended the conference and delivered speeches. Experts, scholars, heads of institutions, journalists, foreign students in China from more than 20 countries and international organizations including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Egypt, and over 100 representatives from Chinese departments, research institutions and private organizations concerned attended the conference online and offline.

 

In their opening speeches, all the speakers acknowledged the gains in human rights the country had achieved under the leadership of the CPC. Professor Jiang Zhiying, the party secretary of the Jilin University and head of the Human Rights Research Center of Jilin University, said that the CPC needs to make its best practices and the great achievements in human rights known to the world while improving its ideas, concepts and practices. He also noted that Jilin University would also continue to strengthen human rights research and education. Shi Yugang, a standing member of the CPC Jilin Provincial Committee and the minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Jilin Provincial Committee, stated that Jilin province has made great progress in its human rights, making notable achievements in poverty-alleviation, comprehensive and all-round revitalization of the nation, epidemic prevention and control, improvement of learning and teaching in universities and colleges, and in the theoretical research on human rights. Adhering to the CPC’s leadership and identifying the direction of human rights research, communicating the best practices in human rights in China, and keeping updated about the global changes and strengthening the voice of human rights justice are the three key points in the speech of Qiangba Puncog. Jiang Jianguo stressed that the people-centered CPC human rights cause strives to improve people’s living standards while building and developing the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, so a path of human rights development in line with China’s national conditions has been identified. As a guest speaker abroad, Tom Zwart, the director of the Cross-cultural Human Rights Center at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, pointed out the fight against terrorism and extremism from a cultural and cooperative perspective and suggested creating an effective information sharing and learning system to prevent people from going astray by being influenced by misconceptions.

 

 

During the keynote speech by Cai Lidong, vice president and professor of Jilin University, following the opening ceremony, 11 persons made speeches about people-centered development, the universality and particularity of human rights, the practices in China’s human rights cause and the personal experience of foreigners in China to present a magnificent picture of the development of the CPC and the progress of China’s human rights cause, setting the stage for in-depth discussions and exchanges.

 

 

“Human rights and democracy are all about the people.” The CPC always takes the interests of the people as the heart of whatever they do, and prioritizes improving people’s fulfillment, happiness and security in the process of achieving this goal. Being people-centered is a distinctive feature of China’s human rights cause, which has also been recognized by the representatives of scholars attending the conference.

 

Xu Xianming, vice chairman of CSHRS, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and vice chairman of the Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Committee of the NPC, delivered a keynote speech themed “People-centered Development and Human Rights,” stressing that people-centered development is the core of China’s human rights cause. The subjects who have human rights are people, and the value of human rights and the rule of law is the peoplecentered concept. The essence of the rule of law is to protect the rights and interests of the people according to the law, and the purpose of the rule of law is to respect and ensure human rights.

 

Li Junru, vice chairman of CSHRS and former vice president of the Central Party School, delivered a speech on “The Party’s Aspiration and China’s Human Rights Cause.” He put forward three points to note. First, the CPC’s original aspiration is the driving force to constantly push China’s human rights cause forward. Second, we need to promote the development of China’s human rights cause in the process of fulfilling the Party’s mission. Third, it is critical to secure more human rights based on fundamental ones by remaining true to our aspirations and forging ahead.

 

 

Human rights are believed to have a universal value with a kind of local knowledge. How to keep a good balance between the universality and particularity of human rights in a complex international environment has a bearing on the future development of China’s human rights cause and it also affects China’s communication and interaction with other countries in this field.

 

Hans K?chler, a professor of philosophy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria and president of the International Progress Organization, delivered a keynote address on the “Differences in Human Rights of the Countries in the World and Coexistence Among Them.” He emphasized that all countries are entitled to the right to execute their ideas and carry out practices of human rights independently based on their own national and cultural conditions without interference. Any attempts to try to dictate the development of human rights in all countries in the global community should be opposed. 

