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China makes historic progress in human rights

Updated: 2008-12-10 07:44

Editor's note: This year marks the 60th anniversary of the publication of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is also the year of the 30th anniversary of China's reform and opening up. To mark both occasions, Wang Chen, minister of the State Council Information Office, gave an exclusive interview to the Human Rights journal, in which he gave a positive appraisal of the position and role of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, expounded China's basic views on human rights and achievements in human rights development. He also visualized the prospects of human rights development in China and the world as a whole. The full text of the interview follows:

Q: Dec 10 this year marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations. How do you view and evaluate this document?

A: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted at the UN General Assembly on Dec 10, 1948 is the UN's first document devoted to the human rights issue. It is truly a worldwide declaration of human rights that came into being on the basis of summing up the historical experience and absorbing and infusing the cultural spirit of the East and the West.

Over the past 60 years, it has played an important role in awakening the people around the world to their pursuit of human rights, directing and promoting the development of international human rights theories and practice. It is still of great guiding significance for the development of the human rights cause in the world.

First of all, the UDHR for the first time in history put forward the universal concept of "human rights", confirming that "everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the Declaration, without distinction of any kind". And it made the economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights two paralleled and inalienable components of human rights, thus breaking the narrow, traditional conception of human rights of the West and enriching and developing the contents of human rights.

Then, the UDHR served as a source of encouragement to the people of colonies and appendage countries in their great movement for state independence and national liberation, thus making indelible contributions to destroying the colonial system that had been ruling the world for centuries and to promoting world peace, human rights and justice.

The UDHR has also had a far-reaching influence in the spread of the human rights principles and in the institution of human rights laws in the world. As a result, the UN has adopted dozens of international human rights documents including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

All the continents have also adopted many regional documents. The majority of the countries throughout the world have, in various ways, included respecting and protecting human rights in their Constitutions or related laws.

Q: This year also marks the 30th anniversary of China's reform and opening up. Over the past 30 years, China has made tremendous progress in its economic and social development and its international status has risen significantly. What changes do you think have taken place with regard to human rights?

A: The past three decades have witnessed historic changes in all aspects of the society in China. But the most profound changes that have taken place should be those in the people and their concepts, their living standards and their dignity and values.

Over the past 30 years, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government have persevered in reform and opening up in its economic and social development in an all-round manner.

At the same time, they have integrated the universality of human rights with the concrete national conditions and have made unremitting efforts to promote and protect human rights, thus blazing a new trail for human rights development that has distinct Chinese characteristics.

All this has thus resulted in a synchronized and coordinated development of the human rights cause and the political, economic, social and cultural development. It is no exaggeration to say that China has made historic progress in human rights and that China's human rights conditions are in the best historical period.

Respecting and protecting human rights has received attention never seen before and has become an important principle of the CPC and the Chinese government in governing the country. Since China's reform and opening up, the most prominent progress China has made in human rights is to have freed itself from the bondage of the "leftist" thinking that regarded human rights as the slogan of the bourgeoisie and established the important position of human rights in social and political life.

Since the 16th CPC National Congress, in particular, the CPC Central Committee with Hu Jintao as General Secretary has advanced the "people first" scientific development theory and the important strategic thinking of constructing a socialist harmonious society, which have made respect for and protection of human rights an important component.

Since 2004, "respecting and protecting human rights" has been written into the Constitution, the 11th Five-Year Plan and the Constitution of the CPC. All this has shown that human rights development has become a major theme in social construction and development and an important principle of the CPC and the Chinese government in governing the country and maintaining friendly relations with neighbors. The unprecedented attention given to human rights has provided powerful political and legal guarantee for human rights development both in theory and practice.

The rights to subsistence and development have received protection never seen before. The 30 years of reform and opening up have witnessed vigorous economic and social development, with the economy growing at an average annual rate of over 9 percent. The living standards of the 1.3 billion Chinese people have improved greatly, realizing the historic leap from poverty to adequate food and clothing and from adequate food and clothing to a well-off level.

