On Relations between Human Rights and Development
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II. China's achievements in promoting human rights and development and the challenges it is confronted with
How to correctly understand and handle the relations between human rights and development for a populous developing country like China is of great importance and significance. It is the relentless combat goal for China to eradicate poverty and backwardness and let everybody enjoy full human rights.
1. China's achievements in promoting human rights and development
A legal system framework with the Constitution as the core has taken shape in China in the past five decades and more since the birth of New China, especially since the onset of reform and opening up. This is manifested in: A. It has strengthened legislation of human rights, put in place the basic civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights systems. B. It has further strengthened judicial protection of human rights. The Chinese Criminal Procedure Law newly revised in 1996 further defined the human rights principle of presumption of innocence, outlawed the system of detention for investigation, strengthened the rights for the victims, set up a sound open trial system, people's jury system, defense system, death penalty reexamination system, judicial aid system, legal aid system and lawyer system, etc. By 2006 year-end, there were over 13,000 law firms in China with over 130,000 licensed lawyers.
In terms of poverty eradication, China made it the main goal in its development, and adopted many effective models and measures to eliminate poverty. The Chinese poor population dwindled from 250 million in 1978 to 21.48 million. The rate of poverty fell sharply from30.7% to 2.3%. According to the latest 1990 – 2002 standard of USD one for consumption per day in the global poverty data set by the World Bank in 2006, the Chinese poor population decreased by 195 million while the total figure of decrease was 207 million in the whole world, thus China occupied over 90% in proportion. China contributed to the global cause of poverty eradication.
In terms of development concept, China set forth the "people first" scientific outlook on development in 2003. The basic connotation of the scientific outlook on development can be summarized as follows: Development is for the people, by the people and with the people sharing in its fruits.
It stresses that human person is the central subject of development and the purpose of development is human rights. Human rights are the standard for development. "It is through development that we will increase the material wealth of society and constantly improve people's lives, and it is again through development that we will guarantee social equity and justice and constantly promote social harmony." The new outlook on development was set forth on the basis of summarizing China's practice of development and borrowing the development experience from other countries. It was a crystallization of the Chinese government's in-depth understanding of the relations between human rights and development. The basic spirit is consistent with the stipulations and requirements set in international human rights documents. The scientific "people first" outlook of development, based as it is on human rights, is a new concept of governance in China now.
The proposition of the scientific outlook on development manifested a new line of thinking in China's development. It stressed man and human rights as core of development, and the interdependence of human rights and development.
In recent years China has taken many measures to implement "people first" scientific outlook on development, including legislation and policy measures to intensify human rights protection. For example, in 2003 China outlawed the Methods of Reception and Dispatch of Urban Loafers and Beggars and introduced the Methods Aiding and Managing the Helpless Urban Loafers and Beggars. In 2004 China explicitly made it a constitutional provision that the State shall respect and protect human rights, making human rights a fundamental goal for China to pursue. In 2005 China ratified the Pact on Eradication of Discrimination in Employment and Occupations. In 2005 it revised the Law on Women's Rights Protection and clearly defined the equality between men and women as the basic state policy. In 2006 it abolished the agricultural tax, bringing an end to the two-millennium history of levying taxes on farmers. In 2007 it promulgated the laws on property rights labor contract, employment promotion and arbitration of labor dispute mediation, strengthening the legislation and enforcement in labor protection. In 2007 it set up an overall system of subsistence guarantee in the countryside. It set up an initial system covering urban-rural public health system and basic medical care system and comprehensively incorporated the rural compulsory education into financial security scope. It was precisely the development of China's human rights protection system that provided the fundamental guarantee for the practice of human rights in China.
2. Challenges facing China in promoting human rights and development
China has made great achievements in development, but it is a populous developing country at the social transition period; hence it is restrained by many factors such as imperfections in historical and development levels and institutional system, and confronted with many problems and challenges in human rights and development.
Firstly, poverty eradication is still a heavy mission over a long period to come. Poverty is the largest obstacle to human rights. China has yet a large poor and low-income population in cities and countryside confronted with challenges in survival and development rights. How to enable the whole people to enjoy the common fruits of development and promote harmonious societal development and overall progress is an important topic facing China.
Secondly, challenges in labor rights protection. Some new challenges are facing the Chinese labor rights protection during the social transition period. Some enterprises committed severe violations of worker rights in total disregard of the national laws. Accidents of all kinds inflicting casualties and occupational hazards are endangering the labor rights to life and health. It is an important task to take strong measures to punish law-violating encroachments and strengthen labor rights protection.
Thirdly, challenges in women's equality rights. After the 4th UN World Conference on Women in 1995, the Chinese government conscientiously implemented the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action Program by proclaiming the Outline for the Development of Chinese Women (1995 – 2000) and (2001 – 2010), and taking a string of legislative, enforcement and judicial measures, thus making new achievements in promoting gender equality. But China is also facing some unprecedented obstacles in gender equality promotion. For example, it is getting tougher to promote female employment, the gap of male and female incomes is getting wider, the rights of women to labor protection, rest, rational income are violated to varying degrees, the gap of male and female education in the countryside is getting wider, the women's rights of the person and dignity are subjected to severe violations such as domestic violence and sexual harassments.