 

Lu Guangjin, secretary-general of CSHRS and a Kuang Yaming Distinguished professor with Jilin University, delivered a keynote speech on “The CPC’s Human Rights Theory in the New Era,” pointing out that the CPC, by combining Marxism with China’s reality and combining the universality of human rights with China’s national conditions, has developed a human rights theory with Chinese characteristics. This theory, with newly-developed human rights discourse and extensive human rights thought, is of great value and far-reaching historical significance.

 

In his keynote speech on “The CPC and the Progress on Human Rights in China,” Peter Hermann, a member of the European Academy of Science and Art and  professor of the Central South University, talked about the history of human rights and the parochialism of some Western human rights theories. Human rights can be defined in various ways, because countries around the world need to develop human rights in the light of their national conditions. China attaches great importance to the legitimacy, equity and justice of human rights.

 

 

“The accumulation of soil makes a mountain; the accumulation of water makes a sea.” The human rights practice and achievements of the CPC reach all corners of the country and promotes the progress of the cause of international human rights. It has laid a solid foundation for improving the development path of human rights and developing human rights theory. Such achievements have been acknowledged by the experts attending the conference.

 

Focusing on the practice of China’s human rights cause, Mi Feng, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the National Health Commission, delivered a keynote speech on “The Spiritual Core of the United Fight Against the Epidemic under the Party’s Leadership in China.” His speech introduced the achievements made under the CPC leadership in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic by telling some true stories and emphasizes that China always adopts the policy of respecting the right to life and the right to development. And it also stresses putting people’s lives first, nationwide solidarity, sacrifice, respecting science, and a sense of mission for humanity.

 

Li Xiaomei, a special representative for human rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivered a keynote speech on “People-oriented Building of a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings.” She talked about her understanding of human rights in the diplomatic work and the support on China’s human rights initiatives and concepts from the international community, pointed out that the consensus reached in this conference has been at the forefront in recent years, and encouraged everyone to participate in diplomatic work.

 

Chen Zhiyuan, deputy director of the Supreme People’s Court, made a keynote speech on “Strengthen the Mechanism of Judicial Protection of Human Rights to Improve People’s Fulfillment, Happiness and Security.” In his speech, he stressed that the courts will always follow the people-oriented development path and endeavor to raise public awareness of human rights so as to better protect the people’s rights of the person, property rights and other rights in accordance with the law, make new progress in the judicial protection of human rights, and ensure equity and justice.

 

 

China’s historic achievements in the cause of human rights have drawn the world’s attention. Justice naturally inhabits a man’s heart. Based on the fact that the Chinese people have benefited from the progress of human rights and their firm belief in the governance of the CPC, the foreign guests at the conference shared their views on China’s human rights cause and achievements from their perspectives, and refuted claims of ulterior motives.

 

Erik Nilsson, a senior reporter of the Department of Culture and Education of China Daily, gave a keynote speech on “Poverty Reduction Is a Human Right,” in which he noted that China’s human rights cause has made many achievements, of which poverty alleviation is the most prominent and unprecedented in history. The targeted poverty reduction strategy proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping is of great significance to the entire world and will help the international community better move toward a community with a shared future for human beings.

 

Sandrine Nduwimana, director of the International Liaison Department at ChinaAfrica Business Council, delivered a keynote speech on “The CPC’s Practice in Poverty Alleviation and Its Contribution to the Global Cause of Poverty Alleviation,” with the focus on the CPC’s contribution to the global cause of poverty alleviation, while acknowledging China’s achievements in the fight against poverty. She called on the world to learn from China’s experience, strengthen exchanges and cooperation in poverty alleviation and promote Africa’s development.

 

Yves Mouelet, a host of the anchor of the French channel of China Central Television (CCTV), delivered a keynote speech on “The CPC’s Ruling Philosophy and the Protection of Human Rights.” Based on Sino-French exchanges and his own experience in China, he pointed out that China truly respects and safeguards human rights and has made remarkable achievements in the fight against the epidemic, and denounced the Western countries for boycotting China’s Xinjiang cotton.