By the end of 2007, the per capita GDP had risen to 18,700 yuan from 379 yuan in 1978, increasing by nearly 50-fold. The disposable income of urban residents had risen to 13,786 yuan from 343 yuan and that of rural residents had risen to 4,140 yuan from 134 yuan, increasing about 40-fold and 31-fold, respectively. The per capita living space had risen to 27 sq m from 6.7 sq m in the urban areas and to 30.7 sq m from 8.1 sq m in the rural areas. The urban and rural Engel's Coefficient had dropped to 36.3 percent and 43.1 percent from 56.6 percent and 67.71 percent, respectively.

Transport, telecommunications, culture, education and recreation, medical service and health care, family service, tourism and sightseeing and other development and leisure consumption had increased steadily. The number of people in poverty was reduced to 14.79 million from 1978's 250 million. At present, the life expectancy of Chinese has risen to 73 years from 68 years in 1978, attaining the level of medium developed countries.

Civil and political rights have been brought under real protection. Since reform and opening up, China has constantly strengthened its efforts to rule the country by law, build a country of the rule of law and improve democracy. The rights of person and political rights of the citizens have been extended and effectively protected on the orbit of democracy and law. At present, there are 229 effective laws in force in addition to the about 600 effective administrative decrees of the State Council and more than 7,000 local laws.

These, with the Constitution as the core, go to form a socialist legal system distinct in Chinese characters. All aspects of social activities have laws to go by and all rights of the citizens have been brought under the secure protection of law. In the meanwhile, China is actively and steadily pushing forward its political restructuring aimed at increasing the orderly political participation by citizens, making administrative affairs transparent, intensifying the supervision and checks and balances of power and protecting citizens' political rights by law. In the rural areas, in particular, grassroots democracy covering elections, policy decision making, management and supervision has been developing apace, enabling hundreds of millions of farmers to enjoy the right of direct election.

Economic, social and cultural rights improved incessantly. Since reform and opening up, the Chinese government has adopted various measures to deal with unemployment and re-employment and set up a social security system. It has strengthened support to education, science and technology, culture and public health and other social undertakings, striving to ensure the economic, social and cultural rights of the citizens on a solid footing.

In 2006, the government scrapped the agricultural tax and agricultural specialty product tax, ending the history of rural residents paying tax for farming the land, which had lasted for more than 2,600 years. At present, China has basically popularized nine-year compulsory education and illiteracy has been eliminated among 99 percent of the young and middle-aged population. China has already edged into the ranks of countries with a fairly high level of education. From 1978 to 2007, the number of students at tertiary schools increased by nearly 22 times from 867,000 to 18.85 million.

The number of public cultural services and facilities has increased considerably. The public cultural service system covering both urban and rural areas has taken shape. The cultural activities of the people have been enriched. The new rural cooperative medical service that started in 2002 has now covered 730 million farmers or 85.7 percent of the rural population, contributing greatly to the improvement of the health of the rural people.

Exchanges and cooperation with foreign countries in the area of human rights expanded. Since reform and opening up, China has, closely following the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, taken an active part in the UN's work on human rights and in drawing up legal documents in this regard. It has made its due contributions to enriching the concept of international human rights and promoting the development of international human rights activities.

China has approved and joined related human rights treaties and conventions. Up to the present, China is a signatory to 25 international human rights conventions and treaties. It has adopted effective measures to perform its obligations and submitted on time reports on its performance to accept the review by the UN treaty organizations.

China has always advocated dialogue, cooperation and exchange on the basis of equality and mutual respect in order to make the international human rights cause develop healthily. So far, China has conducted more than 70 human rights dialogues and exchanges with other countries, which helped enhance mutual understanding. China has made positive efforts to promote human rights development in each other's countries.

Q: As you are the head of the State Council Information Office, could you tell us the functions of your unit and what is the role the office has played in promoting human rights?

A: Our office was founded in 1991. The functions of our office can be summarized as "letting the world know about China and making China known in the world".

To tell the world about China includes not just explanations about China's domestic and foreign policies, China's history, culture and political, economic and social development. It also includes revealing the truth and China's stands and views on some major issues on which there are a lot of misunderstandings, deep biases and accusations in other countries. The aim is to remove doubts and enhance understanding and create a good international context for China's peaceful development.

