Author: Lu Guangjin (Secretary-General of China Human Rights Research Association)
Respecting and protecting human rights is the unremitting pursuit of Chinese Communists. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has regarded respecting and protecting human rights as an important task in the governance of the country, adhered to the people-centered human rights concept, and promoted the development of China’s human rights cause to achieve historic achievements and to go out of the way. A human rights development path that conforms to the trend of the times and suits national conditions.
Adhere to the people-centered human rights concept
On December 10, 2018, in his congratulatory letter to the symposium commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly stated that “the people-centered human rights concept” and “the happy life of the people is the greatest human right”. On February 25, 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during the thirty-seventh collective study of the Political Bureau of the Nineteenth Central Committee that “people’s nature is the most prominent feature of China’s human rights development path”. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important exposition clarified the major issue of who to develop China’s human rights cause for and whom to rely on, giving new meaning to the development of my country’s human rights cause in the new era.
The people-centered human rights concept, adheres to the basic Marxist historical materialism, and inherits and develops the Marxist human rights theory. It is a concrete manifestation of the people-centered development idea in the new era in the field of human rights, and reflects that the human rights cause must be respected in the development of China. The fundamental requirement of the people’s dominant position and adherence to human rights and the people’s nature.
In the development practice of China’s human rights cause in the new era, the people-centered human rights concept is mainly reflected in three levels. The first is to insist that the people are the masters of the country and develop people’s democracy throughout the process. The people being the masters of the country is the essence and core of socialist democratic politics with Chinese characteristics, and the whole process of people’s democracy is the vivid practice and the only way for the people to be the masters of the country. The second is to uphold the supremacy of the people and life, protect the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people, make the people the main participants, facilitators and beneficiaries of the development of human rights, and maximize the protection of people’s lives and health. The third is to insist that the people’s happy life is the greatest human right. Taking the people’s yearning for a better life as the goal of struggle and the right to subsistence and development as the primary basic human rights, constantly resolve the contradiction between the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development, so that development results can be more and better. Equity benefits all people.
The people-centered human rights concept demonstrates the original mission of the Communist Party of China, embodies the pursuit of human civilization values, represents the direction of the development of human rights, and has significant advantages.
Equality—Building a society where everyone is equal is the beautiful pursuit of human society and the lofty goal of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. People-centered human rights concept, adhere to the main body of the people, adhere to equality for all and all people, promote social fairness and justice, improve people’s well-being, and continuously realize people’s yearning for a better life.
Extensiveness – safeguarding the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people is the essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The people-centered human rights concept aims to protect the “human rights of the majority” rather than “the human rights of the minority”, and its purpose is to realize, maintain and develop the fundamental interests of the majority of the people.
Zhang Jun (on screen), Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, speaks during the general debate of the Third Committee of the 76th United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on October 7, 2021. In his speech, Zhang Jun said that the happy life and happy smiles of the Chinese people are the best answer to the human rights situation in China.Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Ying / photo
Authenticity – the people-centered human rights concept, insisting that human rights do not fall from the sky, nor are they abstract or absolute, but historical, concrete and realistic. Human rights are related to the actual needs of everyone. The development of human rights must be based on the present, solve real problems, and give everyone a real sense of achievement.
Fairness – Fairness is an inevitable requirement for the realization of human rights for all. The people-centered human rights concept, with the aim of achieving social fairness and justice, continuously promotes the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, and promotes the all-round development of human beings.
Comprehensiveness – people-centered human rights concept, adhere to the comprehensive development of human rights, and advocate that human rights include not only economic, social and cultural rights, but also civil and political rights, as well as the rights to peace, development, and the environment.
Inclusiveness – The people-centered human rights concept does not frame a variety of human civilizations by one civilization, but insists that different civilizations are inclusive, respect each other, learn from each other’s strengths and make progress together, and advocate that countries choose a human rights development path that suits their national conditions. , against the “double standard” of human rights and the use of human rights to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.
