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Preface

It has been a long-cherished ideal of mankind to enjoy human rights in
the full sense of the term. Since this great term -- human rights -- was
coined centuries ago, people of all nations have achieved great results
in their unremitting struggle for human rights. However, on a global
scale, modern society has fallen far short of the lofty goal of securing
the full range of human rights for people the world over. And this is why
numerous people with lofty ideals are still working determinedly for this
cause.

Under long years of oppression by the "three big mountains" --
imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism -- people in old China
did not have any human rights to speak of. Suffering bitterly from this,
the Chinese people fought for more than a century, defying death and
personal sacrifices and advancing wave upon wave, in an arduous struggle
to overthrow the "three big mountains" and gain their human rights. The
situation in respect to human rights in China took a basic turn for the
better after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Greatly
treasuring this hard-won achievement, the Chinese government and people
have spared no effort to safeguard human rights and steadily improve
their human rights situation, and have achieved remarkable results. This
has won full confirmation and fair appraisal from all people who have a
real understanding of Chinese conditions and who are not prejudiced.

The issue of human rights has become one of great significance and common
concern in the world community. The series of declarations and
conventions adopted by the United Nations have won the support and
respect of many countries. The Chinese government has also highly
appraised the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, considering it the
first international human rights document that has laid the foundation
for the practice of human rights in the world arena. However, the
evolution of the situation in regard to human rights is circumscribed by
the historical, social, economic and cultural conditions of various
nations, and involves a process of historical development. Owing to
tremendous differences in historical background, social system, cultural
tradition and economic development, countries differ in their
understanding and practice of human rights. From their different
situations, they have taken different attitudes towards the relevant UN
conventions. Despite its international aspect, the issue of human rights
falls by and large within the sovereignty of each country. Therefore, a
country's human rights situation should not be judged in total disregard
of its history and national conditions, nor can it be evaluated according
to a preconceived model or the conditions of another country or region.
Such is the practical attitude, the attitude of seeking truth from facts.

From their own historical conditions, the realities of their own country
and their long practical experience, the Chinese people have derived
their own viewpoints on the human rights issue and formulated relevant
laws and policies. It is stipulated in the Constitution of the People's
Republic of China that all power in the People's Republic of China
belongs to the people. Chinese human rights have three salient
characteristics. First, extensiveness. It is not a minority of the people
or part of a class or social stratum but the entire Chinese citizenry who
constitutes the subject enjoying human rights. The human rights enjoyed
by the Chinese citizenry encompass an extensive scope, including not only
survival, personal and political rights, but also economic, cultural and
social rights. The state pays full attention to safeguarding both
individual and collective rights. Second, equality. China has adopted the
socialist system after abolishing the system of exploitation and
eliminating the exploiting classes. The Chinese citizenry enjoys all
civic rights equally irrespective of the money and property status as
well as of nationality, race, sex, occupation, family background,
religion, level of education and duration of residence. Third,
authenticity. The state provides guarantees in terms of system, laws and
material means for the realization of human rights. The various civic
rights prescribed in the Constitution and other state laws are in accord
with what people enjoy in real life. China's human rights legislation and
policies are endorsed and supported by the people of all nationalities
and social strata and by all the political parties, social organizations
and all walks of life.

As a developing country, China has suffered from setbacks while
safeguarding and developing human rights. Although much has been achieved
in this regard, there is still much room for improvement. It remains a
long-term historical task for the Chinese people and government to
continue to promote human rights and strive for the noble goal of full
implementation of human rights as required by China's socialism.

In order to help the international community understand the human rights
situation as it is in China, we present the following brief account of
China's basic position on and practice of human rights.

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