 

 

Human rights are not only a kind of local knowledge, but also a cross-cultural product with a universality and pluralistic nature. Only from a more inclusive and multi-cultural perspective, you will find that the development path of the CPC’s human rights appears to have more Chinese characteristics and significance to the world. After the keynote speech, participants had an in-depth discussion and communication in two sessions at the event.

 

 

The first session, themed “Cross-cultural Perspective: Human Rights Progress in China under the CPC’s Leadership,” was hosted by Sun Shiyan, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and a researcher of the Institute of International Law (IIL). And the liaison is Peng Cenxuan, an associate researcher at the Institute of International Law at Wuhan University. During the first session, 17 speakers discussed the CPC’s values, achievements and foreign exchanges on human rights.

 

 

It is the pioneering spirit that enables the CPC to make remarkable achievements. In the field of human rights, the CPC is always people-centered, finds the path on its own, tries to seek truth from facts, constantly updates its values and concepts, keeps pace with the times and develops various human rights theories. The CPC’s theories, values and concepts on human rights feature equity, people’s livelihoods, the mass line and people-centered development. So they were highly valued and discussed by the experts and scholars attending the conference.

 

Zhang Wanhong, executive director of the Institute for Human Rights Studies of Wuhan University and Professor of Wuhan University School of Law, delivered a keynote speech on “Equality is the Core Value of the Century-long CPC’s Human Rights Cause.” Equity is the core value of the CPC’s century-long human rights, and the pursuit of equity and justice is the most enduring internal motive to drive its growth. The guarantee of equal rights for certain groups is a solid foundation for people-centered human rights.

 

Professor Qian Jinyu, deputy director of the Research Center for Human Rights at the Northwest University of Political Science and Law, delivered a keynote speech on “Continuation of the Ruling Party and Protection of Human Rights: The Political Landscape of Contemporary China.” He stated the great significance of the CPC’s foundation to the cause of human rights from the historical and political context and the three historical and traditional backgrounds of China. He also pointed out the status of the CPC in history as a Party with characteristics of ruling-by-law, keeping pace with the times, always learning, mobilizing the people and staying true to its mission.

 

Jia Yujiao, a professor of the School of Philosophy and Sociology, Jilin University, delivered a keynote speech on “The CPC’s Practice Is Centered Around People’s Livelihoods: The Century-long Endeavor and the Future Direction of Growth.” She noted that the CPC’s century-long struggle and its efforts in the future are focused on people’s well-being. More human rights have been secured under the CPC’s leadership and the CPC keeps improving and guaranteeing human rights while changing social relations. The types of human rights in China are constantly increasing.

 

Liu Xuebin, associate professor of Jilin University School of Law and a full-time researcher at Jilin University Human Rights Center and Jilin University Center for Jurisprudence Research, delivered a keynote speech on “The Relationship between the CPC’s Mass Line and the Protection of Human Rights.” His speech was made from three perspectives. From the historical perspective, mass line education and practice lay a solid foundation for the development of the CPC after the launch reform and opening-up policy. From the perspective of values, people-centered development is the core value of the CPC’s mass line and the protection of human rights. From the practice perspective, the mass line runs through the various processes of ruling the country according to law.

 

Chang Jian, director of the Center of the Study of Human Rights at Nankai University and professor of the Zhou Enlai School of Government (ZSG), delivered a keynote speech on “Political and Social Dimensions in the Development of the CPC’s Human Rights Concept.” The political dimension means that the CPC is in the vanguard of the working class, and its human rights concept focuses on the people who are the subjects of rights. The social dimension means that the CPC is also the vanguard of our nation, and it tries to secure and guarantee fundamental human rights for all. You’ll find the whole picture of the CPC’s fight for human rights from the two dimensions.

 

Li Long, professor of the School of Philosophy and Sociology, Jilin University, delivered a keynote speech on “The CPC’s Aesthetic Ideal and Its Significance in Modern Times.” It holds that the CPC’s aesthetic ideal is to create a new country, develop a new nation and build a new culture in the modern Western-centered narrative mode, so as to make itself an alternative to the modern capitalist civilization, and provide a new and better possibility for human civilization.