Protecting and promoting human rights in development
In his speech at the General Debate of the 76th United Nations General Assembly, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that in the process of development, we should ensure and improve people’s livelihood, protect and promote human rights, and ensure that development is for the people, development depends on the people, and the fruits of development are shared by the people. Enhance people’s sense of happiness, gain, and security, and realize all-round development of people. The organic unity of “people”, “development” and “human rights” contains the profound theoretical logic, historical logic and practical logic of the continuous development and progress of human rights in China.
An important experience of the continuous advancement of China’s human rights cause is that development is the last word, and development is always the top priority for the Party to govern and rejuvenate the country. Through development, efforts are made to improve people’s livelihood, enhance people’s well-being, and improve the level of protection of all people’s rights. Adhering to the protection and promotion of human rights in development is a correct choice based on national conditions and the requirements of the people, and in line with the Marxist theory of human social development and its concept of human rights. China is a large developing socialist country with the largest population in the world for many years, and faces a very arduous development task. For China, developing the economy, improving people’s livelihood, and continuously improving the living and development level of all the people are the most urgent and important tasks. At the same time, the emergence and realization of human rights are premised and based on certain social and economic conditions, and human rights must be protected and promoted in the process of development. During the thirty-seventh collective study of the Political Bureau of the 19th Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that the new development concept should be fully, accurately and comprehensively implemented, the people-centered development philosophy should be adhered to, and development should be for the people, development by the people, and development. The results are shared by the people, focusing on solving the most immediate and practical interests of the people, focusing on solving the problem of unbalanced and insufficient development, and striving to achieve higher quality, more efficient, more equitable, more sustainable and more secure development, In the process of development, the people’s sense of gain, happiness and security will be more fulfilled, guaranteed and sustainable.
The basic human rights are the right to subsistence and the right to development.Marxism emphasizes the importance of the production of material materials in order to ensure the survival and development of human beings, and believes that for human beings, the production of material materials is always the first, and without proper material protection, human beings cannot survive. Therefore, survival is the basis for the enjoyment of all human rights, and development is a necessary condition to ensure survival.
Taking the people’s happy life as the greatest human right.Defining human rights in terms of people’s happy life is premised on the protection of the rights to subsistence and development, and it is a sublimation of the rights to subsistence and development, which embodies a broader human rights connotation. It includes both material life and spiritual life; it includes not only the right to subsistence, the right to development, but also economic, social and cultural rights, civil and political rights, and is the unity of all rights.
Human rights that are fully predicated on the coordinated promotion of the comprehensive development of all human rights.On the basis that the rights to subsistence and development are continuously better guaranteed, and on the basis that people continue to enjoy a more adequate and happier living standard, efforts should be made to coordinate and enhance the all-round development of all human rights, so as to create more adequate conditions for promoting the all-round development of human beings, and It is good to reflect the superiority of the socialist system.
Human rights aimed at promoting the free and comprehensive development of human beings.Marx put forward the important proposition that the future society is “a social form with the comprehensive and free development of everyone as the basic principle”, and it is the ideal form of human society. To build a moderately prosperous society in all respects in my country is to lay a solid foundation for the realization of the free and all-round development of human beings, and to build a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful socialist modernized country is to further create more favorable conditions for the realization of this goal.
Practice has proved that adhering to the protection and promotion of human rights in the process of development, continuously improving the level of human rights protection in the process of continuously improving the development level, and realizing a higher level, more adequate and more comprehensive human rights protection are a major part of the continuous development and progress of China’s human rights cause. The magic weapon is also China’s great contribution to the cause of human rights in the world.
China’s Human Rights Cause Has Made Historic Achievements
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, China’s human rights cause has made historic achievements, and the protection of the basic rights of the Chinese people has been greatly improved, creating a miracle of human rights development that is rare in human history. .
