LI Junru*

 

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was an epoch-making event in the history of China’s human rights development. Founded a century ago under the banner of “fighting for democracy and human rights”, the Communist Party of China has now embarked on a new journey for the development of human rights cause in a new era. The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping on behalf of the 19th Central Committee was also a political declaration and an action plan for the Party to lead the people of all ethnic groups in a concerted effort to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics on a new journey in a new era. In the context of China’s human rights cause, the report is also an action plan put forward by the Party for the development of China’s human rights at a critical moment when it embarks on a new journey to build China into a modern socialist country in all respects and advance toward its Second Centenary Goal.

 

 

Over the course of a century of endeavor, the Party has always regarded the development of China’s human rights cause as an integral part of the overall plan of China’s revolution, construction and reform, and has always promoted the development of China’s human rights cause in tandem with the Party’s missions and tasks. To gain a clear picture of the action plan for the development of China’s human rights, it is of utmost importance to understand the theme of this action plan and the missions and tasks it proposes. The theme of the Congress, as articulated in the report to the 20th National Congress, is a clear declaration of what banner the Party will uphold, what path it will take, what ideological state it will keep, and what goal it is trying to achieve on its new journey in the new era. It is also the theme that inspires us to advance the development of China’s human rights cause on a new journey in a new era.

 

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in the report that: “The theme of this Congress is holding high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, fully implementing the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, carrying forward the great founding spirit of the Party, staying confident and building strength, upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, forging ahead with enterprise and fortitude, and striving in unity to build a modern sociist country in all respects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts.”¹ To promote the development of China’s human rights cause on the new journey in a new era with this theme in mind, first, the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics must be held high and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era fully implemented; second, the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the Chinese path of human rights development must always be followed; third, the great founding spirit of the Party must be carried forward with confidence and strength, upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, and forging ahead with enterprise and fortitude; fourth, the development of China’s human rights cause must always be an integral part of the overall efforts of the Party and the country, and all ethnic groups should strive in unity to build a modern socialist country in all respects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts. In this sense, the report is an action plan for the development of China’s human rights at a critical moment when the Party is embarking on leading the nation on a new journey to build China into a modern socialist country in all respects and advance toward its Second Centenary Goal.

 

Setting goals is an imperative task of the action plan. The report has made clear that mission and task of the Communist Party of China at this stage of the journey, “From this day forward, the central task of the Communist Party of China will be to lead the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in a concerted effort to realize the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization.” The report points out that “The essential requirements of Chinese modernization are as follows: Upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China and socialism with Chinese characteristics, pursuing high-quality development, developing whole-process people’s democracy, enriching the people’s cultural lives, achieving common prosperity for all, promoting harmony between humanity and nature, building a human community with a shared future, and creating a new form of human advancement.” It stresses that Chinese modernization is socialist modernization pursued under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. It contains elements common to the modernization processes of all countries, but it is more characterized by features unique to the Chinese context. It is the modernization of a huge population. It is the modernization of common prosperity for all. It is the modernization of material and cultural-ethical advancement. It is the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature. It is the modernization of peaceful development. It is obvious from the report that the essential “Chinese modernization” always revolves around the Chinese “people”, and more broadly “humanity” as a whole. In fact, whether it is pursuing high-quality development, developing the whole-process people’s democracy, enriching the people’s cultural lives, achieving common prosperity for all, promoting harmony between humanity and nature, or building a human community with a shared future, the importance of respecting and protecting human rights is always underlined. This is what the report solemnly tells the world: On the new journey in a new era, the Party will “follow a Chinese path of human rights development, actively participate in global human rights governance, and promote all-round development of human rights cause.”

 

It is worth mentioning that the report stressed that, “China is working to achieve modernization for more than 1.4 billion people, a number larger than the combined population of all developed countries in the world today.” As an integral part of Chinese modernization, the development of China’s human rights cause is an endeavor to improve the human rights of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people. No other country in the world has such an ambitious human rights development plan for such a large population. It is not an easy task to protect the human rights of such a large population. The Communist Party of China, however, has “provided better protections for human rights” for all the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people over the last decade of the new era, as pointed out in the report, not to mention the distant past. It is beyond doubt that by 2035 when China basically realizes socialist modernization, the human rights of the Chinese people will be even better protected than now; by the middle of the 21st century when China will develop into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful, the Chinese people will enjoy better protected human rights that are unparalleled in many countries in the world.

