Revisiting the Spirit of the UDHR and Discussing Human Rights Development——Summary of Views from the Seminar Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

On December 4,2023,the China Society for Human Rights Studies hosted a seminar in Beijing commemorating the 75^(th) Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.Participants discussed topics such as the significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,China’s theories and practices in respecting and safeguarding human rights,the three global initiatives and global human rights governance,human rights protection in the digital age,and telling Chinese stories of human rights in the new era.The discussions led to a broad consensus and achieved positive results.

Human Rights Protection in the Context of Ruling the Country by Law

At a conference in Beijing on December 4, 2012 marking the 30th anni- versary of the adoption of the current Constitution, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping pointed out, ＂To fully implement the Constitution is the primary task and the basic work in building a socialist nation ruled by law.＂ He also said, ＂A country ruled by law should be first ruled by the Constitution, and lawful governance should be based on the Constitution.＂

The Current Situation,Problems,and Improvement Path of Rule of Law Education in Primary and Secondary Schools in Chaoshan Area

Rule of law education in primary and secondary schools is an educational process to popularize legal knowledge,establish legal awareness,and cultivate the ability to respect,abide by,and use the law for the special group of primary and secondary school students.The research found that rule of law education in primary and secondary schools in Chaoshan has yielded positive outcomes.However,there exist problems such as uneven synergy,incomplete inclusion of teachers and students,shortage of adequately trained professional teachers,and the need for enhanced organizational support.The relevance and effectiveness of rule of law education in primary and secondary schools will be enhanced by clarifying the target tasks,enhancing the effectiveness of the classroom,creating an atmosphere of the rule of law,and strengthening organizational support.

Illegal Logging and Related Trade: Who Combat It as Legal Subjects?

Issue on illegal logging and related trade is a hot topic for the international community. It has brought the negative effects to the sustainable development on global society, economy and ecology, which is also one of the main objectives of international cooperation to combat with. At present, subjects of international law play a decisive role in combating illegal logging and related trade. The subjects of international law generally refer to states, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and part of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which can have an independent international legal personality, enjoy rights and assume obligations of international law. As a responsible big country of the international community and state member of intergovernmental organizations and international treaties of forest resources protection, China ought to fully perform the obligations of international law. In face of illegal logging and related trade around the world, China should rationally tackle with it, resolutely crack down on it, and finally choose the sustainable development strategy based on rule of law.

The Socialist Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics and Human Rights Protection

Law is the fundamental method of governance and the rule of law symbolizes modern civilization. The socialist rule of law is the rule of law rooted in the Chinese tradition, and designed and led by the Communist Party of China(CPC). It is not only a tool for government, but also a driver of social progress. Meanwhile, the Chinese human rights system is also designed by the CPC. Both concepts—the socialist rule of law and the human rights system——are different from the West in terms of theory, path and systems. Human rights are the fundamental values of and the ultimate goal pursued by the rule of law; and the rule of law is the recognition of and guarantee for human rights. Efforts must be made to advance legislative, administrative and judicial protection of human rights.

Advancing the Rule of Law

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC）, held in Beijing from October 20 to 23, set the blueprint for rule of law in the world＇s second-largest economy. Chang Jiwena professor with the Institute of Law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes the meeting has taken the rule of law to a higher level. Excerpts of his arguments follow：

Global Governance in Cyberspace: Process,Conflict and China’s Proposals

In recent years,problems such as cyber warfares,cyber espionages and cyber crimes have become global public nuisances and always challenge the authority of the sovereign states. Therefore,the governance of the derivative problems concerning the global cyberspace has become an issue of importance in the international law. To overcome these challenges,sovereign states begin to get involved in cyberspace and seek international cooperation,so as to promote the evolution of the international rule of law in cyberspace. Currently,the cyberspace is filled with contradictions and conflicts. The cyber hegemonic states monopolize basic resources for cyberspaces,and their liberalism of double standards is the best tool to maintain their centralized and dominant situations. Moreover,the differences on governance problems between different camps leads to the significant institutional supply shortage. Accordingly,as a responsible power,China should advocate the Chinese solution and wisdom so as to create the reform of global cyberspace governance system. Possible specific measures include clarifying the governance structure of sovereign state-orientation,adhering to the model of shared governance with multilateral approach and multi-party participation.

Timberland Investing and Private Property Rights in the United States of America

Investments in rural land for agriculture, timber, and other natural resource purposes occur frequently and globally. Fundamental principles of liberty and property found in the United States of America’s (“US”) legal system, from its origins to recent US Supreme Court decisions, continue to positively benefit holders of real estate in the Southern US, through a deep-rooted public policy of supporting private property rights and rural economic development. This stable rule of law enhances the long-term adaptability and sustainability of timberland as an asset class. This article is a commentary. It combines legal research methodology with the observations and conclusions of the authors. Its purpose is to demonstrate that the existence of alienable, documentable ownership, and related property rights create inherent stability and security. These principles form the basis of a culture that is defined by the rule of law and is “open for business.” This business mindset is particularly prevalent in the Southern US.

