An Evaluation of the Core Controversies in Contemporary Western Human Rights Theory——A Study Based on the Examination of the Criterion of Fidelity to Practice

The development of theories on human rights with Chinese characteristics and China’s engagement in global human rights governance cannot be separated from attention to contemporary Western human rights theory.The debate between naturalistic and political conceptions of human rights has a long history,but discussions on the basic criteria for evaluating human rights theories have been insufficient.This article,focusing on the criterion of fidelity to practice,attempts to identify the development trajectory and direction of human rights theory.The universal claims of naturalistic human rights perspectives and the human rights catalog they propose have been criticized for deviating from practice.On the other hand,political conceptions of human rights,while emphasizing domestic human rights practices,have been criticized for their occasional nature and perceived loss of criticality.The broad-way practice theory seeks a third way that goes beyond the divide between these two perspectives.On the one hand,the theory itself faces limitations and the need for reshaping,while on the other hand,the traditional singular practice theory is also undergoing self-renewal.It can be said that the“internal critique”of contemporary Western human rights theory is already underway and will continue.

Summary of the Seminar Commemorating the 30^(th) Anniversary of the Release of the White Paper Entitled Human Rights in China

On November 1,1991,the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China issued its first white paper entitled Human Rights in China.In the past 30 years,China’s human rights cause has developed rapidly,and relevant theoretical research has been continuously improved.On October 15,2021,the Seminar Commemorating the 30;Anniversary of the Release of the White Paper Entitled Human Rights in China was held in Beijing.It focused on three topics:the theoretical significance of the white paper,its discourse building and its practice.The meeting held that the Chinese human rights philosophy emphasized in the white paper is in line with China’s national conditions and development path philosophy,and is a typical achievement of adapting Marxism to Chinese conditions.Over the past 30 years since the release of this white paper,China’s human rights cause has completed the basic work of theoretical building and path exploration,and meanwhile,China has established a human rights discourse system and human rights protection system in line with China’s history and development stage,participated in global human rights cooperation,and contributed Chinese wisdom to the advancement of the world’s human rights cause.

From Tangshan to Wenchuan: Human Rights Practice of Chinese Characteristics

Confronted with the sudden devastating quakes that rocked Sichuan and half China on May 12, the Chinese government and the Chinese people transformed the sorrow and grievances into enormous force and stood up from the debris undaunted.

On the Human Rights Implications of the Whole-process People’s Democracy

The whole-process people’s democracy is a prerequisite for the people’s democracy.It is the organic unity of process and outcome democracy,procedural and substantive democracy,direct and indirect democracy,as well as the people’s democracy and the will of the state.The whole-process people’s democracy is the latest theoretical expression of the concept of socialist human rights with Chinese characteristics,a new achievement in the practice of socialist human rights with Chinese characteristics,a new development of the system of the socialist human rights with Chinese characteristics,and a new contribution to the development path of human rights in the world.

The Translingual Practice of Human Rights: Value Tyranny and Overlapping Consensus of Cultures

I. The Value Tyranny of the Universality of Western Human Rights Discourse From the perspective of history, human rights discourse originating in the West is first of all a kind of special discourse, rather than universal words. ＂Human rights discourse is a language of rights, which is a language of Western culture. Therefore, in terms of concept, there is no concept of ＇human rights＇ in traditional Confucianism, not even the concept of ＇rights＇. In this sense, the concept ＇human rights＇ is a product of typical Western culture, although it appeared in modern times and it was the out- come of the development of civil society and democracy.TM Marked by unique Western color, human rights discourse originated from the special Western economic, political, histori- cal and cultural background and has its unique consciousness of problems and practical direction. For example,

Vigorously Boosting the Development of Chinese Human Rights Theory and Practice

We feel a great honor and heavy responsibil- ity upon the Human Rights Research Center at Shandong University being named one of China＇s national human rights education and training bases. In our view, national human rights education and training bases should keep up with the times, bring into full play their ad- vantages of uniqueness and openness, complement each other, make con- certed efforts to achieve innovation and vigorously boost the development of Chinese human rights theory and practice. The university center will continue to bring into play its tradi- tional strength in theoretical research and graduate education and work hard to fulfill all the tasks of the center. It will focus on the following work.

New Realms and New Highlights in the Legal Protection of Human Rights——Theoretical and Practical Innovations in the Legal Protection of Human Rights Since the 18th CPC National Congress

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China （CPC）, the system for the legal protection of human rignts under socialism with Chinese characteristics has experienced innowtive development. In particular, the Decision on Certain Key Issues on Comprehensively Deepening Reform, which was adopted by the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, has made major reform arrangements related to the system and mechanisms for the legal protection of human rights under socialism with Chinese characteristics. Taking the theoretical and practical innovations since the 18th CPC National Congress in the protection of human rights as its perspective, this, article discusses new realms and new highlights in the legal protection of human rights.

Practical Logic and Discourse Interpretation of China’s Efforts to Safeguard the Right to Subsistence

The Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people to write a brilliant chapter of national development over the past century,wherein the nation has sounded a clarion call for safeguarding the right to subsistence and made fruitful achievements in this regard.However,there is still room for improvement in its systematic discourse of the right to subsistence.To accurately understand the Chinese theory on the right to subsistence,we must base it on China’s historical background and social reality.Through mining the white papers on human rights progress in China over the years and analyzing Chinese practices recorded thereby,we can figure out the practical logic for the country’s efforts in the protection of the right to subsistence,and with this as a clue,we can further interpret its discourse on the right to subsistence.Issues related to the right to subsistence can be divided into two levels:“basically solved”and“truly solved”.The former involves the settlement of the most fundamental issues closely related to the right to subsistence in fields like food,education,medical care,housing,and drinking water,and the latter corresponds to“improvement”in the right to subsistence.While consolidating and upgrading the existing basic rights,China works to enable its people to truly gain a foothold in society and achieve their aspiration for a better life through combining assistance and support from the government and society and the efforts of individuals.Understanding the right to subsistence in a dynamic and developmental manner is instrumental in better understanding the alignment between the right to subsistence and other human rights.