 

We have such great confidence, and also the courage and ability to achieve such an ambitious goal. As pointed out in the report, we will strive to achieve the goal of China’s socialist modernization and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and promote the all-round development of China’s human rights by “staying confident and building strength, upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, and forging ahead with enterprise and fortitude.”

 

 

General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that “Respecting and protecting human rights is the unremitting pursuit of the Chinese Communists.” The term “unremitting” underscores history, reality and the future. On the new journey in a new era, respecting and protecting human rights remains the unremitting pursuit of the Chinese Communists. As mentioned earlier, the report made it clear that the fundamental task for the development of China’s human rights cause on the new journey in a new era is to “follow a Chinese path of human rights development, actively participate in global human rights governance, and promote the all-round development of human rights cause.”

 

 

On February 25, 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping made a sweeping, profound and incisive summary at a Group Study Session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on the valuable experience of China’s efforts in human rights development, the key features of China’s human rights development and the scientific implications of China’s human rights development path. He stressed that by combining the Marxist outlook on human rights with China’s specific realities and the best of traditional Chinese culture, reviewing our Party’s successful experience of leading the people in respecting and protecting human rights, and learning from the outstanding achievements of other civilizations, the practice of promoting the development of China’s human rights cause has blazed a path of human rights development that is consistent with the trend of the times and that suits the nation’s conditions. This path has been primarily defined by the following features. First, upholding the leadership of the CPC. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that it is the Party’s leadership and China’s socialist system which have determined the socialist nature of human rights in China and which have ensured that the people run the country and that human rights are enjoyed by all people on an equal basis. This has enabled the comprehensive development of all human rights to be promoted and the fundamental interests of the greatest majority of people to be better realized, safeguarded, and advanced. Second, respecting the principal position of the people. He remarked that the most salient feature of human rights in China is their people-oriented nature. People’s democratic rights have been protected, full play has been given to their enthusiasm, initiative and creativity, and, in advancing human rights, it has been ensured that the people are the main contributors, promoters, and beneficiaries. Concrete efforts have been made to promote the well-rounded development of the individual and to achieve substantial progress in realizing common prosperity. Third, proceeding from China’s realities. As always, he stressed that by grounding the universality of human rights within the Chinese context, human rights based on the country’s conditions and the needs of the people have been promoted. This has guaranteed that, as stipulated by law, people enjoy a full range of human rights that are genuine, specific, effective, and functional. Fourth, focusing on basic human rights, primarily the rights to subsistence and development. He reiterated that subsistence is the foundation of all human rights. Living a life of contentment is the ultimate human right. The new development philosophy has been applied in full and to the letter in every field, a people-centered development approach has been pursued, and the principle that development is for the people and by the people and that its fruits should be shared by the people has been upheld. Every effort has been made to resolve the most pressing and immediate problems of the greatest concern to the people, and to address the imbalances and inadequacies in development, and to achieve higher-quality development that is more efficient, equitable, sustainable, and secure, so as to give people a stronger, more assured, and more sustainable sense of gain, fulfillment, and security. Fifth, protecting human rights according to the law. Ensuring that everyone is equal before the law, the principle of respect and protection for human rights has been applied throughout the processes of lawmaking, law enforcement, justice administration, and observance of the law, and laws and regulations have been improved so as to ensure the equity of rights, opportunities, and rules. Citizens’ personal rights, property rights, and right to dignity have been protected, and their basic political rights to participate in democratic elections, consultations, decision-making, management, and oversight, and their economic, cultural, social, environmental, and other rights guaranteed. With these efforts, the legal protections for human rights have consistently become stronger. Sixth, taking an active part in global governance on human rights. The common values of humanity have been championed, multilateralism practiced in the real sense, and the country has participated in reforming and developing the global governance system on issues including human rights, and contributed to building a global community with a shared future. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed again that these six points are both features that define human rights development in China and the precious experience that the Party has gained from its long-term efforts to advance human rights.² With this science-based summary, General Secretary Xi Jinping has separately elaborated on the nature, characteristics and foothold of China’s human rights, on China’s basic viewpoints and approaches to human rights and human rights protection, on China’s basic stance on the global governance of human rights, and has systematically and incisively revealed the scientific implications of China’s human rights development path. Arguably, this is by far the most holistic, systematic and logical science-based summary, marking the formation of a science-based theory for the Party-led endeavor of human rights development.

