Distinguished guests, experts and colleagues:

 

My name is Zhang Zhihao. I am the chief science and technology reporter at China Daily.

 

It is with great pleasure to share with you my experience witnessing how science and technology contributes to human rights development in China, ranging from poverty alleviation to modernizing the justice system.

 

One intriguing fact I often like to share about China’s triumph over absolute poverty is that part of its foundations is built on decades of innovative research on edible fungi.

 

In Jinmi village of Zhashui county, Shaanxi province, there is a mushroom farm that looks like a work of science fiction. It consists of rows of nutrient-filled mesh bags in a greenhouse equipped with high-definition cameras, sensors automated ventilation and irrigation systems. It is a far cry from my traditional perception of mushrooms growing on rotten tree trunks.

 

The technologies enabled local farmers to sustain high yields despite the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic. The county's fungi industry produces around 5,000 metric tons of wood ear mushrooms annually, valued at 300 million yuan, which helped its residents climb out of poverty in 2019.

 

This farm, along with hundreds of others across China, is the brain child of renowned Chinese mycologist Li Yu. Since 2012, Li and his students had spent most of their years traveling to 40 deeply impoverished regions in seven provinces to teach the locals how to grow and process edible fungi.

 

His efforts have blossomed into a 35 billion yuan production and manufacturing industry that features unique products made from fungi including chips, supplements, tea and ice cream, all while lifting 35,000 families from more than 800 villages out of poverty.

 

In 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the mushroom farm in Zhashui county, and was so impressed by the work that he called it “small wood ear, big industry”. Last year, Xi presented Li with a national honorary title for his poverty eradication work.

 

Ladies and gentlemen

 

Upholding and protecting the rights to survival and development are the cornerstones of China’s approach to ensuring universal human rights, as evident in China highlighting poverty alleviation in its national human rights action plan for 2016 to 2020.

 

China being able to eliminate absolute poverty is not only a historical achievement for the Chinese people, but also a major contribution to human rights progress in the world.

 

This undertaking cannot do without the help of science and technology, which have promoted the rights to quality living, social security, health, and access to education and other social services for the poor and vulnerable in China.

 

Moreover, China’s innovative solutions for combating poverty can serve as an important facilitator and reference for the world to eliminate extreme poverty, which is an objective lay down as the very first goal of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

 

Ladies and gentlemen

 

Former UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson once said: “there is no lasting peace or sustainable development without respect for human rights and the rule of law.”

 

On January 1, 2021, China’s first Civil Code came into force, providing legal protections to various kinds of private rights from property to contracts to personality rights. The law has opened a new era of civil rights protection in China, and stood as the embodiment of the concept of rule of law with people at the center.

 

But upholding the rule of law is no easy task, particularly during the COVID-19 epidemic where social distancing is the norm. Fortunately, we are seeing block chain, 5G, artificial intelligence and other technological innovations being adopted by China’s juridical system to make it more transparent, accessible, accountable and efficient.

 

For instance, in Beijing, you can log on to a phone app, host a live stream with a judge and sign your court records on the phone. There are also hotlines, websites, and other platforms to provide one-stop legal services, such as filing civil cases, paying fees, exchanging evidence, hosting online trials and judicial auctions.

 

With the help of these digital technologies and smart courts, the Supreme People’s Court reported that last year, China had filed more than 11.4 million cases online and hosted over 1.27 million court sessions. China also settled over 10.8 million cases online, and stored over 1.7 billion lines of evidence on its justice system’s block chain.

 

These new technologies have not only been instrumental in protecting the rights and freedom of the people, but are also conducive in creating a modernized justice system that can meet the new demands brought forth by China’s socioeconomic development and global trends.

 

In conclusion, technological advancement can help move the human rights agenda forward by introducing new opportunities, solutions and actors to the human rights framework.

 

But on the other hand, it is also important to keep scientific exploration and achievements within the boundaries of law and morality. As a result, it is imperative for us to collaborate and make full use of scientific and technological progress in the interests of peace and benefit of mankind.

 

Thank you.