General Secretary Xi: unswervingly follow the path of China's human rights development to better promote the development of China's human rights cause
2022-06-16
Today, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held its 37th collective study on China's human rights development path. The purpose of arranging this study is to summarize the achievements in the development of China's human rights theory and practice in the new era, analyze the struggle situation in the international human rights field, unswervingly follow the path of China's human rights development, and better promote the development of China's human rights cause. It is the common pursuit of human society to protect human life, value and dignity and realize that everyone enjoys human rights. Chinese culture has always emphasized the respect and care for people. Confucius's "politics in ancient times, love for the greater", Mencius's "benevolence for people in the world", Xunzi's "people are the most valuable in the world", and Mozi's "love for both" all emphasize people's own value. The ancients also said, "among all things, people are the most valuable." "Those who help great things must put people first." "Those who manage the world are people-oriented." During the period of western bourgeois revolution, enlightenment thinkers put forward views such as "natural human rights", emphasizing that everyone is born equal and has inalienable rights, which promoted the bourgeois revolution in Britain, the United States, France and other countries. Marx and Engels affirmed the historical progressive significance of the bourgeois theory of human rights, and thoroughly criticized its negation of the sociality, historicity and class nature of human rights. Marx pointed out that "individuals are social beings" and "rights must not go beyond the economic structure of the society and the cultural development of the society restricted by the economic structure". Marx and Engels emphasized that in the capitalist society, "man is no longer a slave of man, but a slave of things"; "Instead of the old bourgeois society in which classes and class antagonisms existed, there would be a union in which the free development of everyone was a condition for the free development of all.". Respecting and protecting human rights is the unremitting pursuit of the Chinese Communists. Since its founding, our party has held high the banner of "striving for democracy and human rights", and clearly declared the proposition of saving the country and the people and striving for human rights. The party's hundred year history of struggle runs through the unremitting efforts of the party to unite and lead the people in striving for, respecting, protecting and developing human rights. During the period of the new democratic revolution, the period of socialist revolution and construction, and the new period of reform, opening up and socialist modernization, our party has firmly grasped its original mission of seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, led the people to great victories in revolution, construction and Reform, made the Chinese people masters of the country, society and their own destiny, and the Chinese people's right to survival The protection of the right to development and other fundamental rights has been advancing. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, we have adhered to respecting and protecting human rights as an important task in governing the country, and promoted the cause of human rights in China to achieve historic achievements. We have achieved the first Centennial goal, built a moderately prosperous society in all respects, historically solved the problem of absolute poverty, and laid a more solid material foundation for the development of China's human rights cause. We have continuously developed people's democracy throughout the process, promoted the protection of human rights and the rule of law, resolutely upheld social fairness and justice, and the people enjoy broader, fuller and more comprehensive democratic rights. We have promoted fuller and higher quality employment, built the world's largest education system, social security system and health care system, and made great efforts to improve the quality of people's living environment. We have adhered to the people first and life first, effectively responded to the COVID-19, and protected people's life safety and health to the greatest extent. We fully implement the party's ethnic and religious policies, adhere to the equality of all ethnic groups, respect the religious beliefs of the people, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the people of all ethnic groups. We have advanced the reform of the judicial system, strengthened the building of a safe China and a country ruled by law, conducted in-depth education and rectification of the political and legal ranks, launched a comprehensive special campaign to eradicate criminal gangs, severely cracked down on all kinds of illegal crimes, maintained long-term social stability, and effectively protected the lives and property of the people. China is the only major country in the world that has continuously formulated and implemented the four phase national human rights action plan. We have actively participated in global human rights governance, made Chinese contributions to the development of the world's human rights cause and provided Chinese solutions. In the practice of promoting the development of China's human rights cause, we have combined the Marxist concept of human rights with China's specific reality and with China's excellent traditional culture, summed up the successful experience of our party in uniting and leading the people to respect and protect human rights, learned from the achievements of human civilization, and blazed a path of human rights development that conforms to the trend of the times and is suitable for China's national conditions. This road has the following main characteristics. First, adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Serving the people wholeheartedly is the fundamental purpose of our party. The leadership of the Communist Party of China and China's socialist system determine the socialist nature of China's human rights cause. It determines that we can ensure that the people are the masters of the country, adhere to the equal sharing of human rights, adhere to the systematic thinking in planning human rights construction, promote the all-round development of all kinds of human rights, and constantly realize, safeguard and develop the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people. Second, adhere to respect for the people's dominant position. The people's character is the most prominent feature of China's human rights development path. Human rights are not privileges enjoyed by some or a few people, but universal human rights enjoyed by the broad masses of the people. We safeguard the people's democratic rights, fully stimulate the enthusiasm, initiative and creativity of the broad masses of the people, make the people the main participants, promoters and beneficiaries of the development of human rights, and effectively promote the all-round development of people and the common prosperity of all people to make more tangible and substantial progress. Third, we should proceed from China's actual conditions. The path of human rights development in each country must be determined in accordance with its national conditions and the wishes of its