 

 

Today, the world is undergoing profound changes. But the historical trends of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit are unstoppable. The will of the people and the general trends of our day will eventually lead to a bright future for humanity. However, the hegemonic, high-handed, and bullying acts of using strength to intimidate the weak, taking from others by force and subterfuge, and playing zero-sum games are exerting grave harm. The peace, development, security, and governance deficits are growing. All of this is posing unprecedented challenges for human society. The world has once again reached a crossroads in history, and its future course will be decided by all the world’s people. This statement in the report to the 20th National Congress on the current global context reflects the prevailing development of the human rights cause in the world. At the crossroads of the development of the world’s human rights cause in the world, it is increasingly unpopular to adopt the hegemonic practice of benchmarking human rights in one country against those of other countries, the bullying practice of pursuing “double standards in human rights”, and recklessly interfere in the internal affairs of other countries in the name of “human rights” through hegemony and power politics. On its part, China, which has always been committed to its foreign policy goals of upholding world peace and promoting common development, and has been dedicated to promoting a human community with a shared future, has in every way in terms of philosophy, experience, technology and supplies made tangible and increasing contributions to the development of the human rights cause in the world, and its efforts have become increasingly well-received. In the face of such a global trend, China, while actively participating in the reform and building of the global governance system and working to make global governance fairer and more equitable, has made it clear that it will actively participate in global human rights governance. The report sincerely calls upon all countries to hold dear humanity’s shared values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom; to promote mutual understanding and forge closer bonds with other people; to respect the diversity of civilizations. Let us allow cultural exchanges to transcend estrangement, mutual learning to transcend clashes, and coexistence to transcend feelings of superiority. Let us all join forces to meet all types of global challenges.

 

 

What does “all-round development” mean? “Promoting all-round development of the human rights cause” is an integral part of “building a modern socialist country in all respects”. The central task of China’s new journey in a new era, as elaborated in the report to the 20th National Congress implements the strategic Five-Sphere Integrated Plan for the building of a modern socialist country in all respects, and the twelve strategic tasks identified by the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in accordance with this central task also implement the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan, and also include security and international relations. Besides, the central task for the new journey in a new era and the twelve strategic tasks identified by the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China each contains tasks and requirements for the development of human rights cause. Therefore, the “all-round development” of human rights involves promoting the development of China’s human rights in all five spheres encompassing economic, political, cultural, social and ecological development, as well as in the spheres of security and international relations. In particular, the report proposed such tasks as “pursuing high-quality development”, “developing education that meets the people’s expectations”, “advancing whole-process people’s democracy”, “advancing the rule of law in China”, “protecting and promoting social fairness and justice”, “meet people’s ever-growing intellectual and cultural needs”, “raising the quality of life”, “working hard to resolve the pressing difficulties and problems that concern them most”, “protecting the lawful rights and interests of women and children”, “promoting all-round development of related programs for people with disabilities”, “advancing the Healthy China Initiative”, “accelerating the transition to a model of green development”, “advancing the Peaceful China Initiative to a higher level”, etc. All these efforts constitute major tasks to “promote all-round development of human rights cause”.