The Legal Logic in the Practice of Poverty Reduction in Rural China in the One Hundred Years Since the Founding of the Communist Party of China

Three major poverty reduction models have successively been adopted in the poverty control led by the Communist Party of China(CPC),namely reliefbased poverty alleviation,which focused on adjusting the production factors of land,development-driven poverty alleviation,and targeted poverty alleviation.In the process,the target of finding a rational position for the principal function of poverty alleviation has been gradually realized:the approach of poverty alleviation has gradually adjusted from micro to macro,from direct to indirect;while the management has transformed from mobilization-based to rule-of-law based.Rules that link policies and laws,as well as a rule-of-law model of the poverty reduction of a developing country that is led by party committees and governments,has been formed,and an illustrative sample of poverty control has been created,which provides experience based knowledge to the anti-poverty practices in developing countries.In the future,it is necessary to further realize the protection of the rights of the people in comparative poverty and the proceduralization of poverty reduction administrative behaviors,as well as to formulate a unified "Poverty Reduction Law" when the time is ripe,to protect the rights of the people in comparative poverty in the post-poverty-alleviation era.

Combining the Rule of Law with the Rule of Morality——General Secretary Xi Jinping's Important Discourse on the Relationship Between the Rule of Law and Rule by Virtue

Key points:Throughout the ages,rule of law has been an indispensable means of governing a state.However,as General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out,it is not enough to govern a state by the rule of law

The Logical Construction of International Its Realization Path——Taking the Marrakesh Treaty as an Example

The Marrakesh Treaty is an excellent subject for China to disseminate its concept of the rule of law around the globe.With the changes of the times,the content and way of international communication regarding the rule of law are changing constantly.In the era of globalization,countries have strengthened rational communication and dialogue mainly by concluding international treaties to convey the concept of the rule of law.For the international communication of the rule of law,it is necessary to take into account three elements:Subject,content,and audience.Targeted strategies are adopted to present the characteristics of diversified subjects,rich content,and stratified audience.The agenda-setting,spiral of silence,and cultivation theories provide positive guidance for international communication.The audience survey and content analysis methods can achieve good effects in spreading the rule of law.It is necessary to integrate multiple subjects,create rich content,carry out targeted strategies to different audience,underscore the evaluation of effects,and train talents to strengthen the international communication of the rule of law.

Women’s Councils:A Practical Exploration on the Construction of Democracy, Autonomy and the Rule of Law at the Grassroots Level

The women’s councils are an innovation advocated by the All-China women’s federation for women’s participation in social management and grassroots democracy.They are a beneficial exploration for women to participate in public affairs according to the law in accordance with Article 2 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China,and are a model of"the combination of autonomy,rule of law and rule of virtue."The women’s councils have aroused the enthusiasm of women to participate in public affairs,stimulated their autonomous vitality and creativity,and helped to solve the problems of women’s lack of representation and voice in decision-making.The process of deliberation is also the process of developing the awareness of rights,rules,consultation ability,the concept of the rule of law and even thinking about the rule of law.The women’s councils not only help to protect the rights and interests of women and children and promote women’s development,but also has unique value in enriching grassroots consultative democracy,developing grassroots mass autonomy,building a society ruled by law and promoting the implementation of the Constitution.we should therefore fully affirm,support and perfect the women’s councils so as to make it long-term,standardized and institutionalized.

Impact of Institutional Quality on Multilateral Aid in Nigeria

The linkage between quality of institutions and economic performance of nations has generated a lot of interest among scholars,due to their influence on development of many countries and effective use of resources including foreign aid from multilateral organizations.Two strands of theories emerge on the institutions-multilateral aids nexus:those for benefits of aid to growth and development;and those for harms caused by aid.The research objective is to investigate the impact of institutional quality on multilateral aid in Nigeria.To do this,the study applied auto-regressive distributed lag(ARDL)bounds testing approach.Data for the study were sourced from the ICRG data,WGI data,QoG database,Transparency International,and World Development Indicators(WDI).The findings show that institutional quality variables do not have any influence on the multilateral aid in Nigeria,except the‘independence of judiciary’which appeared statistically significant.In the short-run analysis,the disequilibrium in the long-run equilibrium is corrected for in the next quarter period by about 25%;almost all the variables are statistically and significantly influencing multilateral aid.It is therefore recommended that donor agencies should consider other factors that negatively influence official development assistance(ODA)such as politics,location and colonial history.

