On The Eatablishment And Development Of The Concept Of Human Rights In China

Human rights, since it was first proposed, have made great achievements in all over the world, including China, which has been made seen in nearly all respects of Chinese people’s lives---economic construction, social revolution, reform and development---on their way to the realization of the great ideal of human beings. Despite the sufferings from setbacks, bias and evil intentions towards the country, the founding of People’s Republic of China definitely indicates the rise of Chinese people who represent one fourth of the total population of the world. This is not only important in China’s history of human right development but also counted as remarkable progress made in human rights of the world. Furthermore, in2011, human rights were stipulated in the Chinese Constitution, and the Criminal Law Amendment VIII was passed, which was another breakthrough. The present thesis aims to interpret the ways that the Criminal Law Amendment VIII highlights the concept of human rights, to explore the basic rule of the development of human rights in China, to reveal a variety of factors that affects the progress, and to make constructive suggestions about its further advancement. The thesis includes four parts.Part One describes the basic contents of the Criminal Law Amendment VIII and interprets it from the perspective of human rights. The thesis maintains that the Criminal Law Amendment VIII makes progresses at least in the following aspects:the protection of human rights of special groups such as minors and old people by reducing the penalty for these people; the emphasis on the care of the right to life by taking a more cautious attitude towards death penalty and cutting the proportion of death penalty charges; the enhancement of the function of the criminal law to protect human rights, which is reflected in the including into the criminal law norms of such acts as harming people’s personal and property rights, malicious arrears of wages, and drunken driving.Part Two reviews the establishment and development of human rights in China. The thesis maintains that the concept of human rights was established with the founding of the People’s Republic of China, although, due to various reasons, the concept was seriously distorted in the period of Against Right-Wing Movement and Cultural Revolution. Fortunately, the idea was restored and reestablished in the meeting of The Third Plenary Session of the11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. And the final establishment of the concept was represented by its entering into the Constitution.Part Three analyzes the social political, economic, and cultural factors that affect the establishment and development of the idea of human rights in China. The author thinks that the history of establishment of the concept of human rights in China is severely affected by the country’s long history of despotism and natural economy and planned economy system, and by Confucianism as the main theme of its traditional culture. These factors make the road of human rights twists and turns, forming serious barriers to the establishment of human rights.Part four puts forward some constructive opinions on the development and consolidation of human rights in China. The thesis maintains that the development of human rights should depend on market economy, on liberal democratic politics, and on open and diverse culture atmosphere. So far, Chinese people have made great progress in the respect of human rights, but we still have a long way to go, especially as far as the practice of human rights is concerned. Therefore, only by further promoting its democratic politics, developing market economy, and encouraging cultural diversity, can we make the concept of human rights permanently shining on the earth of China.