 

It should be noted that among the central task of “advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization” and a plethora of new ideas, concepts, strategies and expressions in the report, there are three keywords that have been incorporated into a Party Congress report for the first time: “a new pattern of development”, “whole-process people’s democracy”, and “humanity’s shared values”. These three key concepts correspond to the three strategic tasks of “accelerating the creation of a new development pattern and pursuing high-quality development”, “advancing the whole-process people’s democracy and ensuring that the people run the country”, and “promoting world peace and development and building a human community with a shared future.” These three key concepts and their corresponding three strategic tasks are particularly important for promoting the all-round development of China’s human rights cause on the new journey in a new era. To implement the strategic task of “accelerating the creation of a new development pattern and pursuing high-quality development,” means pursuing high-quality development as the overarching task while making sure that the implementation of the strategy to expand domestic demand is integrated with our efforts to deepen supply-side structural reform. The dynamism and reliability of the domestic economy will be boosted while the country engages at a higher level with the global economy. Efforts to build a modernized economy will be accelerated; and total factor productivity will be raised. China’s industry and supply chains will be more resilient and secure, and integrated urban-rural development and coordinated regional development will be promoted, so as to effectively upgrade and appropriately expand China’s economic output. All these efforts are aimed at pursuing common prosperity and ensuring a higher quality of life for the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people, meeting the growing needs of the people for a better life. To implement the strategic task of “advancing the whole-process people’s democracy and ensuring that the people run the country,” the system of institutions through which the people run the country will be improved; people’s orderly participation in political affairs will be encouraged and their ability to engage in democratic elections, consultations, decision-making, management, and oversight in accordance with the law will be guaranteed. People’s motivation, initiative, and creativity will be stimulated, so as to consolidate and develop a lively, stable, and united political atmosphere. In other words, efforts are to be made aimed at advancing the all-round development of human rights cause while promoting democracy and the rule of law on all fronts. To implement the strategic task of “promoting world peace and development and building a human community with a shared future,” the country will hold dear humanity’s shared values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom; and it will always be committed to its foreign policy goals of upholding world peace and promoting common development; and make dedicated efforts to promote a human community with a shared future. In other words, at the aim is to promote the all-round development of the human rights cause while making more and greater contributions for humanity.

 

As for why the country should “follow a Chinese path of human rights development, actively participate in global human rights governance, and promote all-round development of human rights cause” on the new journey in a new era, the report has given an explanation. In words full of reason and passion, it highlights that: “This country is its people; the people are the country. As the Communist Party of China has led the people in fighting to establish and develop the People’s Republic, it has really been fighting for their support. Bringing benefit to the people is the fundamental principle of governance. Working for the people’s well-being is an essential part of the Party’s commitment to serving the public good and exercising governance for the people. We must ensure and improve the people’s well-being in the course of pursuing development and encourage everyone to work hard together to meet the people’s aspirations for a better life.” “To build China into a modern socialist country in all respects, we must unleash the tremendous creativity of the Chinese people in their hundreds of millions. All of us in the Party must stay true to our fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, maintain a people-centered mindset, and carry out the mass line. We must respect the pioneering spirit of our people and ensure that we are acting for the people and relying on the people in everything we do. We must follow the principle of ‘from the people, to the people,’ maintain a close bond with the people, and accept their criticism and oversight. We must breathe the same air as the people, share the same future, and stay truly connected to them. We must strengthen the great unity of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups and the great unity of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation at home and abroad. By doing so, we will create a powerful collective force working with one heart and one mind to realize the Chinese Dream. ” 

 

 

The report informs us of the theme and fundamental tasks for the development of China’s human rights cause on a new journey in a new era and presents us with the fundamental guarantee for following a Chinese path of human rights development, actively participating in global human rights governance, and promoting all-round development of human rights cause.

