China inspires world in human rights protection

BEIJING, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's novel ideas, measures and practices in terms of how to respect and protect human rights can offer inspiration for the rest of the world, especially for developing countries, said a new think tank report on Monday.

Over the past decades, China has lifted some 770 million rural Chinese out of poverty, increased its per capita disposable income by more than 180 times, and raised its average life expectancy to 78.2 years from less than 35 years before 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded, according to the report, which is titled "For a Life of Contentment -- The Rationale for China's Human Rights Development."

As proof of China's human rights progress, the Human Development Index (HDI), an indicator the United Nations Development Programme created by integrating basic indicators such as life expectancy, education level and quality of life, rose from 0.499 in 1990 to 0.761 in 2019 in China, sending the country to the ranks of countries with high HDI scores.

The report attributed the progress to the determined leadership of the Communist Party of China, the country's down-to-earth and development-oriented approach, as well as the emphasis on legal guidance and open-mindedness in respecting and protecting human rights.

By upholding the idea that the rights to subsistence and development should be taken as primary basic human rights, China has met the basic living needs for an extra-large population and finished building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

With a combined population of more than 80 percent of the world's total, developing countries are faced with similar tasks. In this sense, China's explorations and experiences are of great value for their reference, said the report.

Noting that China has successfully blazed a human rights development path that conforms to the times and befits its own national conditions, the report went on to state that China respects the diversity in the approaches to human rights development and holds that there is no such thing as a perfect "Utopia" for human rights.

It said the country opposes double standards in human rights, rejects attempts to politicize and weaponize human rights, and objects to interventions in others' internal affairs in the name of human rights.

The report said that countries should base their efforts on equality and mutual respect, actively engage in human rights dialogues and cooperation, expand consensus while bridging differences, and learn from each other and pursue common progress.

It called for efforts to promote fairer, more equitable, reasonable and inclusive global governance of human rights, and work together to build a human community with a shared future.