Zhu Muzhi on China's Principle Position on Human RightsZhu Muzhi, honorary president of China Society for Human Rights Studies, said December 6 in Canberra that the most important thing for the pursuit of human rights is to find a correct road that fits the situation of various countries.In his keynote speech at the human rights conference in Perth, western Australia, Zhu said national conditions vary from country to country and the people of each country best know their national conditions. "It is much easier for them to find the correct road appropriate to their own situation," Zhu said. "A country will get to a dead-end if it indiscriminately follows the road of other countries in disregard of its won situation," he added. At the conference with the theme of "Human Rights: A Fair Go For All," Zhu said that human rights encompass political, economic, social cultural and various other rights, which are closely inter- linked. The key link in this chain of human rights is the right people demand most urgently, he said. In China, the most imperative demand of the people is to first acquire the right to subsistence and development, Zhu said. On political democracy, Zhu said which model or system is good should be judged by whether it conforms to the situation of a country. China exercises the people's congress system and practice has proven that it is a politically democratic system appropriate to China's national conditions, he said. Meanwhile, Zhu pointed out that the proposition that advocates "human rights are superior to sovereignty" in essence advocates that the solution to a country's human rights problems should not be determined by the country itself, but by foreign countries. "Such a proposition could do nothing but pave the way for the pursuit of hegemonism and power politics," Zhu said. Zhu also said that the international differences and disputes in relation to the issue of human rights should first be handled in the spirit of harmony. "Harmony means dialogue and not confrontation," Zhu said. Dialogue facilitates exchanges of respective positions, promotes understanding and removes misunderstanding. "It helps expand consensus, enhance cooperation and jointly promote human rights," Zhu added. |
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