 

Tu Shaobin, an associate professor at the School of Law, South-Central University for Nationalities, delivered a keynote speech on “The Interpretation of the CPC’s Century-long Struggle for Human Rights and Its International Dissemination.” He said that the CPC has always made the most pressing challenge of Chinese people’s human rights a priority and promoted human rights development in a scientific and all-around way, to endlessly maximize people’s human rights to let them live a happy life. We need to pay more attention to the dissemination and competition of human rights, and create opportunities for dialogue and encourage competition in the human rights discourse in the Western arena.

 

 

The CPC firmly believes in the people-oriented human rights concept, and ceaselessly carries out the practice and publicity work. In practice, it has made remarkable achievements that benefit the public, which marks a chapter of great significance for the protection of human rights in China. The gains that the CPC and the Chinese government achieved in some areas, such as poverty alleviation, the epidemic fight and support for the border areas, have also been widely acknowledged by scholars at home and abroad.

 

Liu Huawen, executive director of the Human Rights Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and deputy director and deputy director of Institute of International Law, delivered a keynote speech on “The Historic Achievement of Poverty Reduction Reflects the Development of China’s Human Rights Cause.” Liu pointed out that China’s historic achievements in poverty alleviation reflect the all-around advancement and remarkable progress of China’s human rights cause. This is the success of the people-centered human rights development in China. It also means our human rights characterized by the right to life and the right to development are in line with China’s national reality and are the right path for China to follow to promote the development of human rights in an all-around way. So it is of great significance to the world.

 

Xu Jinglin, a senior writer with the China daily Global Edition, delivered a keynote speech on “The CPC’s Thoughts and Practice on the People’s Right to Life.” He introduced China’s practical concept of pursuing high-quality development and adhering to people-oriented human rights by giving examples of poverty alleviation and environmental improvement in southwest China. In particular, he stressed and endorsed China’s people-oriented sustainable development in the economy and environment, which, in return, supports the guarantee of China’s human rights.

 

Professor Zhang Yonghe, executive director of the Institute of Human Rights at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, delivered a keynote speech themed “Human Rights Protection in Modern Xinjiang is the CPC’s Contribution to the Cause of Human Rights in the World,” focusing on the progress made by the Chinese government in protecting various human rights in Xinjiang. He said that people in Xinjiang are entitled to the right to life, the right to development, the right to economic, social and cultural rights in modern Xinjiang from three aspects of the measures to aid Xinjiang, the struggle against poverty, de-radicalization and anti-terrorism.

 

Halley Ahmed Ali Mohamed Matt Willey, an international news editor of China’s Xinhua News Agency from Egypt, delivered a keynote speech on “An Egyptian’s View of China’s Achievements in Human Rights Development.” She expressed her view on the practice of the CPC and the Chinese government in protecting the right to life and the right to development from her perspective, such as epidemic control and poverty alleviation. She strongly agreed with the concepts of Chinese human rights, saying that the right to life and the right to development are fundamental human rights, and denounced the false reports in the Western media on the Xinjiang issue.

 

Mr. Rooney Hoversen, a professor at the Department of Social Work, Child Welfare and Social Policy, University of Oslo, Norway, and the co-director of the Center for Public Service and Citizen digitization, delivered a keynote speech on “Digital Inclusion of the Disabled in China under the COVID-19 Background: How much Progress has Been Made in China.” He pointed out that digital integration has driven the development of human rights for the disabled in China during the epidemic, and acknowledged the efforts that China made in using digital technology to improve the employment, welfare, medical care, transportation and convenience for the disabled, and engaging more technology companies in this cause.

 

 

The progress and achievements made in human rights by the Chinese people under the CPC’s leadership are not only of great significance in China’s own historical and cultural context, but also in a multicultural world. These efforts have come to fruition domestically and resonated around the world. How China should conduct dialogue with other countries on human rights and how the other countries work together with China for the common development of human rights attracted the attention of scholars. 