The people’s right to subsistence and development have achieved historic progress.Efforts will be made to solve the problem of unbalanced and insufficient development, and continue to meet the people’s growing needs for a better life. The battle against poverty was won as scheduled, nearly 100 million rural poor people were lifted out of poverty, and the problem of absolute poverty was solved historically. In 2021, according to the average annual exchange rate, my country’s total economic volume will reach 17.7 trillion US dollars, and the per capita GDP will reach 12,551 US dollars, exceeding the world‘s per capita level. my country has formed the world‘s largest middle-income group.
The level of protection of people’s economic, social and cultural rights has been greatly improved.Adhere to the focus on ensuring and improving people’s livelihood to strengthen social construction, comply with the people’s expectations for a high-quality and beautiful life, and continuously meet the people’s growing needs in various aspects. my country has built the world‘s largest education system, social security system, and medical security system. Citizens’ rights to education have been better guaranteed, and the people’s basic cultural rights and interests have been better protected. Significant progress has been made in building a healthy China, and residents’ living conditions have been significantly improved. . At present, the popularity of nine-year compulsory education in my country has exceeded the average level of high-income countries in the world, and higher education has entered a stage of universalization recognized by the world. In 2020, the average life expectancy in China is 77.93 years, an increase of 1.59 years from 76.34 years in 2015. It ranks in the forefront of middle- and high-income countries, and the equalization of basic public health services has continued to advance. The health level of Chinese residents is generally better than the average level of middle- and high-income countries. Adhering to the supremacy of the people and life, and putting people’s life safety and health first, we have achieved major strategic results in the fight against the epidemic.
The people’s right to be the master of the country has been better consolidated.Adhere to the organic unity of the party’s leadership, the people as masters of the country, and the rule of law, and develop people’s democracy throughout the process. All the people practice democratic elections, democratic consultations, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision in accordance with the law, and their political rights in the management of state affairs, economic and cultural undertakings, and social affairs through various channels and forms are better guaranteed, and the people are in an orderly manner in accordance with the law. Political participation continues to expand, and the people’s democratic life is rich and colorful. The whole process of people’s democracy enables the people to be masters of the country to be better reflected in the country’s political and social life, and the advantages of the socialist political system with Chinese characteristics are better brought into play.
The protection of human rights and the rule of law has been comprehensively strengthened.Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has incorporated the comprehensive rule of law into the “Four Comprehensives” strategic layout, and has implemented the implementation of the comprehensive rule of law in all aspects of the comprehensive rule of law, which reflects the people’s interests, reflects the people’s aspirations, safeguards the people’s rights and interests, and enhances the people’s well-being. In the whole process of the field, we will continue to promote the protection of human rights and the rule of law. The socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics centered on the Constitution is increasingly perfect, laying a solid foundation for the realization of the legalization of human rights. Compile and implement the Civil Code, improve various civil rights protection systems, protect citizens’ property rights in accordance with the law, set up the system of personality rights as an independent series, and protect human dignity. Important progress has been made in building a government governed by the rule of law, and major breakthroughs have been made in the reform of the judicial system, so that the people can feel fairness and justice in every legal system, every law enforcement decision, and every judicial case.
On the Chengdu-Kunming Railway, there are still 5633/5634 trains with an average speed of less than 40 kilometers per hour. This train runs from Puxiong in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province to the south of Panzhihua. The highest fare is 26.5 yuan and the lowest is 2 yuan. It is known as the school bus for children in Daliangshan, the market bus for Yi compatriots, and the connecting car for national unity and progress. . The picture shows a passenger showing a ticket on November 16, 2021.Photo courtesy of China Human Rights Photo Library Liu Guoxing/Photo by Liu Guoxing
The level of protection of people’s environmental rights has been significantly improved.Environmental rights are an important part of human rights. Adhere to the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and strengthen ecological and environmental protection in all aspects, regions and processes. Carry out the tough battle of pollution prevention and control, carry out the improvement of the living environment in rural areas, solve the outstanding environmental problems that the people have strongly reflected, vigorously improve the quality of the people’s living environment, and promote the historical, turning and overall changes in my country’s ecological and environmental protection. Bluer, greener mountains, cleaner water, cleaner air. In 2020, the reduction target of total discharge of major pollutants will be exceeded, the proportion of days with good quality in cities at the prefecture level and above will be 87%, the proportion of national surface water with good quality will increase to 83.4%, the forest coverage rate will increase to 23.04%, and the forest stock volume will increase to 175%. One hundred million cubic meters.
