Viewing Chinese modernization and Its Requirements for Human Rights Protection from the Perspective of Human Development

CHANG Jian

Abstract: Modernization, as a specific stage in the historical development of human society, possesses a multi-layered composite structure, with each layer playing both a promoting and inhibiting role in human development and dignity simultaneously. Chinese modernization is a strategic choice made based on lessons learned from various experiences of modernization processes in other countries, reflecting judgments on the benefits and choices on the values of human development and dignity in modernization. It values the promotion of the free and well-rounded development of all individuals as its standard, demanding the full realization of the positive effects of modernization on human development and the overcoming of its negative effects. Human rights, aiming to promote the free and well-rounded development of every person as the ultimate value goal, are not only an intrinsic structural element of the modernization stage but also a social normative tool that restrains the direction of modernization development, aligning closely with the values pursued by Chinese modernization. Chinese modernization poses dual requirements for human rights protection: on the one hand, it demands the affirmation and promotion of the positive effects of modernization on human development and dignity through human rights standards, and on the other hand, it requires the prevention and mitigation of the negative effects of modernization on human development and dignity through human rights standards. There exists a certain tension between these two dimensions, necessitating an appropriate balance and thereby presenting corresponding requirements for China’s approach to human rights protection.

Keywords: Chinese modernization · human development and dignity · human rights standards