The human rights issue, for instance, is an area in which the outside world has known little about China and there are many misunderstandings. So it is a very important part of the work of our office to present the fact and views of China on human rights. In the recent two decades, we have done the following work with regard to human rights:

Expounding China's views, advocacies and practice with regard to human rights, telling the world about the unremitting efforts made by the Chinese government and people in promoting human rights and the resulting achievements. The idea is to help the international community to know more about the true human rights conditions in China.

Toward the end of the 1980s and at the beginning of the 1990s, some international forces that were clearly antagonistic and had different ideologies and social systems, launched an anti-China wave, spearheading human rights attacks against China. To tell the world about the true human rights conditions in China and its basic stand and policies, our office issued the first white paper on human rights - Human Rights in China.

Since then, our office has issued seven white papers to give an account of the general situation of human rights in China. In addition, it has issued more than 30 white papers and dozens of important articles on such topics as democracy, transformation of criminals, women and children, population and family planning, poverty reduction, labor and social security, ethnic minorities and religion, and the rule of law, all of which are closely associated with human rights and are of international concern.

These white papers and articles have given a complete and systematic picture of the human rights conditions in China. They summed up its basic experience in human rights development and completely and authoritatively expounded the basic views of the Chinese government on human rights issues.

They have played an important role in helping the international community get a complete and true picture of China's human rights conditions. They have nailed the lies in the distortions and accusations by antagonistic international forces and in clearing up the misunderstanding about China's human rights. These documents have won favorable international opinion.

It is generally believed that China's active stance on issues concerning human rights by way of issuing white papers has "increased the openness and transparency of the government". Also, it has "enhanced the understanding of the international community on China's human rights conditions and made the international community see the progress China has made in human rights and know the endeavors made by the Chinese government toward improvement of human rights".

Refuting unfounded accusations against China's human rights conditions by the US Department of State in its "Country Report on Human Rights" and safeguarding China's state sovereignty and national dignity. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the US Department of State, in collaboration with some other Western countries, has repeatedly mooted anti-China bills in the UN Human Rights Commission and issued its annual "Country Report on Human Rights" to distort facts and accuse China of its human rights conditions.

Starting from 1994, our office has issued more than 10 weighty commentaries against the attacks by the US Department of State in its "Country Report on Human Rights" by presenting solid facts to lay bare the true intentions of the United States in carrying out its anti-China and anti-Communist and hegemonic strategies on the pretext of human rights. These commentaries have caused strong favorable reactions from the international community.

From 2000 to the present, in countering the distortions and accusations by the United States by way of paying back in its own coin, so to speak, we have issued the Human Rights Record of the United States for eight years running, using a lot of data and facts to expose the bad human rights records of the United States and its double standards on human rights. The move has been extensively echoed in the world.

Some foreign media described these articles as "like a sharp sword, pointing directly at the weak point of the United States". Some developing countries said that China has voiced what the developing countries wanted to say. Mass media of some developing countries appealed to their ruling authorities "not to keep silent anymore and to learn from China how to respond to the US "Country Report on Human Rights" and safeguard national dignity".

Holding exhibitions to demonstrate the human rights conditions of China and its unique path concerning human rights development. In November 2006, our office and the China Society for Human Rights Studies held a "China Human Rights Exhibition" at the Beijing Cultural Palace of Nationalities. From July to October 2007, the two units held photo exhibitions entitled "Contemporary Chinese Life through the Lens" in India, Nepal, Austria, Italy, Egypt and Uzbekistan. A theme exhibition "Chinese People's Life through the Lens" was also held at the Beijing Cultural Palace of Nationalities during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The "China's Human Rights Exhibition" was the first of its kind in the world. It exhibited more than 700 photos and more than 250 objects, more than 1,000 titles of books on human rights, 24 tables and charts. These, plus situational models, video and film shows, electronic calendars, electronic white papers, Internet interaction, touch-screen Q&A and on-the-spot demonstration of folk arts, have visualized and specified the abstract concept of human rights and artistically reproduced the glorious course traversed by the Chinese people in fighting for, safeguarding and developing human rights and the great achievements they have scored.