 

Harvey Dzodin, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, spoke on the theme “Human Rights in the World: Introspection before Holding Others Accountable.” He referred to the legal doctrine “unclean hands” and gave examples of violations of human rights in the Western countries in the past, including the slave trade, racial discrimination, and the Chinese Exclusion Act. He also stressed that the West should first reflect on its own faults, rather than arbitrarily blaming other countries when they talked about the huge difference in the number of people infected with or dead of COVID-19.

 

Anthony Carty, a professor of international law at the Beijing Institute of Technology, delivered a keynote address on “The Chinese Traditional Governance and the Status of Mencius — Why Can’t the Western Liberal Tradition Embrace This?” Mencius advocated benevolent governance, self-discipline and the love of the people by rulers. This concept has been passed down and deep-rooted in the Chinese people, and it can be reflected in the governance of human rights in China today, but Western countries often do not understand Chinese philosophy very well. It is necessary for the international community to promote the ideas of Confucius, and Mencius to drive the development of international human rights.

 

Deborah Spinney, an assistant professor at the New York University Shanghai (NYU Shanghai), spoke on the theme of “Vulnerability, Subjectivity and Rights: Questioning the Mainstream of Modernity.” She noted that the Western-centered and colonialist mainstream of modernity does not provide a good basis for vulnerability and subjectivity. In this regard, the overall development of human beings, mutual help between people and harmonious coexistence between humans and nature need to be paid more attention to.

 

Felipe Hurtado Sierra, a Spanish translator in the Multilingual Department at China Internet Information Center of China Foreign Languages Publication and Distribution Administration (China International Publishing Group), delivered a speech themed “Human Rights: Facts and Figures, not Political Weapons.” He noted that different countries have different histories, cultures, traditions and moral codes. So no country in the world has the right to condemn China’s human rights model. Besides, China has made remarkable contributions in diversifying human rights, reinforcing their social foundation of human rights, identifying an effective path for the development of human rights, and integrating political and socio-economic rights. He hoped that other countries should not hold the biased view of human rights in China.

 

Peng Qinxuan, an associate research fellow at the Institute of International Law of Wuhan University, delivered a keynote speech on “Develop a Better Understanding of a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings under the CPC’s Leadership from the Perspective of Human Rights.” She said that China advocates win-win cooperation rather than confrontation and exclusion, and that a community with a shared future for human beings reflects the value of carrying out win-win cooperation and meeting challenges together. And such a value includes shared and diversified human discourse and human rights discourse. So it applies both to the fundamental human rights norms of the state and individuals. In addition, the parties concerned should also undertake the common obligation to guarantee and promote human rights and human dignity.

 

 

The second session, themed “People-centered Concept: The Theory and Practice of China’s Human Rights Cause,” was hosted by Qi Yanping, director of the Center for Science, Technology and Human Rights and professor of the School of Law at the Beijing Institute of Technology. The liaison was Hua Guoyu, an associate professor at the People’s Public Security University of China. In this session, 13 speakers spoke on people-centered theory and practice.

 

 

The CPC is a mission-oriented Party with responsibility, and it is also a progressive learning-oriented Party. The people-centered human rights concept comes from the Marxist humanism of Marxist-Leninist political parties on the one hand and the hard-fought self-reliance in the past century on the other hand. The people-centered concept is in one continuous line with the theory of human rights developed in the century-long hard journey of the CPC.

 

Zhu Liyu, secretary-general of the Academic Committee of the Human Rights Research Center and professor of the School of Law at the Renmin University of China, delivered a keynote speech on “Marxist Theory of Human Rights and Its Adaptation to the Chinese Context.” The speech points out that we should study and execute Marxism’s ideas of the stance of the people, the forces of production and relations of production, and the people and democracy. The nine aspects of the adaptation of Marxism expounded by General Secretary Xi Jinping also have profound implications for the theory of human rights. From the day of its foundation, the CPC has made it its goal to seek the well-being for the people and development for humankind.