The rights of specific groups are better guaranteed.Provide preferential protection to the rights of specific groups such as ethnic minorities, women, children, the elderly and the disabled, and strive to enable specific groups to fully participate in economic, political, cultural and social life as equals, to develop themselves with dignity, and to share the brilliance of life and dreams come true. By the end of 2020, all 28 ethnic groups with small populations will be lifted out of poverty as a whole, and all 420 impoverished counties in ethnic autonomous areas will be lifted. The gap between urban and rural residents’ income, compulsory education, medical and health care, and social security in ethnic autonomous areas and the national average has been narrowing. In 2021, the maternal and infant mortality rates will drop to 16.1 per 100,000 and 5.0 per thousand, respectively. China is listed by the World Health Organization as one of the ten countries with high performance in maternal and child health. The participation rate of basic old-age insurance for disabled persons in urban and rural areas exceeds 90%, and the participation rate of basic medical insurance reaches 95%. The protection of the rights and interests of the elderly has been continuously strengthened, and the elderly have better support, support for the elderly, joy for the elderly, and security for the elderly.
The ability to participate in global human rights governance has been significantly enhanced.Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, under the guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s major concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China has practiced genuine multilateralism, actively participated in the reform and construction of the global governance system including human rights, and is committed to promoting the formation of a more just and reasonable system. , inclusive global human rights governance. The concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind has been written into many documents of the United Nations. The joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative, the joint construction of a community of human health and human health, and a community of human and natural life have contributed Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to global development and protection of human rights. In recent years, China has repeatedly thwarted some Western countries’ anti-China attempts involving Xinjiang and Hong Kong in the UN Human Rights Council and the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly with an overwhelming advantage, effectively safeguarding national interests and national dignity. He has put forward reasonable proposals in the United Nations Human Rights Council many times that are conducive to safeguarding people’s rights to subsistence, development and health in all countries, and has received active support from the vast number of developing countries.
The development achievements of China’s human rights cause in the new era reflect distinctive features. The first is the overall development of human rights. Human rights in China in the new era are guaranteed and developed in the “five-in-one” overall layout of economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction and ecological civilization construction. The great renaissance is closely integrated, and the development of various national undertakings has become an important carrier for the development of human rights undertakings. The second is comprehensive human rights development. Human rights in China in the new era are promoted and developed in the strategic layout of the “Four Comprehensives”, which not only reflects the comprehensiveness of the development of various human rights undertakings, but also makes respecting and protecting human rights an important part of the Party’s governance of the country. , has been comprehensively promoted in all fields and aspects. The third is common human rights development. Human rights in China in the new era are human rights that all the people participate in, develop and enjoy together. Building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way requires no less. The realization of the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the common aspiration of every son and daughter of the Chinese nation. Regardless of gender, age, or nationality, they are all members of the Chinese nation and the Chinese people, and they all enjoy the opportunity to excel in life.
China’s contribution to the development of human rights in the world
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we must carry forward the common values of all mankind, adhere to the concepts of equality and mutual trust, inclusiveness and mutual learning, win-win cooperation and common development, and promote the development of global human rights governance in a more fair, just, reasonable and inclusive direction. It is necessary to actively participate in the human rights affairs of the United Nations, extensively conduct international human rights exchanges and cooperation with other countries, especially developing countries, and play a constructive role. As the world‘s second largest economy and the world‘s largest developing country, as an ancient civilization with a long history and cultural tradition, and as a socialist country led by the Communist Party, China’s historic achievements in the field of human rights in the new era have contributed to the cause of human rights in the world. Development and the progress of human civilization are of great significance.
