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Beginning this morning, at a three-day meeting in Beijing, dozens of experts from home and abroad will compare notes on human rights. The high-profile symposium, sponsored by the China Society for Human Rights Studies, parallels a well-publicized exhibition showcasing the People's Republic's 57 years of achievement in human rights, another event it co-sponsored with the State Council Information Office and the China Human Rights Development Foundation. While critics fixate on the missing dark side they would prefer to see on display, we feel inspired these events have taken place at all, and in such a high-profile way. China is no Utopia for human rights. We have no reason to be at ease with dozens of millions of fellow Chinese bogged down in a daily struggle for subsistence. We cannot but feel ashamed if people continue to have to travel all the way to Beijing to have their woes and injustices heard and addressed. Human rights will continue to be an embarrassing topic for us while numerous compatriots of ours toil under life-threatening conditions in mine pits or sweatshops without getting paid in a fair and timely manner. Nor will we be qualified to claim excellence as long as schooling, housing and medical services remain life's unbearable burdens for the majority. It is enlightening to know how this country's performance is measured with the human rights yardstick. But as criteria diverge, the perception gap can be stunning. That is why we believe the two human rights events in Beijing should not only be about such judgements. The blemishes on the country's human rights records must be kept in mind if we truly want to improve. But there is much more to take into account. Among which is the potential for positive change. We see it from China's unprecedented willingness to share perspectives with the outside world. Since it issued the country's first white paper on human rights in November 1991, the Chinese Government has published dozens of government reports on human rights. Its increasing comfort with international dialogue on the once unwelcome topic itself is the fruit of progress. There is a gap between what is promised and what is accessible in real life. But that does not change the truth that this country is becoming a more liveable place thanks to a constant accumulation of positive change. Every Chinese has more or less benefited from the continuously shrinking realm and latitude of public powers and the steadily growing civic freedom. The way the two human rights events are staged demonstrates a constructive new approach to human rights. We hope such face-to-face communication will help accelerate the country's strides in the right direction. (China Daily November 22, 2006) |
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