They have also systematically displayed the policies and laws of China in protecting human rights, giving a complete picture of China's human rights conditions and progress at all levels, from all perspectives and in all aspects. They served as an important information platform for Chinese and foreign visitors to get an objective and complete picture of China's human rights.

Many foreign media described the exhibition as "having reflected the progress and openness of China" and "very useful for the international community to know about China's human rights".

Spreading knowledge about human rights to heighten the awareness of the people so as to stimulate an all-round development of the human rights cause. Over the years, we have offered human rights lectures that lasted for several months over the Central People's Broadcasting Station, started a Q&A column on human rights in the People's Daily that lasted for a year, sponsored a human rights knowledge quiz in the Guangming Daily, organized the compilation of the "Human Rights Reader for Officials", which has been made part of the teaching materials for cadre training in the country and organized training courses of all kinds for human rights cadres.

These activities have not only helped heighten the awareness about human rights on the part of officials and common people but also enhanced their consciousness in respecting and safeguarding human rights, thus expanding the social foundation for safeguarding and protecting human rights. At the same time, we have taken the lead in organizing the formulation of "National Human Rights Program of Action", aimed at bringing about a complete and orderly development of human rights in China.

That is China's first national program of action in the area of human rights, which has mapped out plans for human rights development for the next two years. It is an important move of the Chinese government in implementing the constitutional principle of "respecting and protecting human rights" and the "people first" scientific development theory.

The program covers such areas as government functions, extension of democracy, law and order, people's livelihood, protection of the special rights of women, children and the ethnic minorities and the raising of awareness about human rights in the whole society. By setting and implementing the goals and measures in a systematic way, it will surely help improve the human rights conditions in China and make progress in this regard.

Q: Just as you have mentioned, China has made great achievements in the human rights cause since its reform and opening up, but there are still some problems and difficulties that cannot be ignored. As far as the present is concerned, what problems and difficulties do you think still exist in the human rights cause? What is the prospect of the development of human rights in China?

A: Human rights are a development process. China is a developing country with a population of 1.3 billion. Due to natural, historical, cultural and economic and social factors, there are still many problems and difficulties in the development of human rights.

There are quite a few things less than satisfactory in the human rights conditions in the country. For instance, the political and economic structures are yet to be improved; democracy and the legal system remain to be perfected; governments at all levels have to heighten their awareness about protecting human rights and about exercising administration according to law; the economic and social development is uneven and the enlarging gaps between the urban and rural areas, between different regions, and between the rich and the poor have not been brought under control; problems and difficulties are quite outstanding in such areas as employment, social security, income distribution, education, medical service, housing and production safety.

All this will affect the immediate interests and rights of the people. It is, therefore, a long-term and arduous task of the Chinese government and people to continue and strengthen their efforts to promote and protect human rights.

Despite all these difficulties and problems, I am still fully confident of the prospects of human rights development. First of all, China has put human rights high on the agenda for national development. Running through the entire report to the 17th CPC National Congress are such terms as "people first", improvement of people's livelihood, expansion of democracy and protection of human rights.

The report stressed the importance of respecting and protecting human rights and ensuring the rights of all members of the society to equal participation and equal development. The report made a clarion call for improving the democratic system, diversifying the forms of democracy and expanding democratic channels, and "protecting the people's right to know, right to participation, right to expression and right to oversight".

It also called for acceleration of social construction focusing on the improvement of the livelihood of the people, "promoting social justice and equity, striving to enable all the people to have school to attend when in need, get due income from labor, have access to due medical treatment when falling ill, get proper care when in old age and have decent and adequate housing".

The 11th Five-Year Plan, from its guidelines, principles, goals to concrete policy measures, is a full expression of the requirements of "people first", scientific development and social harmony. This has charted a clear orientation for the all-round development of human rights. Second, over the past 30 years, China has pioneered a new path best suited to its national conditions in human rights development, which features "people first", stability as precondition, reform as the motive force, development as the key, the rule of law as the guarantee, and comprehensive and coordinated development in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. So long as we continue along this path, China's human rights cause is sure to see new progress.

I firmly believe that so long as we unswervingly implement the constitutional principle of respecting and protecting human rights, constantly improve democracy and the rule of law, our society will become more harmonious and people will live a still better life and enjoy human rights to the full.

