China Settles Old Scores on Human Rights Day

Tienanmen Square activist arrested over Charter 08

60 years ago today, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations.

In the 60 years since, it's amazing how far some countries in the world haven't come.

In China today, Liu Xiaobo, a press freedom activist and a participant in the Tiananmen Square demonstration, was arrest for signing Charter 08, a pro-democracy manifesto. The charter reads:

"A hundred years have passed since the writing of China‘s first constitution. 2008 also marks the sixtieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the thirtieth anniversary of the appearance of Democracy Wall in Beijing, and the tenth of China’s signing of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We are approaching the twentieth anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre of pro-democracy student protesters. The Chinese people, who have endured human rights disasters and uncountable struggles across these same years, now include many who see clearly that freedom, equality, and human rights are universal values of humankind and that democracy and constitutional government are the fundamental framework for protecting these values.

By departing from these values, the Chinese government's approach to“modernization” has proven disastrous. It has stripped people of their rights, destroyed their dignity, and corrupted normal human intercourse. So we ask: Where is China headed in the twenty-first century? Will it continue with “modernization” under authoritarian rule, or will it embrace universal human values, join the mainstream of civilized nations, and build a democratic system? There can be no avoiding these questions."

For signing this Charter Xiaobo, Chen Xi, and Shen Youlian have been arrested.

Chinese prison is nothing new to Xiaobo. In 1996, Xiaobo's criticisms of the Chinese Communist Party resulted in him being sentenced to three years in a forced-labour camp.

Charter 08 is based on six important principles: freedom, human rights, equality, republicanism, democracy and constitutional rule.

"Freedom. Freedom is at the core of universal human values. Freedom of speech， freedom of the press， freedom of assembly， freedom of association， freedom in where to live， and the freedoms to strike， to demonstrate， and to protest， among others， are the forms that freedom takes. Without freedom， China will always remain far from civilized ideals.

Human rights. Human rights are not bestowed by a state. Every person is born with inherent rights to dignity and freedom. The government exists for the protection of the human rights of its citizens. The exercise of state power must be authorized by the people. The succession of political disasters in China‘s recent history is a direct consequence of the ruling regime’s disregard for human rights.

Equality. The integrity， dignity， and freedom of every person—regardless of social station， occupation， sex， economic condition， ethnicity， skin color， religion， or political belief—are the same as those of any other. Principles of equality before the law and equality of social， economic， cultural， civil， and political rights must be upheld.

Republicanism. Republicanism， which holds that power should be balanced among different branches of government and competing interests should be served， resembles the traditional Chinese political ideal of“fairness in all under heaven.”It allows different interest groups and social assemblies， and people with a variety of cultures and beliefs， to exercise democratic self-government and to deliberate in order to reach peaceful resolution of public questions on a basis of equal access to government and free and fair competition.

Democracy. The most fundamental principles of democracy are that the people are sovereign and the people select their government. Democracy has these characteristics： （1） Political power begins with the people and the legitimacy of a regime derives from the people. （2） Political power is exercised through choices that the people make. （3） The holders of major official posts in government at all levels are determined through periodic competitive elections. （4） While honoring the will of the majority， the fundamental dignity， freedom， and human rights of minorities are protected. In short， democracy is a modern means for achieving government truly“of the people， by the people， and for the people.”

Constitutional rule. Constitutional rule is rule through a legal system and legal regulations to implement principles that are spelled out in a constitution. It means protecting the freedom and the rights of citizens， limiting and defining the scope of legitimate government power， and providing the administrative apparatus necessary to serve these ends."

The policies advocated by Charter 08 are a laundry list of the failures of the Chinese state:

"1. A New Constitution. We should recast our present constitution， rescinding its provisions that contradict the principle that sovereignty resides with the people and turning it into a document that genuinely guarantees human rights， authorizes the exercise of public power， and serves as the legal underpinning of China‘s democratization. The constitution must be the highest law in the land， beyond violation by any individual， group， or political party.

2. Separation of powers. We should construct a modern government in which the separation of legislative， judicial， and executive power is guaranteed. We need an Administrative Law that defines the scope of government responsibility and prevents abuse of administrative power. Government should be responsible to taxpayers. Division of power between provincial governments and the central government should adhere to the principle that central powers are only those specifically granted by the constitution and all other powers belong to the local governments.

3. Legislative democracy. Members of legislative bodies at all levels should be chosen by direct election， and legislative democracy should observe just and impartial principles.

4. An Independent Judiciary. The rule of law must be above the interests of any particular political party and judges must be independent. We need to establish a constitutional supreme court and institute procedures for constitutional review. As soon as possible， we should abolish all of the Committees on Political and Legal Affairs that now allow Communist Party officials at every level to decide politically-sensitive cases in advance and out of court. We should strictly forbid the use of public offices for private purposes.

5. Public Control of Public Servants. The military should be made answerable to the national government， not to a political party， and should be made more professional. Military personnel should swear allegiance to the constitution and remain nonpartisan. Political party organizations shall be prohibited in the military. All public officials including police should serve as nonpartisans， and the current practice of favoring one political party in the hiring of public servants must end.

6. Guarantee of Human Rights. There shall be strict guarantees of human rights and respect for human dignity. There should be a Human Rights Committee， responsible to the highest legislative body， that will prevent the government from abusing public power in violation of human rights. A democratic and constitutional China especially must guarantee the personal freedom of citizens. No one shall suffer illegal arrest， detention， arraignment， interrogation， or punishment. The system of“Reeducation through Labor”must be abolished.

