Expert: China participates in global governance of human rights

Yang Songcai, executive director of the Human Rights Institute of Guangzhou University

Human rights discourse in the new era is an example of China avtively participating in global governance, said Yang Songcai, executive director of the Human Rights Institute of Guangzhou University, at the Workshop on the Construction of Human Rights Discourse in the New Era on April 12.

Yang Songcai pointed out that China’s human rights discourse system in the new era is a pluralistic and multidimensional concept. To construct it, he insists that we should stick to five principles: Marxist theory and the socialist ideology with Chinese characteristics in the new era proposed by President Xi Jinping, the leadership of the Communist Party of China, China’s national conditions, the basic direction and logic of international human rights development, and improvement in the international human rights mechanism.

Yang Songcai said that constructing China’s human rights discourse in the new era does not mean creating a new system, but innovating and developing the path toward human rights. Chinese wisdom and experiences are China’s contribution to the practice of human rights in the world. In his view, China’s human rights discourse in the new era is a supplement to the international human rights discourse system, which still has shortcomings. By adding Chinese elements, sharing Chinese experiences and contributing Chinese wisdom, China can achieve harmony with the human rights discourse system of other civilizations and cultures.

Yang Songcai said that the construction of the Chinese human rights discourse in the new era requires the cultivation of a human rights culture with Chinese characteristics and the mobilization of the public. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen the dialogue and international cooperation on human rights, helping the international community (different civilizations and cultures) better understand and recognize the discourse system of China.