Respect and Protect Human Right

Human rights are the basic rights that everyone enjoys or should enjoy according to their nature and dignity under certain social and historical conditions, including the right to subsistence, economic rights, political rights, cultural rights, etc. Sometimes it specifically refers to the political freedom and democratic rights that citizens should enjoy. The essential characteristics and requirements of human rights are freedom and equality, and the substantive content and goal are human survival and development. The socialist nature of the people’s democratic dictatorship in China determines that human rights must be respected and protected. The concept of “human rights” originated from the modern West. It was originally proposed during the bourgeois revolution to oppose theocracy and feudal privileges, reflecting the progress of human civilization. Chinese civilization is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Respecting and loving people have a long history in Chinese culture.

In modern China, due to the semi-colonial and semi-feudal social nature, it is impossible for the people to enjoy real human rights.

The Communist Party of China, which represents the interests of the overwhelming majority of the people, has taken on the historical responsibility of leading the Chinese people to fight for human rights since its birth. As early as 1922, the Communist Party of China clearly proposed to abolish the privileges of the great powers in China, eliminate the rule of warlords, implement an unrestricted universal suffrage system, guarantee the people's freedom of association, assembly, speech, and press, abolish corporal punishment, and recognize equal rights for women. In 1935, the Communist Party of China put forward the proposition of “ighting for human rights and freedom” in the “August 1 Declaration”. Constitutional documents such as the “Outline of the Constitution of the Chinese Soviet Republic”, “Policy Guidelines for the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region”, and “Constitutional Principles of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region” promulgated by the Communist Party of China during the period of the New Democratic Revolution stipulate the content of protecting the rights of the people. In 1949, the “Common Program of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference” established the principle of protecting people's rights. In 1954, the “Constitution of the People's Republic of China” stipulated the political, economic, social, cultural and personal rights of citizens.

After the launching of the the Reform and Opening-up, China’s human rights protection has entered a new stage of development. On November 1, 1991, the Chinese government released the white paper on “China's Human Rights Status” to the world, putting forward basic views such as “the right to subsistence is the primary human right of the Chinese people”. In September 1997, the report of the 15th CPC National Congress included “respect and protection of human rights” into the official Party document for the first time. On March 14, 2004, the 2nd Session of the 10th National People's Congress passed a constitutional amendment, introducing the concept of “human rights” into the constitution for the first time, and clearly stipulating that “the state respects and protects human rights”. In June 2006, at the first session of the UN Human Rights Council, the Chinese government proposed that the enjoyment of human rights requires a peaceful environment, sustainable development, a harmonious and inclusive society, constructive dialogue and cooperation, and effective mechanism guarantees. In 2007, the 17th CPC National Congress included “respect and protection of human rights” into the “Constitution of the Communist Party of China”. In 2012, the 18th CPC National Congress clarified “human rights are effectively respected and protected” as an important indicator for building a well-off society in an all-round way. The white paper on “Progress in China's Human Rights (2013)” declares and confirms to the world that China's human rights cause has made continuous progress. The rights enjoyed by the Chinese people are guaranteed by the existing system and are more tangible. Facts have shown that in a country, the fundamental way to realize and develop human rights is social progress, stability and economic development.

Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “What are human rights? First, how many people have human rights? Is it the human rights of the ethnic, the majority, or the people of the whole country? The so-called ‘human rights’ in the Western world and the human rights we talk about are essentially two different things, with different viewpoints.” Western developed countries’ human rights theories mainly emphasize individual political rights. We emphasize that human rights include not only individual rights, but also collective human rights; not only political rights, but also economic, social, cultural, and civil rights, namely, the right to clothing, food, housing and travel, the right to live in safety and dignity, and the right to participate in social and public affairs. The independence and unity of the country and the continuous development of productivity are the prerequisite and basis for “respect and protection of human rights”.