 

Xiao Junyong, deputy director of the Center for Science, Technology and Human Rights and professor of the School of Law at the Beijing Institute of Technology, delivered a keynote speech on the “People-centered Concept Is the Key to Understanding the CPC’s Century-long Theory and Practice In human Rights.” The people-centered concept is the value core of Xi Jinping’s theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and it is in one continuous line with theories of “Serving the People,” “Three Favorables,” “Three Represents” and “The Scientific Outlook on Development.” It is the outcome of the CPC’s century-long theoretical exploration and practice, so it is widely recognized. 

 

Zhou Lulu, Party secretary of the Human Rights Research Institute of Guangzhou University, delivered a keynote speech on “The Study of the CPC’s Thoughts on the Rights of People to a Livelihood” She mentioned that the outlook on people’s livelihood includes what is meant by people’s livelihood and how to safeguard and improve it. The two aspects are different but interrelated. And she also noted that there are five stages of the CPC’s evolution: liberating the people’s livelihood, reforming the people’s livelihood, benefiting the people’s livelihood, improving the people’s livelihood, and comprehensively and systematically developing the system for people’s livelihood. The analysis of each stage can promote the development and innovation of the CPC’s theory on people’s livelihood. 

 

Xu Yuzhen, the vice dean and professor of the Jilin University School of Management, delivered a keynote speech on “The Embodiment and Improvement of Human Rights Protection in the CPC’s Century-long Policymaking.” The speech discussed the approaches to safeguard and improve human rights in the CPC’s decision-making process. These approaches include updating the system for open Party affairs work, improving public participation in the important livelihood decision-making process, and employing big data to manage the Party’s decision-making system.

 

Chen Youwu, executive director of the Human Rights Research Institute of Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, and professor and executive director of the Human Rights Research Institute of Guangzhou University, delivered a keynote speech on “A Historical Review of the CPC’s Century-long Judicial Protection of Human Rights.” He pointed out that the CPC began to explore the judicial protection of human rights soon after its foundation, and it always keeps improving it. The thoughts of judicial protection of human rights in the period of the governance by the Chinese Peasants’ and Workers’ Democratic Party laid a foundation for it. Before the launch of reform and opening up, the judicial protection of human rights had achieved good results in its initial stage. Today, strengthening judicial protection of human rights has become the main approach for governance by rule of law. 

 

Ma Sijie, a researcher of the Research Center for Human Rights at the Northwest University of Political Science and Law, delivered a keynote speech on “The Experience and Enlightenment of the CPC in Protecting Human Rights during the Yan’an period.” By introducing the background in the Yan’an period, he summarized four key points of the CPC’s experience from the theoretical and practical perspectives, including upholding the leadership of the CPC in the cause of human rights protection, taking Marxist human rights theory as the theoretical basis, protecting the people’s human rights, basing whatever we do on our national reality. The speech offered experience and enlightenment for the cause of human rights protection under the leadership of the CPC in the new era.

 

 

Delivering a better life to the people is what the CPC keeps striving for. The solemn commitments and remarkable achievements made in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, resolutely combating poverty, driving sustainable economic development and creating a government and society under the rule of law mirror the CPC’s values and the outcomes of practices in human rights.

 

Liu Hongchun, director and associate professor of the Human Rights Law Research Center of Yunnan University Law School, delivered a keynote speech on“Achievements and Prospects of Technical Assistance in the Poverty Reduction Cooperation Pilot Project under the CPC’s Leadership.” She summarized the characteristics of the first phase of the poverty reduction cooperation pilot project in East Asia, which is guided by the development needs of rural communities and the purpose of building a community with a shared future for human beings, and promoted in strict accordance with relevant regulations and evidence-based mechanisms in a coordinated effort. She also put forward four prospects: updating the evaluation and mechanism, improving the supply system on the policy and legal level, promoting coordinated division of labor among multiple parties, and strengthening the risk assessment and prevention and control mechanism of the project.