 

The fundamental guarantee for the all-round development of China’s human rights cause on a new journey in a new era is to unswervingly uphold the Party’s leadership and develop a deep understanding of the decisive significance of establishing Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position in the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The report emphasized that: “Our Party has a pivotal role in building China into a modern socialist country in all respects and in advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts.” The Resolution of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on the Report of the 19th Central Committee adopted at the closing session of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has made it clear that: “We owe this great transformation to the entire Party and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups who have striven in unity under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core and under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The Party has established Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and established the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. This reflects the common will of the Party, the military, and the Chinese people, and it is of decisive significance for the cause of the Party and the country in the new era and for advancing the historical process of national rejuvenation. To advance socialism with Chinese characteristics on the new journey in the new era, it is most critical to develop a deep understanding of the decisive significance of the establishment of Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era; to strengthen our consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the central Party leadership; to stay confident in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics; to uphold Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and uphold the Party Central Committee’s authority and its centralized, unified leadership; and to be more purposeful in closely following the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in thinking, political stance, and action.”³ Reviewing the historic achievements in the development of China’s human rights in a new era, they were all attained under the leadership of General Secretary Xi Jinping and under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Comrades working on human rights are aware that over the past decade, General Secretary Xi Jinping has not only made a series of important instructions and profound ideas on the development of China’s human rights, but has also taken a personal interest in protecting the right to survival and development of the general public, and has directly engaged in the global human rights dialogue. Moreover, China’s human rights development has always been an integral part of the building of socialism with Chinese characteristics and an important area of Chinese modernization. Therefore, the key to following a Chinese path of human rights development, actively participating in global human rights governance, and promoting the all-round development of the human rights cause on a new journey in a new era is to uphold the Party’s leadership and “Two Establishes”. 

 

In the meantime, it is imperative to understand that the key to upholding the Party’s leadership in the all-round development of the country’s human rights cause is to make unswerving efforts for the Party’s self-reform. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China profoundly pointed out: “As the largest Marxist governing party in the world, we must always stay alert and determined to tackle the special challenges that a large party like ours faces, so as to maintain the people’s support and consolidate our position as the long-term governing party. All of us in the Party must bear in mind that full and rigorous self-governance is an unceasing endeavor and that self-reform is a journey to which there is no end. We must never slacken our efforts and never allow ourselves to become weary or beaten. We must persevere with full and rigorous self-governance, continue to advance the great new project of Party building in the new era, and use our transformation to steer social transformation.” This essential statement also indicates that in order to do a good job along the road of human rights development in China and promote the all-round development of China’s human rights cause, the overall requirements for Party building in a new era must be met, the systems for exercising full and rigorous self-governance must be improved, and all Party members must make efforts to comprehensively advance, purify, improve and renew themselves, so they can excel. This will enable the Party to stay true to its original aspiration and founding mission and retain its strong leadership in building socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Communist Party of China, as the long-term governing party in China, must realize that corruption is a cancer to the vitality and ability of the Party and to the ties between the Party and the people, and human rights development. As long as the breeding ground and conditions for corruption still exist, the Party must keep sounding the bugle and never rest, not even for a minute, in its fight against corruption. It must take coordinated steps to see that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity, or desire to be corrupt. It must show zero tolerance to opposing corruption and resolutely punish wrongdoing. Fighting corruption is the most thorough kind of self-reform there is and an important measure to fundamentally safeguard the all-round and healthy development of China’s human rights.

 

The times are calling, and the people expect the Party to deliver. Only by pressing ahead with unwavering commitment and perseverance will it be able to answer the call of the times and meet the expectations of the people. It is imperative that all in the Party never forget their original aspiration and founding mission, that they always stay modest, prudent, and hard-working, and that they have the courage and ability to carry on our fight. They must remain confident in history, exhibit greater historical initiative, and write an even more magnificent chapter for socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. The report to the 20th National Congress of the Party insightfully shows the direction for the all-round development of China’s human rights cause on the new journey in a new era.

 

(Translated by XIE Chengtao)

 

* LI Junru ( 李君如 ), former Vice-president of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

 

1. Xi Jinping, “Hold High the Great Banner of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Strive in Unity to Build a Modern Socialist Country in All Respects — Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,” People’s Daily, October 26, 2022. All the quotations from the report are extracted from that, unless otherwise noted.

 

2. Xi Jinping, “Xi Jinping’s article Steadfastly Following the Chinese Path to Promote Further Progress in Human Rights,” Qiushi 12 (2022）.

 

3. Resolution of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on the Report of the 19th Central Committee, Xinhuanet, www.news.cn/politics/cpc20/2022-10/22c-1129075483.htm.