7. Election of Public Officials. There shall be a comprehensive system of democratic elections based on“one person， one vote.”The direct election of administrative heads at the levels of county， city， province， and nation should be systematically implemented. The rights to hold periodic free elections and to participate in them as a citizen are inalienable.

8. Rural–Urban Equality. The two-tier household registry system must be abolished. This system favors urban residents and harms rural residents. We should establish instead a system that gives every citizen the same constitutional rights and the same freedom to choose where to live.

9. Freedom to Form Groups. The right of citizens to form groups must be guaranteed. The current system for registering nongovernment groups， which requires a group to be“approved，”should be replaced by a system in which a group simply registers itself. The formation of political parties should be governed by the constitution and the laws， which means that we must abolish the special privilege of one party to monopolize power and must guarantee principles of free and fair competition among political parties.

10. Freedom to Assemble. The constitution provides that peaceful assembly， demonstration， protest， and freedom of expression are fundamental rights of a citizen. The ruling party and the government must not be permitted to subject these to illegal interference or unconstitutional obstruction.

11. Freedom of Expression. We should make freedom of speech， freedom of the press， and academic freedom universal， thereby guaranteeing that citizens can be informed and can exercise their right of political supervision. These freedoms should be upheld by a Press Law that abolishes political restrictions on the press. The provision in the current Criminal Law that refers to“the crime of incitement to subvert state power”must be abolished. We should end the practice of viewing words as crimes.

12. Freedom of Religion. We must guarantee freedom of religion and belief and institute a separation of religion and state. There must be no governmental interference in peaceful religious activities. We should abolish any laws， regulations， or local rules that limit or suppress the religious freedom of citizens. We should abolish the current system that requires religious groups （and their places of worship） to get official approval in advance and substitute for it a system in which registry is optional and， for those who choose to register， automatic.

13. Civic Education. In our schools we should abolish political curriculums and examinations that are designed to indoctrinate students in state ideology and to instill support for the rule of one party. We should replace them with civic education that advances universal values and citizens‘rights， fosters civic consciousness， and promotes civic virtues that serve society.

14. Protection of Private Property. We should establish and protect the right to private property and promote an economic system of free and fair markets. We should do away with government monopolies in commerce and industry and guarantee the freedom to start new enterprises. We should establish a Committee on State-Owned Property， reporting to the national legislature， that will monitor the transfer of state-owned enterprises to private ownership in a fair， competitive， and orderly manner. We should institute a land reform that promotes private ownership of land， guarantees the right to buy and sell land， and allows the true value of private property to be adequately reflected in the market.

15. Financial and Tax Reform. We should establish a democratically regulated and accountable system of public finance that ensures the protection of taxpayer rights and that operates through legal procedures. We need a system by which public revenues that belong to a certain level of government—central， provincial， county or local—are controlled at that level. We need major tax reform that will abolish any unfair taxes， simplify the tax system， and spread the tax burden fairly. Government officials should not be able to raise taxes， or institute new ones， without public deliberation and the approval of a democratic assembly. We should reform the ownership system in order to encourage competition among a wider variety of market participants.

16. Social Security. We should establish a fair and adequate social security system that covers all citizens and ensures basic access to education， health care， retirement security， and employment.

17. Protection of the Environment. We need to protect the natural environment and to promote development in a way that is sustainable and responsible to our descendents and to the rest of humanity. This means insisting that the state and its officials at all levels not only do what they must do to achieve these goals， but also accept the supervision and participation of non-governmental organizations.

18. A Federated Republic. A democratic China should seek to act as a responsible major power contributing toward peace and development in the Asian Pacific region by approaching others in a spirit of equality and fairness. In Hong Kong and Macao， we should support the freedoms that already exist. With respect to Taiwan， we should declare our commitment to the principles of freedom and democracy and then， negotiating as equals， and ready to compromise， seek a formula for peaceful unification. We should approach disputes in the national-minority areas of China with an open mind， seeking ways to find a workable framework within which all ethnic and religious groups can flourish. We should aim ultimately at a federation of democratic communities of China.

19. Truth in Reconciliation. We should restore the reputations of all people， including their family members， who suffered political stigma in the political campaigns of the past or who have been labeled as criminals because of their thought， speech， or faith. The state should pay reparations to these people. All political prisoners and prisoners of conscience must be released. There should be a Truth Investigation Commission charged with finding the facts about past injustices and atrocities， determining responsibility for them， upholding justice， and， on these bases， seeking social reconciliation."

Of course, the world should not hold its breath waiting for these reforms to be implemented.

Since its establishment in 1949, the People's Republic of China has been indistinguishable from its Communist Party government. For all intensive purposes, the party is the state.

The party has gone to certain lengths to ensure this remains to be the case. Its very legal system has been operated under these very pretenses, and has for the past few years been engaging in an exhaustive rejection of western legal principles, and oppression of Chinese lawyers who subscribe to these principles.

The arrests of Xiabo, Xi, and Youlian demonstrate that they have no intention of stopping any time soon.


Other bloggers writing on this topic:

Muchacho Enfermo's Politicophobia - "Human Rights Day"

CA Yeung - "Liu Xiaobo Detained on Suspicion of 'Inciting Subversion of State Power'">