Advancing Rule of Law in Human Rights Protection While Developing a “Socialist Rule of Law System with Chinese Characteristics”

It is very timely and necessary for us to hold this seminar in the beautiful Suzhou Campus of Renmin University of China to deeply study and implement the decisions of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China(CPC)Central Committee,push forward the construction of China’s rule of law and jointly discuss the development of China’s human rights cause.

History and Logical Progression of China's Public Health System——From the Perspective of the Protection of the Right to Health

A public health system generally refers to public utilities oriented toward protecting and improving health. It is intended to protect the health of the general public. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, China has constructed the largest healthcare system in the world. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China(CPC), stressed that China will improve its public health system. Looking back at the history of China’s public health system from its inception to the reform and development and then improvement, it can be found that its development has always revolved around the theoretical logic of unifying rights and obligations and the practical logic of balancing the protection of the right to health and the regulation of state power. The fundamental goal is to protect the right to health of the people. The increasing health risks in modern society have changed require that efforts be made to construct a crisscrossing legal framework for public health, improve early-warning and emergency response mechanisms for public health emergencies,and integrate the health concept into all policies to further improve the public health system.

An Unconventional Model of Poverty Alleviation Directed by the Human Rights Approaches:based on an Observation of the Targeted Poverty Alleviation Policy and Its Practice in Weixian County of Hebei Province

Against the background that poverty alleviation is increasingly linked to the human rights-based approach in the international community,an issue arises concerning how to assess the targeted poverty alleviation strategy in China from a human rights perspective.The human rights-based approach emphasiz connecting poverty alleviation with those rights recognized in international human rights conventions,with a focus on the notion of multi-dimensional poverty and the empowerment and accountability in the process of poverty alleviation.The targeted poverty alleviation in China embodies the notion of capability poverty and adopts a multi-dimensional poverty alleviation strategy.The principles of empowerment and accountability have also been implemented to a large extent.All of the elements existing in the targeted poverty alleviation model such as super political will,government dominance,targeted implementation and unconventional mobilization are critical to ensuring the eventual success of poverty alleviation and human rights protection therein.Generally speaking,some deficiencies in respect of empowerment and rule of law in targeted poverty alleviation will not hinder the overall effectiveness of poverty alleviation.Nevertheless,it will be very helpful to reinforce the empowerment and rule of law in order to insure the fairness and sustainability in poverty alleviation,especially in the inevitable transition from an unconventional model ofp overty alleviation to a conventional one in future.

Poverty Control of People with Mental Disorders in China: Based on the Perspective of Rule of Law

People with mental disorders are a special group that are at high risk of living in poverty China’s legal system concerning mental health is far from adequate in both theoretical and practical aspects,such as legislative concepts,institutional structure,legal norms,and targeted poverty reduction through health care The improvement of China’s legal system concerning mental health needs to focus on protecting the rights and interests of people with mental disorders and take the following measures,including the precise poverty control for people with mental disorders,addressing comprehensive empowerment,and strengthening the subjective status of people with mental disorders,promoting the"community based"model of mental health governance based on social return,improving the financing mechanism and making use of the advantages of local governance.

A Summary of Views from the Symposium on “Comprehensively Advancing Rule of Law and China's Human Rights New Development”

The symposium on "Comprehensively Advancing Rule of Law and China's Human Rights New Development" was successfully held on April 11,2017 at Southwest University of Political Science and Law The symposium was organized by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and hosted by the Institute of Human Rights at Southwest University of Political Science and Law Representatives from the Commission of Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee,the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council,the Ministry of Public Security,the Ministry of Justice,the Supreme People's Court,the Supreme People's Procuratorate and other relevant departments,and experts and scholars from human rights research institutes and colleges and universities conducted in-depth discussions and exchanged views on topics such as the "general theory of rule of law and human rights","scientific legislation and the progress of China's human rights cause","administration by law and the progress of China's human rights cause","judicial justice and the progress of China's human rights cause","concept of rule of law and the progress of China's human rights cause" among other issues

Comprehensive Preservation of Human Rights in the Context of “Comprehensively Advancing the Rule of Law”

The Decision made at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18 th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China(CPC) on comprehensively advancing the rule of law is an ambitious plan for ensuring human rights through the rule of law. The Decision has fully embodied the constitutional spirit of 'respecting and preserving human rights,' and reflects the strategies and plans of the CPC to comprehensively preserve human rights in the course of 'comprehensively advancing the rule of law'. In the process of comprehensively preserving human rights, the leadership of the CPC has to be upheld. The relationship between the CPC and the rule of law is the core issue in lawbased governance and also the core issue in comprehensively preserving human rights.