 

Liu Zhiqiang, a professor at the Human Rights Research Institute of Guangzhou University, delivered a keynote speech on “The CPC’s Theory and Practice in Poverty—Nationwide Poverty Eradication in an All-round Way and Human Rights Governance.” He argued that poverty eradication across the nation is the biggest human rights project in China, and it is also a great practice in the governance of human rights in our country. Human rights governance aims to include the protection of human rights or the system of human rights into national governance, to create a new paradigm with the thinking of human rights and power. In terms of human rights governance, the theoretical cornerstone, the theoretical core, the theoretical element and the theoretical expression for complete poverty eradication are the ideas of human rights, the guarantee of human rights, the practice of human rights, and the discourse of human rights, respectively.

 

Gong Xianghe, executive vice president of the Institute of Human Rights Research and professor of the School of Law at Southeast University, made a speech on “The Right to A Better Life: Human Rights in A Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects.” He said that the right to a better life is the core value of a moderately prosperous society, and the expression of human rights in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects is a right to a better life. To deliver a better life, it is necessary both to establish and improve the indicator system for assessing the moderately prosperous society in all respects and to legalize the right to a better life.

 

Cao Yan, a researcher and professor at the Research Center for Human Rights at the Northwest University of Political Science and Law, delivered a keynote speech on “The Logic and Prospects of China’s Governance of Labor Relations.” He argued that the Marxist theory of labor and China’s governance of labor relations contribute to the achievements in the effective management of labor relations in China. The governance of labor relations in the new era should be based on this logic, and ceaseless efforts made in legislating our labor regulations, labor supervision and the labor relations coordination with Chinese characteristics in accordance with the policy of labor relations in the new era, to develop and improve the labor law system with Chinese characteristics.

 

Professor Yin Kuijie, dean of the Political Science and Law School, Northeast Normal University, delivered a keynote speech on “The Challenge and Shift in the Focus of Carrying out the Publicity Work of Human Rights in China in the New Era.” He pointed out that some Western countries still stigmatize China on human rights issues, despite the remarkable development, achievements and contributions made by China in the human rights cause. After analyzing the major challenges, the shift of the focus on publicity work of human rights in China in the new era, he put forward some measures of publicity of human rights achievements, cooperation and exchange, and agenda-setting.

 

Guo Liang, a professor of the Institute of Human Rights Law and School of Law at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, gave a keynote speech on “The Grass-roots Practice of the CPC in Combating Poverty.” Based on a survey of the Tujia ethnic group in Enshi, Hubei province, he discussed the theoretical basis, value, key points and theoretical enlightenment of poverty alleviation and reduction. He pointed out that the CPC’s poverty alleviation theory and practice is essentially a set of ever-developing human rights. The CPC’s poverty alleviation aims to drive the development of remote areas and impoverished people in the rural areas by the state. 

 

Wang Jinwen, a researcher of the Centre for Human Rights Studies and an associate professor of the Law School at the Central South University, delivered a keynote speech on “The Procedure-based Practice and Value Pattern of Human Dignity in the Constitutional Order of New Era.” He argued that respect for and protection of human dignity is the consensus of modern society, and everyone has the right to maintain their dignity and pursue a happy life with dignity. According to constitutions, the vitality of human dignity lies in its historicity, openness and practicality. We need to strengthen the in-depth research on human dignity to create a value order based on it. Human dignity is the value realization and the core of the protection of humans.

 

 

Zhou Chunguo, the Party secretary and a researcher at Jilin University School of Law, presided over the session of the closing ceremony, followed by the session of discussion and keynote speech.

 

Professor Mao Junxiang, executive director of the Centre for Human Rights Studies and Party secretary of the School of Law at the Central South University, delivered the concluding remarks at the first session. He noted that the first session reflected a cross-cultural atmosphere where speakers from all over the world reached a consensus on four points. First, the participants agreed that the CPC’s peoplecentered concept of human rights was progressive.Second, the development of human rights is unique, historical, concrete and diverse. Third, improving human rights and addressing relevant disagreements requires honest and open dialogue. Fourth, without investigation, there is no right to speak. People cannot judge human rights in a country by what they hear only by what they see. 