people. We have integrated the principle of universality of human rights with China's reality, promoted the development of the cause of human rights in the light of China's national conditions and the requirements of the people, and ensured that the people enjoy extensive, full, real, specific and effective human rights in accordance with the law. Fourth, we must uphold the right to subsistence and the right to development as the primary basic human rights. Survival is the basis for the enjoyment of all human rights, and a happy life for the people is the greatest human right. We fully, accurately and comprehensively implement the new development concept, adhere to the people-centered development idea, adhere to development for the people, development depends on the people, and development achievements are shared by the people, strive to solve the most immediate and realistic interests of the people, strive to solve the problem of unbalanced and insufficient development, and strive to achieve higher quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable and safer development, In the course of development, we will make the people's sense of gain, happiness and security richer, more secure and more sustainable. Fifth, we will uphold the protection of human rights in accordance with the law. The rule of law is the most effective guarantee of human rights. We adhere to the principle of equality before the law, and ensure respect for and protection of human rights throughout all aspects of legislation, law enforcement, judicature and law-abiding. We will accelerate the improvement of the legal system that reflects fairness in rights, opportunities and rules, protect citizens' rights of person, property and personality, ensure citizens' basic political rights to participate in democratic elections, consultations, decision-making, management and supervision, and protect citizens' economic, cultural, social Environment and other rights, and constantly improve the level of legal protection of human rights. Sixth, we will continue to actively participate in global human rights governance. Developing human rights is the common cause of all mankind. Human rights protection is not the best, only better. All countries have the right to choose their own path of human rights development. Different civilizations and countries should respect, tolerate, exchange and learn from each other. We carry forward the common values of all mankind, practice genuine multilateralism, actively participate in the reform and construction of the global governance system, including human rights, and promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. The above six points are not only the main features of the development of human rights in China, but also the valuable experience we have gained in promoting the cause of human rights in China. We should continue to adhere to and develop well in combination with new practice. Democracy is not an ornament or a decoration. Human rights are neither ornaments nor decorations. In recent years, some western countries have fallen into the dilemma of political parties' fierce struggle, government dishonesty, social disorder and epidemic out of control. Political polarization, polarization between the rich and the poor, ethnic antagonism have intensified. Racism, populism and xenophobia are widespread, and human rights issues have become increasingly prominent. However, under the banner of so-called "universal human rights" and "human rights are above sovereignty", they have forcibly promoted western concepts and systems of democracy and human rights in the world, and used human rights issues to wantonly interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, resulting in frequent wars, long-term social unrest and displacement of people in some countries. Now, China has embarked on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way and marching towards the second Centennial goal. We should make overall plans for both domestic and international situations, deeply understand the importance and urgency of doing a good job in human rights work, pay more attention to respecting and protecting human rights, and promote the healthy development of China's human rights cause. We should focus on the following aspects. First, promote the all-round development of the cause of human rights. As I said, "the process of realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is essentially the process of realizing social fairness and justice and constantly promoting the development of human rights.". We should adhere to China's path of human rights development, comply with the people's expectations for a high-quality and better life, constantly meet the people's growing demand for rights in many aspects, comprehensively promote economic development, democracy and the rule of law, ideology and culture, fairness and justice, social governance, environmental protection, and comprehensively do a good job in employment, income distribution, education, social security, medical care, housing, elderly care, and child care, in material, political In the coordinated development of spiritual civilization, social civilization and ecological civilization, we will improve the level of human rights protection in an all-round way. Second, strengthen the protection of human rights by the rule of law. At present, there are still many shortcomings in the legal protection of human rights in China. We should deepen reform in the field of the rule of law, improve the mechanism for ensuring the rule of law for human rights, achieve respect for and protection of human rights in the whole chain, process and all aspects of legislation, law enforcement, justice and law-abiding, and let the people feel fairness and justice in every legal system, every law enforcement decision and every judicial case. It is necessary to systematically study, plan and solve outstanding problems that are strongly reflected by the people in the field of the rule of law, treat the demands of the people fairly according to law, and resolutely put an end to things that harm the feelings of the people and the rights and interests of the people due to unfair justice. All acts that infringe upon the legitimate rights of the masses and all phenomena that are indifferent and indifferent to the infringement of the rights and interests of the masses must be seriously investigated and dealt with in accordance with discipline and law and resolutely held accountable. Third, we should promote a correct view of human rights. Human rights publicity and knowledge popularization should be widely carried out through various forms, channels and occasions to create a good atmosphere for respecting and protecting human rights in the whole society. We should carry out human rights education among all the people, especially among the young people, and incorporate the education of the Marxist concept of human rights and the contemporary Chinese concept of human rights into the national education system. We should strengthen human rights training for public officials, especially grass-roots public officials, such as public security, courts, procuratorates, civil affairs, social security, health, taxation, market supervision and other departments. We should give full play to the advantages of mass organizations and promote greater protection of the rights and interests of specific groups such as women, children, the elderly and the disabled. Rely on China's human rights