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China registers historic progress in human rights

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-09 14:11

BEIJING  -- On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the publication of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 30th anniversary of China's reform and opening up, Wang Chen, director of the State Council Information Office, accepted an exclusive interview by the Human Rights journal, during which he gave a positive appraisal of the position and role of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, expounded China's basic views on human rights and achievements in human rights development and visualized the prospects of human rights development in China and the world as a whole.

The full text of Q&A is as follows:

Q. Dec. 10 this year marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations. How do you view and evaluate this document?

A. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted at the UN General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1948 is the UN's first document devoted to the human rights issue. It is truly a worldwide declaration of human rights that came into being on the basis of summing up the historical experience and absorbing and infusing the cultural spirit of the East and the West. Over the past 60 years, it has played an important role in awakening the people of the world to their pursuit for human rights, directing and promoting the development of international human rights theories and practice. It is still of great guiding significance for the development of the human rights cause in the world.

First of all, the UDHR for the first time in history put forward the universal concept of "human rights," confirming that "everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the Declaration, without distinction of any kind," and making the economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights two paralleled and inalienable components of human rights, thus breaking the narrow, traditional conception of human rights of the West and enriching and developing the contents of human rights.

Then, the UDHR served as a source of encouragement to the people of colonies and appendage countries in their great movement for state independence and national liberation, thus making indelible contributions to destroying the colonial system that had been ruling mankind for centuries and to promoting world peace, human rights and justice.

The UDHR has also had a far-reaching influence in the spread of the human rights principles and in the institution of human rights laws in the world. As a result, the UN has adopted dozens of international human rights documents including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. All the continents have also adopted many regional documents. The majority of the countries throughout the world have, in various ways, included respecting and protecting human rights in their Constitutions or related laws.

Q. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of China's reform and opening up. Over the past 30 years, China has made tremendous progress in its economic and social development and its international status has risen significantly. What changes do you think have taken place with regard to human rights?

A. The past three decades have witnessed historic changes in all aspects of the society in China.

But the most profound changes that have taken place should be those in the people and their concepts, their living standards and their dignity and values. Over the past 30 years, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government have persevered in reform and opening up in its economic and social development in an all-round manner and integrated the universality of human rights with the concrete national conditions and have made unremitting efforts to promote and protect human rights, thus blazing a new trail for human rights development that has distinct Chinese characteristics, thus resulting in a synchronized and coordinated development in the human rights cause and the political, economic, social and cultural development.

It is not exaggerating to say that China has made historic progress in human rights and that China's human rights conditions are in the best historical period.

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