 

Tang Yingxia, deputy director of the Center of the Study of Human Rights and an associate professor at the School of Law at Nankai University, summed up six key points of consensus reached in the second session. First, Marxism is the theoretical source of the CPC’s people-centered development. Second, the people-oriented concept is the CPC’s core value of protecting human rights. Third, people-centered development should be measured by the people’s fulfillment, happiness and security. Fourth, looking back at the century-long history of the CPC, we need to identify the essence of people-centered human rights. Fifth, it is necessary to execute the peoplecentered ideas instead of just discussing stratagems on paper. Sixth, the practice has reflected the CPC’s efforts to protect human rights through grass-roots poverty alleviation. Besides, she pointed out two things yet to be done. First, it is necessary to identify the relationship between the ruling idea of the people-centered Party and the legal system of human rights. Second, we need to summarize the century-long struggle experience of the CPC to provide a basis for future development. 

 

Professor He Zhipeng, dean of Jilin University School of Law and executive director of Jilin University Human Rights Center, summed up the session academically. He believed that the in-depth discussion in the conference would effectively enable Chinese and foreign scholars to develop a better understanding of each other’s ideas about human rights. It is common have disagreements as well as consensus, which reflects the diversified human rights we aim to develop. The CPC’s approaches, thoughts, theories and practice of human rights should not be judged by ourselves, but assessed for their effectiveness from multi-cultural perspectives. Honest and open dialogues are needed to discuss the discourse system and academic paradigm from the beginning to the end.

 

Tang Xianwen, director of the Human Rights Division of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, made a summary of the conference. He summed up the conference in four words: beauty, smooth, novel and lively. First, the beauty of Changchun, the city where this conference was held, attracts many tourists. It can also be found in academic discussions, studies, and humanities. Second, this conference has gone smoothly, with effective exchanges and communication between experts who delivered thought-provoking speeches and made in-depth summaries that made people think seriously. Third, novel approaches to attend the conference were used. The participants could attend it either offline or online to interact with each other as they really meet in a virtual real-time or physical face-to-face sense. Fourth, the discussions and exchange of ideas were lively, and keynote speeches were delivered one after another with a lively atmosphere. And all we tried to do at this conference is to deliver a better life to people. The people’s aspiration for a better life is the goal of the CPC.

 

The CPC has secured extraordinary achievements over the past century, but there is still a long journey ahead o with new difficulties to be overcome. The participants at the conference held an in-depth discussion on the development and progress of the CPC and the cause of human rights in China. After the closing of the conference, some participants were reluctant to leave and wanted to stay to finish their dialogues, indicating that we still need to keep carrying out the work for the cause of human rights to achieve our goals. With the century-long practice, the CPC has presented a picture of the gains that have been achieved in front of the public. In this picture, how to execute people-oriented ideas, how to protect human rights, how to fulfill commitments and how to live up to responsibilities can be found. As an old Chinese saying goes, “If you want to show wisdom and virtuousness in the world, you must first govern your country well.” In the international community with changeable situations, hard-to-identify development in the future, challenges and opportunities, the CPC still keeps making headway and does not abide by established rules. Instead, we will remain true to our aspiration, and try to build a community with a shared future for human beings. Besides, we shoulder more important responsibilities in dealing with our national, regional and international affairs, and make more contributions to the global community.

 

There is no best only better improvement of human rights cause in the future. The CPC has gone through a hundred years of vicissitudes, and always bears in mind its aspiration and never forgets to fulfill its formidable mission. The centennial celebrations not only mark a milestone for the CPC’s achievements in its undertaking, but also becomes its motto to carry forward its work and forge ahead. The cause of human rights in China will build on past achievements and strive for new progress. 

 

(Translated by LU Xiaofei)

 

* ZHAO Jianzhou ( 赵健舟 ), Researcher at the Human Rights Research Center and Doctoral Candidate at the School of Law, Jilin University.

 

** GENG Siwen ( 耿斯文 ), Postgraduate at the School of Law, Jilin University. WEI Xiaoxu ( 魏晓旭 ), Doctoral Candidate of the School of Law at Jilin University, also made contribution to the paper, my sincere appreciation goes to him.