Q: Great changes have taken place in the present-day international human rights scenario. How do you view the present situation in this field? How do you think the world human rights cause can develop healthily?

A: There are two prominent features in the current international human rights situation. One is that the international community has never attached such great importance to human rights as at present and human rights have become an important subject in international exchange and cooperation. Since the end of the Cold War, human rights issues have become increasingly important in international relations and international politics. With the rapid growth of economic globalization and informationization of social life, countries have become increasingly interdependent and mutually cooperative, thus accentuating the importance of human rights issues.

Countries have attached more and more importance to human rights issues and reached more and more common understanding on these issues. In March 2006, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, deciding to set up the Human Rights Council under it to replace the Human Rights Commission affiliated to the UN Economic and Social Council. This shows that human rights have for the first time been juxtaposed with security and development as the "three main pillars" of the UN. In recent years, some countries have, according to the UN requirements, set up national human rights organizations such as national human rights commissions, thus putting the promotion and protection of human rights in a more important position.

The second is that it has become a common call to have dialogue and oppose confrontation, making those who use human rights to create confrontation be more and more unpopular. All this represents progress and development in the area of international human rights.

However, what cannot be ignored is that there are still factors of disharmony in the development of world human rights and there are still stiff challenges. For instance, as the new international political and economic order has not been established and the world economic development is still very uneven, and the South-North gaps continue to grow, the rights to survival and development of the people of developing countries are being seriously threatened. Some countries and regional groups have politicized and ideologized human rights by practicing double standards, flying the "human rights" flag to negate the sovereignty of other countries and carry out hegemonism and power politics, thus seriously spoiling - and even obstructing - international cooperation in the healthy development of human rights in the world.

I think that to seek healthy development of human rights, we must, first of all, face up to the prominent problems in the present-day world and rise to safeguard the rights to survival and development of the people of all countries. At present, armed conflicts and other traditional security problems still exist; non-traditional security threats such as terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and environmental pollution have become more prominent, seriously threatening the innocent lives of millions of people.

The South-North and poor-rich gaps have been further enlarged, with the developed countries with a population of less than 20 percent of the world's total controlling more than 85 percent of the global wealth while developing countries enjoying less than 15 percent of the wealth of the world. There are more than one billion people in developing countries who are still suffering from poverty, hunger and diseases. Their survival and dignity have been seriously threatened. Only by rooting out the factors that seriously threaten and sabotage human rights, can the rights of the people of all countries be realized.

Second, it is imperative to integrate the universality of human rights with the national conditions of various countries. All people of all countries should enjoy freedom and equality. This is the universal pursuit and common ideal of mankind. But, restrained by economic development level, cultural traditions and social systems, people have different understandings and demands with regard to human rights and their human rights problems that need priority solution also vary.

Under the precondition of recognizing the universality of human rights, all governments and people have the right to adopt different policy measures and ways and means according to their respective national conditions to seek models and paths for human rights development best suited to their national conditions. The diversification of human rights development models not only fully reflects the diversity of civilizations and the wisdom and intelligence of the people of all countries, but also enriches and develops the human rights theories and practice in the world.

Respect for the diversity of the human rights development models not only means respect for the national conditions of all countries, the wisdom and creativity of their people, the diversity of civilizations and ways of living, but also constitutes the important precondition for human rights development in the world.

Last, it is imperative to strengthen dialogue, exchange and cooperation and oppose confrontation and power politics. Human rights are, in essence, an issue within the sovereignty of a country. The UN Charter has clearly provided that the organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its members and nothing in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter.

In promoting human rights, only by carrying out constructive dialogue, exchange and cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect, enhancing mutual understanding and eliminating misunderstanding, expanding consensus, reducing difference and learning from each other, drawing on each other's experience and helping each other, can all countries in the world achieve common progress and development.

Dialogue and cooperation are conducive not only to human rights progress in all countries but also to the harmonious and healthy development of human rights in the world. Hegenomism and power politics can never succeed with regard to human rights. On the contrary, they contribute nothing to human rights development. Instead, they will poison international relations and harm the healthy growth of the cause of human rights in the world.

(China Daily 12/10/2008 page9)