A Brief Review of Discourse Changes in China’s Human Rights White Papers

Comparative analysis of China’s human rights white papers provides a valuable perspective on changes in the official human rights discourse. In terms of their structures, the white papers can be divided into three types: the mixed model, the five-in-one model and the rights-list model. The rights-list model has a consistent style, standard terminology, and an arrangement of rights in line with China’s reality. In terms of contents, the right to subsistence has been gradually reduced and the right to development is increasing. In the 2013 white paper, there was a whole chapter on social security rights, which highlights China’s social development and the priority placed on the people’s wellbeing. The right to development and social security will become a new focus of human rights discourse in China.     

PEOPLE & POINTS

<正>HEROIC CANAL BUILDER COMMENDEDHuang Dafa,former Secretary of the Communist Party of China(CPC)Committee of Caowangba Village in Zunyi,southwest China’s Guizhou Province,was honored as a"contemporary role model"by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee on April 25 for his perseverance in building a 9,400-meter-long water channel through steep mountains to help fellow villagers get out of poverty.     

The ‘New Normal’ Benefits Trade Growth Transformation

<正>As a major trading nation in the world,China now has to transform its trade growth model to be more competitive in world trade.Therefore,the country must no longer rely on labor-intensive products.However,I acknowledge that shifting a trade growth model is by no means an easy task.In an extensive economy,domestic industries cannot fully support the transformation process of the foreign trade growth model.Currently,the foreign trade sector must adapt to the new normal and contribute to     

GROWING FROM THE GRASSROOTS

<正>A community of migrants becomes a role model,thanks to innovative social managementBinhu Century Community is a cluster of vibrant highrises near Chaohu Lake.the fifth largest freshwater lake in China,located in Hefei.capital of east China's Anhui Province.Nourished by the humid weather.the plants here are exuberant and refreshingly verdant,adding color and vitality to the neighborhood.     

A Look at the Grassroots of the Government System

THE chairman is sweeping the floor of the unheated function room as we arrive. We are early. Our invitation is obviously not to a "model" facility. We have been given the chance to observe the daily work of the Neighborhood Committee of Guxi, a residential quarter in central Beijing, and home to 5,000 residents. Our interlocutors are Chairman Ma Chenghui and his colleagues Kong Yuxing and Chen Jia. Kong Yuxing is     

Rolling translators

THERE is a popular new term of art in Chinese business circles these days - ＂win-win.＂ Even to the uninitiated, the concept should be more or less self-explanatory. But in entrepreneurial parlance it refers to a mutually advantageous business model in which no cost is incurred by any of the participants, customers included, and in which all parties to the arrangement come away with a tidy profit.     

Theory on Introducing a Mandatory Attorney System into Civil Litigation from the Perspective of the Protection of the Right of Action

As an important rectifying mechanism to the involved parties-oriented civil litigation model, the mandatory attorney system requires the involved parties of a lawsuit to appoint a lawyer to represent them in the litigation, otherwise they will be rejected because the litigation requirements aren’t met. This seems to restrict the litigants’ right to initiate a lawsuit by themselves. Through the arrangement of the system for the participation of lawyers in some litigation procedures, stages, and c...     

TREASURE HUNT

A Chinese NGO aims to develop a model for recovering Chinese cultural treasures overseas On May 9, the first group of Chinese collectors taking part in an "Overseas Treasure Hunting Activity" arrived back in Beijing after a one-week trip to Japan. On their visit to Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, they found about 20 rare Chinese cultural relics of significant value. Since the Opium War in 1840, large quantities of Chinese treasures have been taken abroad. According to statistics from the China Cultural Relics Academy, more than 10 million Chinese cultural relics have gone to Europe, the United States, Japan     

Green Rails Over the World’s Roof

<正>The Qinghai-Tibet Railway sets a model for environment-friendly development In summer the vast wildness of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in west China teems with life. And while the plateau is home to a stunning range of wildlife, the annual     

A New Paradigm

<正>The"Four Comprehensives"aim at putting China on track to achieve its economic and social development targets.In an effort to avoid a hard landing from the economy,China should face the current downward pressure on its growth by boosting effectivedemand and progressively switching to a new growth model.At the opening of the annual National People’s Congress(NPC)in March,Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced that the of-     

PRESERVING A TRADITION

COVER STORY The Chinese art of paper cutting has long been a popular pastime in the country's rural areas.For more than 1,000 years,farming families have used it as a method for decorating their homes,but the tradition has struggled for survival in recent years.In Yanchuan County in China's northwestern Shaanxi Province,however,the art form has experienced a revival thanks to the efforts of a local woman.Paper cutting master Gao Fenglian has invested her own money in establishing a paper cutting gallery in the region.The craft's growing popularity has also fuelled a new wave of people wanting to learn how to cut.More than 10,000 of the county's 200,000 are now skilled in the ancient craft,and its revival could serve as a model for the preservation of other Chinese traditions.     

