(East-West Question) Lu Guangjin: What is the difference between China's "development-based human rights path"?
China News Agency, Beijing, May 21, Question: What is the difference between China's "development-based human rights path"?
——Interview with Lu Guangjin, Secretary General of China Human Rights Research Association and Professor of Law School of Jilin University
China News Agency reporter Li Hanxue
In the 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the problem of absolute poverty has been solved historically, and more than 800 million people have been lifted out of poverty.
The dramatic changes in the living and development conditions of more than 800 million people undoubtedly mean a great improvement in the human rights situation.
However, in the international public opinion, the human rights development path of China's emphasis on survival and development has not been fully understood.
Then, what is the difference and rationality of China's "development-based human rights path"?
China News Agency "Dongxi Wen" recently had an exclusive interview with Lu Guangjin, secretary general of the China Society for Human Rights Research and a professor at the Law School of Jilin University.
The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
China News Service: How do you evaluate the development of human rights in China in recent years?
Lu Guangjin:
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, in just a few decades, more than 800 million people have been lifted out of poverty, the problem of absolute poverty has been solved historically, a moderately prosperous society has been built in an all-round way, and the basic rights of the Chinese people have been continuously improved. adequate protection.
The historic achievements in the development of China's human rights cause have proved the scientific and rationality of China's human rights development path.
The achievements of China's human rights development can be deepened through the "Human Development Index" (used to measure the development level of various countries and regions) created by the United Nations Development Program.
Combining economic indicators with social indicators, the index puts more emphasis on human development rather than just economic conditions.
Its three basic indicators are life expectancy, education level, and quality of life.
The index is divided into very high human development index (above 0.8), high human development index (0.7 to 0.8), medium human development index (0.55 to 0.7), low human development index (below 0.55).
The index was released in 1990, when China was still in the low human development level group. In 1995, China entered the medium human development level group. In 2015, China entered the high human development level group.
China's Human Development Index has risen from 0.501 in 1990 to 0.761 in 2020, and has been on a steady rise over the years.
China is also the only country that has moved from the low human development group to the high human development group since the index was released.
On October 29, 2019, the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly deliberated on human rights issues, and many countries spoke in support of China's human rights propositions and measures.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan
China News Service: How to understand the relationship between the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the development of human rights in China?
Lu Guangjin:
The Chinese Constitution stipulates that the leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
The socialist system is the fundamental system of the People's Republic of China.
At the same time, the Chinese Constitution also stipulates that the state respects and protects human rights.
Without the leadership of the Communist Party of China, there will be no socialist system; without the socialist system, the human rights of all the people cannot be guaranteed; and the realization of respect and protection of human rights is an inevitable requirement for the development and progress of Chinese society, which is conducive to upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China. develop the socialist system.
China's human rights development path resolves the organic unity between the ruling party, the state system, and respect and protection of human rights.
At the same time, safeguarding the fundamental interests of all the people is the working principle of the Communist Party of China. Therefore, "people's nature" is the most distinctive feature of China's human rights development path, and it is also the most iconic spiritual core.
China News Service reporter: How to understand the source of ideas about China's human rights development path?
Lu Guangjin:
The source of ideas should include the Marxist view of human rights, the excellent traditional Chinese culture and the universal principle of human rights.
Specifically, it can be understood from the following three aspects.
First, China's human rights development path has inherited and developed the basic Marxist views on human rights.
For example, the people are the first, the masses of the people are the creators of history; the production of material materials is the first, and the survival of human beings must first solve the problems of food and clothing; human rights belong to the category of social history, the emergence of human rights, Realization and development must be based on certain social and economic conditions, and so on.
Second, it inherits the excellent traditional Chinese cultural thoughts.
Chinese civilization is an inexhaustible source of ideas for the development of human rights in China.
Concepts such as benevolence and friendliness, people-oriented principles, harmonious culture, harmony between man and nature, a moderately prosperous society, a peaceful world, and a harmonious world all have distinct Chinese characteristics and profoundly influence contemporary Chinese human rights concepts and value orientations.
Primary school students in Ganyu County, Jiangsu Province, and the elderly in a nursing home celebrate the traditional Double Ninth Festival.
Photo by China News Agency, Si Wei
Third, it draws on the outstanding achievements of human civilization.
The principle of universality of human rights is the common spiritual wealth of human society.
It is on this basis that China has acceded to 26 international human rights instruments over the years, including six UN core human rights conventions.
The above three sources of contemporary Chinese human rights thought are also sufficient to illustrate the inclusiveness and openness of contemporary Chinese human rights.
China News Service: What do you think are the characteristics of China's path to realizing human rights?
Lu Guangjin:
China insists on "protecting and promoting human rights in development" on the path to human rights realization.
Different from the "development path based on human rights" proposed internationally, China proposes a "development path based on human rights".
On the basis of the interaction between human rights and development, this path concept puts more emphasis on the value of development in protecting and promoting human rights.
Development is the eternal theme of human society, the foundation and key to solving all problems in China, and the driving force for promoting the development of China's human rights cause.
China insists that human rights are a historical process of continuous development, a process of development from insufficient, to relatively adequate, to more adequate, and finally to full sufficiency.
With the development of modernization and the improvement of economic and social development level, China's human rights protection level has been continuously improved.
China's "development-based human rights path" generally goes through four stages of progressive development: first, the right to subsistence and development is the primary basic human right; second, the people's happy life is the greatest human right; The all-round development of human rights is a common human right, and the fourth is a human rights aimed at promoting the free and all-round development of human beings.
Volunteers from the School of Life Sciences of Liaocheng University in Shandong form a "human" square team on World Human Rights Day.
Photo by Zhao Yuguo issued by China News Agency
Amartya Sen, author of "Development in Freedom", said of China's development and his outlook on development: "The complementarity between economic development and social progress has been greatly appreciated in China's recent history. good illustration", "these complementarities include the interaction between culture and economy, political participation and economic progress, and technological progress and its social application." He particularly emphasized: "Development is an interdependent process, and economic Success cannot be separated from social, political and cultural achievements. Each country, each society, has to deal with its own problems, and the world will watch with great interest how the full development process unfolds in China ."
China News Service: How does China handle the relationship between the collective and the individual in the human rights development path?
Lu Guangjin:
Since the reform and opening up, the historic achievement of the cause of socialist human rights with Chinese characteristics is a very important point that adheres to the unity of collective human rights and individual human rights (rights). create.
China insists that collective human rights are the guarantee of individual human rights.
Without society, individuals will lose the basis and foundation of their existence; without collective human rights, individual human rights will lose their strong premise and guarantee.
At the same time, China also believes that individual human rights are the foundation of collective human rights.
After the reform and opening up, China, especially with the establishment of the socialist market economic system, reversed the practice of emphasizing the collective and ignoring the individual.
China fully realizes that without collective development, individual development is impossible, but if individual development is not valued, better collective development is also impossible.
In this way, the basic Marxist viewpoint on the free and comprehensive development of human beings is implemented, that is, "the free development of each person is the condition for the free development of all people".
(Finish)
Interviewee Profile:
Lu Guangjin.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Yu
Secretary General of China Human Rights Research Association, Doctor of Laws, Professor of Law School of Jilin University, President and Editor-in-Chief of "Human Rights" magazine.
He used to be the director of the Human Rights Bureau of the Central Propaganda Department.