China
China adopts a comprehensive approach to human rights based on its national conditions
By Ge Lijun  ·  2021-08-03  ·   Source: ChinAfrica

A nurse helps an old woman with her rehabilitation training in a service center for elderly people in Xingtai, Hebei Province, on May 25 (XINHUA)

More than a year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, Wuhan resident Zhang Wanhong still vividly remembers the intense days and nights during that health crisis.

In February-March 2020, a platform had brought together more than 200 volunteers from all over China to help 150 people with disabilities overcome the challenges encountered during the lockdown in Wuhan, the city worst hit by the epidemic in China.

Zhang, Executive Director at the Wuhan University Institute of Human Rights, participated in the volunteer service. "It was a great demonstration of respect and protection of human rights," he told Chinafrica.

The year 2021 marks the centennial of the Communist Party of China (CPC). On June 24, the Information Office of the State Council released a white paper on the CPC's endeavors to respect and protect human rights in a nation of over a billion people.

The paper states that for a century, the CPC has always put the citizens first by applying the principle of universality of human rights and adapting it to the national realities.

The Party promotes the balanced development of the individual and strives to level the ground for individuals to have equal opportunities for prosperity, well-being and security, the white paper says.

Remarkable achievements

China considers the rights to subsistence and development to be fundamental and believes that living a happy life, free of poverty is the ultimate right of every individual.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era. Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core, the goals of eradicating poverty, building a middle-income society and developing human rights in China have been achieved.

Poverty was the biggest obstacle but eight consecutive years of hard work has lifted 98.99 million Chinese out of poverty by the end of 2020. "Human rights progress in China is not only about the rights to subsistence and development. It affects many areas," Lu Guangjin, Secretary General of the China Association for Human Rights Studies, told Chinafrica.

Li Xiao, an official from the research office of the Supreme People's Court, has worked in the courts for 37 years. She testifies to the progress in respecting and protecting human rights in the legal field, especially regarding judicial reform. "We have established four public platforms dedicated to trial procedures, live hearings, adjudication documents, and information about the execution of sentences," she noted.

The rights to information, participation, expression and supervision are particularly important aspects of civil rights. As of April 2021, a total of 230 bills have been submitted for public comment. For example, 102,834 comments were made by 425,762 people during the public consultation on the draft Civil Code that went into effect in January this year.

The right to vote and to be elected is the first civil right. The National People's Congress (NPC) is the top organ of state power, and both the NPC and the local people's congresses at all levels are democratically elected. Voters or electoral units have the right to elect and remove deputies in accordance with the legal procedures. The NPC deputies come from all ethnic groups, professions, classes and parties, and are broadly represented. Worker and farmer deputies accounted for 15.7 percent of the total during the 13th NPC.

In China, in addition to the ruling CPC, there are eight other political parties that are not opposition parties, but participate in the political process under the leadership of the CPC. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012, the eight parties and non-partisan members have submitted more than 730 suggestions and proposals to the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. From March 2018 to April 2021, the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference received a total of 23,048 proposals. Many suggestions and proposals were adopted.

China is committed to working for world peace and promoting progress through cooperation, ensuring respect for human rights with benefits from development. "We have actively cooperated with many countries in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), contributing to the development of human rights both in China and in participating countries," said He Zhipeng, Executive Director of the Human Rights Research Center and Dean of Jilin University Law School. According to a World Bank study, the BRI will lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million out of moderate poverty in the countries involved.

The Chinese logic

The UN human rights standards include civil rights, economic, social and cultural rights, and environmental rights, among others. "In the different contexts of nations, cultures, traditions and social systems, it is not possible to use a single human rights standard to measure more than 200 countries and regions in the world," said Lu.

Human rights follow the course of history. Their principles are concrete and evolving, and must be adapted to national realities," said He.

He cited the example of China. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the only standard of well-being was characterized by GDP per capita. At the beginning of the 21st century, the report of the 16th CPC National Congress added democracy, rule of law, an optimal environment and access to education for all.

Recently, the addition of access to employment and the right to information and the participation of citizens has strengthened human rights in all areas. "Of course, this is still not enough," said He. As China is at the turning point of the Two Centenary Goals, the cause of human rights has certainly not yet reached its peak. The publication of the white paper intends to sum up all the achievements, allowing the country to look ahead and define more precisely the next steps to be taken, he told Chinafrica. 

(Print Edition Title: Advancing Human Rights)

Comments to glj@chinafrica.cn

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