I. A historical turning point in the progress of human rights in China
In the old semi-colonial, semi-feudal China, the broad masses were oppressed by imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism, and had no human rights at all. But after New China was founded in 1949, the Chinese government and people waged a series of large-scale campaigns, rapidly sweeping away the dregs left over from the old society, and established a basic political system which could promote and protect human rights, so that the nation and society took on an entirely new look and a new epoch was started for the progress of human rights in China.
--Realizing and upholding genuine and complete national independence, and creating the requisite premise for the progress of human rights. Invaded and enslaved by various foreign powers, old China lost its state sovereignty, and its people's human rights lost their minimum guarantee. The first important achievement of the Chinese Communist Party, which led the Chinese people to victory in the people's democratic revolution, was to drive the imperialist invaders out of China, paving the way for China to realize real independence.
New China, after its founding, promptly abolished all unequal treaties which had been imposed on China by various imperialist countries and all the privileges they had grabbed from China, resolutely confiscated the property of fascist countries in China, completely uprooted the political and economic privileges of the imperialists' colonial rule in China and realized complete state independence.
In the early period after the founding of New China, the Western countries, headed by the United States, carried out a total-containment policy of political non-recognition, economic blockade and military encirclement against China. They brazenly waged the Korean War in 1950, which was extended to the Yalu River, the border of China, in an attempt to strangle the newly founded People's Republic of China (PRC) in the cradle.
In spite of great difficulties, New China defying brute force, was compelled to wage a just war to defend the homeland and achieved a great victory, firmly maintaining state independence and the people's security.
Meanwhile, New China firmly followed an independent and peaceful foreign policy, actively advocated and earnestly adhered to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, developed relations with foreign countries based on equality, mutual benefit, peace and friendship, successfully frustrated the isolation, blockade, interference and aggression by international antagonistic forces, and won wide respect from international society.
The genuine and complete independence of China has created the fundamental premise for the Chinese people's selection of their own social and political systems and a path for development with the initiative in their own hands, for China's opening to the outside world, for steady and healthy development, and for the uninterrupted improvement of human rights in China.
--Establishing and perfecting the people's democratic political system, and guaranteeing their democratic rights to be masters of their own affairs.
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which was inaugurated in 1949, witnessed the adoption of the Common Program of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, served as the country's provisional constitution, the election of the Central People's Government, and the declaration of the birth of the People's Republic of China.
The Common Program clearly stipulated that state power belonged to the people, who, according to the law, had the right to vote and stand for election, and had the freedoms of ideology, speech, publication, gathering, forming associations, communication, personal affairs, residence, change of residence, religious belief and demonstration.
It also stipulated that all the laws, decrees and judicial systems enacted by the reactionary Kuomintang government to oppress the people had been abolished, that laws and decrees were to be formulated to protect the people, and that the people's judicial system was to be established.
In February 1953, China promulgated the Electoral Law of the People's Republic of China. In December 1953, a general election was held nationwide. The registered electors accounted for 97 per cent of the citizens of and above the age of 18, of whom 85.88 per cent participated in the election. They elected 5.669 million grass-roots deputies, and 1,226 deputies to the National People's Congress. These deputies featured wide representativeness.
This was the first nationwide general election in Chinese history; it helped to realize the people's democratic right to participate in the management of state affairs.
In September 1954, the First Session of the First National People's Congress was held in Beijing. Based on the people's democracy, the session adopted the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. Before being submitted to the National People's Congress for examination, the draft Constitution was made public for the whole country to hold a two-month discussion. About 150 million people took part in the discussion, and put forward more than 1.16 million questions and suggestions for amendments and supplements.
The enacting of the national constitution on the basis of such a broad discussion by the whole country was not only unprecedented in Chinese history, but also rare in the history of the world. The Constitution stated the nature of the state, the functions of state organs, and the rights and duties of citizens, laying a foundation for China's democracy and legal construction.
The construction and improvement of the basic political system on the basis of people's democracy provided a fundamental political guarantee for the realization of the right of the people to be the masters of their own affairs.
They also enjoy the right to control their economies and local finances, the right to develop educational, scientific, technological and cultural undertakings, and the right to use and develop the local spoken and written languages.
"Fifty years is but a moment in human history," the paper noted. Nevertheless, in the past 50 years the Chinese people have made a great historic leap in the development of human rights.
"We can say that the human rights situation in present-day China is totally different from that of the old China, even compared with the years before the initiation of the reform and opening-up policy, the great progress that has been made in this respect is universally acknowledged," it said.
The paper noted that since China introduced the policy of reform and opening-up, it has found a road for the promotion and development of human rights that suits its reality.
"This means putting the rights to subsistence and development in the first place, under the conditions of reform, development and stability, and thus promoting human rights development in an all-round way," it said.
"Practice has proved that building socialism with Chinese characteristics is a road of development that is in accordance with the fundamental interests of the Chinese people, and also the only road which can effectively promote human rights in China," the paper stressed.
It expressed the belief that as long as China follows the plans laid down at the Party's 15th National Congress, while continuing to carry out the three-stage economic development strategy, earnestly implement the general plan of governing the country according to law, and strive to build a socialist country ruled by law, its human rights situation will continue to see marked improvement.
Various old systems which had oppressed and enslaved workers, such as the feudal boss system practised by bureaucrat-capitalist enterprises, were annulled. The divisive feudal trade associations and regionalism were abolished. Factory management commissions and congresses of workers and staff members were established, which absorbed workers into factory management so as to realize democracy in enterprise management and make workers the real masters of their enterprises.
