Opinion / Op-Ed Contributors

Push for new developments in China's human rights

(China Daily) Updated: 2014-12-24 08:02

3. We will promote human rights education so as to spread awareness of and respect for safeguarding human rights in Chinese society. We should attach great importance to publicizing information about human rights and increasing the level of human rights education so as to build positive momentum in the field of human rights and lay a broad social foundation for China's human rights development. We will vigorously publicize human rights information, spread human rights awareness, and foster a social culture that respects and safeguards human rights. We must also recognize the importance of officials as role models of respect for human rights and make this a cornerstone of promoting human rights awareness. Furthermore, we will strengthen human rights education in primary and middle schools. We will make sure that human rights education is integrated into relevant courses by carrying out activities designed to suit juveniles that promote human rights. Colleges and universities are encouraged to develop human-rights-related disciplines and majors and support the study of human rights theories. China will encourage and promote the spread of human rights knowledge in enterprises and public institutions in order to develop corporate cultures that honor and protect human rights. China will also encourage the dissemination of human rights knowledge via the media, thus creating a stronger feeling of social support for human rights awareness.

4. We will revamp our human rights discourse system and enhance our international human rights communication skills. Since the 1990s, we have actively publicized our ideas on human rights throughout the world and endeavored to win the war for public opinion. We have reformed our international communication methods, and we have formulated the important idea that the rights to subsistence and development are the most fundamental human rights, a concept which has exerted a positive influence on the international community. However, in view of the great progress of the cause of human rights in China and the changes in international public opinion on human rights, there is still much work to be done to develop our human rights discourse system. In this context, we should take the initiative to construct new human rights concepts and expressions that can both reflect contemporary Chinese values and act as bridges between China and foreign countries on issues such as China's achievements in human rights development, the development of international human rights and grave concerns over China's human rights. By doing this, we aim to effectively impact and guide international human rights affairs and international public opinion on human rights. We should look to human rights research agencies and the colleges, universities and research institutions to which they belong, as well as to national human rights education and training bases to conduct in-depth studies of major theoretical and practical issues concerning China's human rights development. We should also enhance publicity about our human rights theories and practice worldwide, and tell better stories about China's human rights to foreigners in order to increase the international community's understanding of the true situation of human rights in China and win the war of international public opinion. We should actively try to make as many friends as possible in the world through increasing our international communication and conducting extensive exchange and cooperation with human rights organizations affiliated with the UN and with other countries, especially the governments, parliaments, political parties and mainstream societies of major Western countries. We will continue to conduct bilateral human rights dialogues founded on principles of equality and mutual respect with the United States and the European Union in addition to deepening human rights negotiations and cooperation with developing countries to expand common interests and shared discourse. Moreover, China will fully participate in multilateral human rights platforms such as the UN Human Rights Council and commit itself to increasing the fairness of international human rights forums. China will continue to earnestly fulfill its obligations to adhere to the international human rights conventions to which it has acceded, and the country will readily undergo reviews of its implementation of these conventions. The country will also hold constructive dialogues with human rights treaty bodies and take the initiative to promote the effective implementation of relevant conventions within its borders.

5. We will raise the level of systematic implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan by strengthening organization and instruction. The National Human Rights Action Plan is both an important national project and the Chinese government's solemn commitment to promoting the development of human rights. The Chinese people are full of anticipation for the implementation of the Action Plan. Departments and units at various levels should increase their sense of mission and responsibility, and substantially strengthen organization and instruction so as to propel the implementation of the Action Plan and fulfill all set objectives to the letter. We should also improve the Joint Meeting Mechanism for the Action Plan and allow it to fully realize its coordinating and guiding role. All members of the Joint Meeting Mechanism should work together in a coordinated fashion to exchange information and strengthen communication with each other, thus forming a united force to promote the development of human rights in China.

The development of human rights cannot be perfect, but it can be better, and the cause of human rights has no perfect tense, only a progressive tense. Let's rally closely round the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the general secretary to fulfill the tasks set for us in the Action Plan on schedule, enthusiastically, practically and meticulously, thus pushing China's human rights to new heights and making greater contributions to the realization of the two centenary goals and the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

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