It has contributed Chinese strength to the development of human rights in the world.China’s population accounts for about one-fifth of the world‘s total. The continuous better protection of the rights of the Chinese people is itself a major contribution to human progress. China has historically solved the problem of absolute poverty, built a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, achieved the poverty reduction goal of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule, and made significant contributions to promoting poverty reduction and achieving common development on a global scale. At the same time, China’s development and progress in the new era will not only benefit its own people, but also the world, and contribute to the well-being of all mankind. China insists on promoting development through cooperation, safeguarding human rights through development, and striving to promote the common development of all countries and the general prosperity of mankind. In terms of promoting common development and ensuring people’s livelihood, China’s role as a stabilizer and power source for the world economy will become more prominent. In 2021, China’s economy will account for more than 18% of the world‘s economy at the average annual exchange rate, and its contribution to world economic growth will reach 25%. %about. According to a World Bank research report, the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative will lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million people out of moderate poverty in relevant countries. China has also successively established institutions such as the China South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund and the South-South Cooperation and Development Institute to actively carry out practical cooperation and provide other developing countries with a lot of assistance within the framework of South-South cooperation. In terms of building a community of human health and health, in the face of the menacing new crown pneumonia epidemic, China has implemented the largest global humanitarian action since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and made Chinese vaccines as global public goods, giving priority to developing countries to provide China’s contribution to the global fight against the epidemic. As of the end of March 2022, China has provided about 2.2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations, becoming the country that provides the most vaccines in the world, and has provided a large amount of anti-epidemic materials to the international community. In terms of building a community of human and natural life, China insists on working with the international community to implement a national strategy to actively address climate change, promote various actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change, accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation of its development model, and firmly implement the United Nations Framework for Climate Change. Convention and its Paris Agreement, carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 will drop by about 48.4% compared with 2005, exceeding the goals committed to the international community to address climate change.
It has contributed Chinese wisdom to the development of human rights in the world.Human rights are an important achievement and symbol of human civilization. The ideas of benevolence and friendliness, people-oriented, harmonious culture, harmony between man and nature, a well-off society, and a harmonious world in Chinese civilization are important intellectual achievements of human civilization. In the new era, we have combined the Marxist concept of human rights with China’s specific reality, combined with China’s excellent traditional culture, combined the universal principle of human rights with China’s national conditions, and proposed a series of Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese style. At the same time, it has a contemporary and innovative human rights concept, and has embarked on a human rights development path that conforms to the trend of the times and suits China’s national conditions. The people-centered human rights concept not only draws on the excellent achievements of human civilization and the universal principle of human rights, but also is fundamentally different from the Western capitalist concept of human rights. The people-centered human rights concept transcends the narrowness and limitations of the Western capitalist view of human rights, replaces “natural human rights” with people’s human rights, and replaces absolute abstract human rights with concrete and realistic human rights, making human rights more real, comprehensive, and truly guaranteed. the vital interests of the broad masses of the people. The socialist human rights plan with Chinese characteristics in the new era, adhere to the unity of the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the socialist system and the respect and protection of human rights, adhere to respect for the dominant position of the people, adhere to the protection and promotion of human rights in development, adhere to the coordination of collective human rights and individual human rights It is a human rights plan that has been successfully implemented for the Chinese people, which has greatly enriched and developed the pattern of human rights and opened up a new realm for the cause of human rights.
At present, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the Chinese people are striving hard on the new journey of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way. By the middle of this century, China will become a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful. The Chinese people will surely enjoy greater dignity, freedom and happiness, and China will surely make greater contributions to the cause of human rights in the world.
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责编：王晓秋 ]