Simultaneously, the old wage system was adjusted, a labor insurance system was introduced, and workplace welfare and employees' living standards were improved.
To liberate women and abolish the feudal marriage system which discriminated against and oppressed women, in 1950 New China promulgated the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China, which was the first such law ever enacted in China.
The law completely abolished the feudal marriage system of arranged and coerced marriages, men's superiority to women, and neglect of the interests of offsprings, and cleared the way for a new marriage system of freedom of marriage, monogamy, equality between men and women, and protection of the lawful rights and interests of women and offsprings.
At the same time, large-scale publicity work and a mass movement to put the Marriage Law into effect were carried out nationwide. As a result, the ideas of the equality of men and women and freedom of marriage became deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and women's status was greatly raised.
Prostitution, drug trafficking and addiction, and gambling are social evils left over from old China, as well as chronic social diseases endangering the people's physical and mental health. They were resolutely prohibited right after the founding of New China.
In November 1949, the second people's congress of Beijing took the lead in prohibiting prostitution. The city promptly closed all brothels, and provided education and medical treatment for prostitutes, enabling them to live off their own labor. Following Beijing, all other large, middle-sized and small cities nationwide successively prohibited prostitution.
In a short period of time, this hotbed of crimes, which had seriously ruined women's physical and mental health and their dignity for more than 3,000 years in China, was stamped out. As for drug taking, gambling and other social evils which were closely connected with the reactionary ruling forces and the underworld in old China, the people's government, on one hand mobilized the masses to struggle against and punish drug producers, drug traffickers and gambling rings, and on the other it did extensive publicity work so as to enhance the consciousness of the masses, and reform drug addicts and gamblers.
After two to three years of efforts, these social plagues, which had not vanished despite repeated prohibitions in old China, were basically wiped out, and China's social life took a new and healthy turn for the better.
--Opposing ethnic oppression and discrimination, developing ethnic equality, mutual aid and unity, and carrying out the ethnic regional autonomy system.
In old China, serious ethnic discrimination and oppression existed for quite a long time; many ethnic minorities, which were not recognized, were in adverse circumstances, and some ethnic minority people had to hide themselves deep in the mountains, living in isolation.
After the founding of New China in 1949, the Chinese government completely abolished all ethnic oppression and discrimination, and liberated ethnic minority people. To eliminate the estrangement produced by ethnic oppression in old China, the Central People's Government sent, between 1950 and 1952, groups to ethnic minority areas to express sympathy and solicitude, and organized groups of all ethnic minorities to visit the capital and other places in China, thus strengthening understanding and friendship among all ethnic groups.
In 1951, the Central People's Government promulgated the Instructions on the Handling of the Titles, Names of Places, Tablets and Signboards Which Are Discriminative and Insulting to Ethnic Minorities.
To carry out the ethnic equality policy, in 1953 the Chinese government started a large-scale program to identify all the country's ethnic peoples. A total of 55 ethnic minorities were identified, thus making each ethnic minority an equal member of China's family of peoples for the first time in history.
At the same time, the Chinese government initiated a movement to universally promote and educate Chinese citizens with ethnic theories and policies, strongly advocated ethnic equality and unity, and opposed nationalism, especially Han chauvinism. Meanwhile, to change the backward economic and social situation in ethnic minority areas, the Chinese government actively and steadily carried out democratic reforms in the areas inhabited by minority peoples.
On the premise of fully respecting the will of ethnic minorities, and respecting and protecting their religious beliefs, customs and habits, the Chinese government helped minority peoples to reform their backward production methods and social systems, and develop economic and cultural undertakings, thus enabling the social development of the ethnic minorities to leap over several historical stages.
To guarantee the special rights and interests of ethnic minorities, the Chinese government established ethnic self- government organs and instituted ethnic regional autonomy in the areas where ethnic minorities live in compact communities.
In August 1952, China promulgated the Outline for the Implementation of Ethnic Regional Autonomy in the People's Republic of China, which specifies the details of the policy of ethnic regional autonomy. The successful implementation of ethnic regional autonomy has effectively guaranteed the equal rights of ethnic minorities in the big family of China, and their right to administer their respective ethnic and local affairs in a self- governing manner.
--Establishing the socialist system, and promoting social and economic development and the improvement of the people's enjoyment of human rights.
After the founding of New China, the People's Government carried out land reform and other democratic reforms, and adopted powerful measures to stabilize prices and promote economic development.
It took only three years for China to heal the wounds of war, and build the national economy and the people's livelihood to the highest level in history. On this basis, the Chinese government lost no time in starting the socialist reform of agriculture, handicraft industry and capitalist industry and commerce, thus fundamentally eliminating the system of exploitation of man by man and establishing basic economic system of socialism.
Since then, the Chinese people have become the masters of their means of production and the owners of the wealth of society, thus calling forth their enthusiasm for building a new country and creating a new life, and promoting the rapid development of society and the economy, and the improvement of the people's livelihood.
According to statistics, the national total industrial output value in 1957 had increased by 128.3 percent over that of 1952, with an average annual growth of 18 percent; the total agricultural output value had risen by 25 percent; and the average consumption level of all the people in the country had grown by more than one third.
The establishment of the socialist system has provided the basic guarantee for the people throughout the country to constantly improve their human rights situation on the basis of equal participation in economic development and sharing labor achievements.
Through these profound social reforms, involving getting rid of the old and creating the new, New China has not only realized a historic turning point in the development of human rights, but also initiated a brand-new starting point for further exploration and the progress and development of the cause of human rights.