Ancient Chinese Vogue Returns Restoring period clothing helps people learn about Chinese history and culture

Anwa model wearing a red dress restored according to the style of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty(770-256 B.C.)walked onto the ruy to the music of the xun,an egg-shaped aerophone and one of the oldest musical instruments in China.Her appearance kicked off a unique fashion show in early 2020 that showcased Chinese historical costumes from the Eastem Zhou Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911).     

Sovereignty Matters

Those who seek to demolish rule of law can't be appointed as keepers of law By most his torical accounts,China began to emerge as a nation-state with the Xinhai Revolution in 1911.The struggle was to transforam from a civilizationstate to a nation-state,per the model imposed then by the hegemony of Western political models.Those initial efforts were not successful。     

How People's Democracy Works in China

正When King John of England agreed to the Magna Carta in 1215 to make peace with the rebellious barons, the royal charter was meant to protect the nobles' property rights. The primacy of the privileged has since become a hallmark of Western democracy. When Austrian-American political economist Joseph Schumpeter espoused an elitist model in 1942, he argued that given the incapacity of ordinary people to make intelligent decisions in politics, it is necessary to leave governance to politicians chosen through competitive elections, and his theory has gained broad acceptance in the West.     

Taking the Long View

<正>There is no free lunch. The saying may be another explanation for China's economic slowdown in the first half of the year.The economic transformation is proceeding at the cost of economic acceleration in order to obtain sustainable development in the long term. To shake off the energy-consuming and high-polluting development model of the past, China began its economic transformation as early as a decade ago. Since the new government came into power in March, economic transformation has become a top priority. In the past four months, the new government     

The Hutong House in Winte

<正>I once overheard a German tourist passing through my hutong(an alley in which single-storey residences are located side by side)neighborhood telling his travel companion that it was"romantic,"yet he wouldn’t want to live here;and by way of comparison,the man mentioned the Fachwerkhaeuser,or half-timbered houses,in the German city of Tuebingen.Having lived for several years in a groundf loor apartment of a Baroque building in the historical district of the city of Heidelberg,Germany,I admit that living in"old"buildings,no matter where,is not for everyone.It takes a certain kind of person to weather and appreciate the experience.I consider myself fortunate to still be able to experience the"hutong culture,"as hutong houses are     

Friends from an African “Country of Thousand Hills”

As the warmth of spring began to spread,a Rwandan delegation led by Celestin Kabahizi,Governor of Western Province,paid a visit to Beijing and Yunnan in late March.Rwanda is known as a "country of a thousand hills" in Central Africa.Though it is in the tropical zone near the equator,it is a land of high elevation;it does not experience the severe cold of bitter winter in China’s north,nor intense heat of summer in China’ south,but rather enjoys spring weather all year round.     

Perspectives on China’s Reforms

<正>The concept of the"Four Comprehensives"—an ideological framework that should guide the next steps of reforming Chinese economy and institutions—goes beyond political discourse.These new guiding mottos summarize a commitment to deepening the ongoing process of transformation carried on in the country Economic transformation The Chinese economy and its institutions are undergoing large-scale reforms aimed at creating a new development model,which shall be increasingly based on domestic consumption and innovation,instead of its past reliance on exports and huge investment in infrastructure.One of the most significant impacts of these changes will be the expansion of the already booming middle class in China,whose consumption will demand higher diversification and quality standards not only from the private sector,but from public services as well.Major Chinese companies must also shift their focus to internal consumers,while reducing their dependence on foreign markets.Some of these companies have already engaged in this change,embracing new technologies of production and moving to higher     

GREEN REVOLUTION

Former revolutionary base becomes a model of ecological restoration Liu Jin, a well-known actor lauded for playing the late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in many films and TV series, travels all over over China to shoot for his different roles. Yan'an, a former revolutionary base of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Shaanxi Province in the northwest, is one of his regular destinations.     

SOE Reform Invigorates Capital Market

<正>When looking at industrial development trends in 2015,I mentioned that reform of state-owned enterprises(SOEs)would be a highlight of the stock market,one deserving the attention of investors.This prediction was only half right.State-owned railway transportation equipment makers CSR Corp.and CNR Corp.combined in May to form CRRC Corp.,establishing a model for SOE reform.