On June 4, 2019, Ambassador Cui Tiankai’s op-ed about China’s quest for human rights and democracy was published by The Washington Times. Here is the full text of the article:文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7125.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7125.html
2019年6月4日，驻美国大使崔天凯在美国《华盛顿时报》发表题为《要尊重中国人权与民主的事实》的署名文章，全文如下：文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7125.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7125.html
China’s Quest for Human Rights and Democracy文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7125.html
要尊重中国人权与民主的事实文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7125.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7125.html
To many Westerners, the concept of human rights in China is a negative one. However, what is left unexplained by China’s critics is a paradox: How could a country with one-fifth of the world’s population but no human rights to speak of have made such enormous strides in its economic and social development? The real picture of China’s human rights situation is more complex than what stereotypes and assumptions convey. Understanding the truth requires an appreciation of China’s history and national aspirations.文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7125.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7125.html
“中国人权”在西方人眼里似乎总是一个负面词汇。由此产生的悖论是，一个由世界五分之一人口组成的“没有人权”的国家却取得了突出的经济、社会发展成就。中国人权的真相到底是什么？要了解这个问题，需要我们结合中国历史和国情，摒弃成见和臆测，拿出实事求是的态度，用客观事实说话。文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/7125.html
Since 1840, for more than a century, China was ravaged by the aggression of Western powers, warlord fighting, and a civil war. For a starving, downtrodden people in a war-torn country, “human rights” were a luxury. Seventy years ago, when the People’s Republic of China was founded, the average life expectancy in China was only 35. In such dire times, ensuring the survival of its people was China’s imperative, and this guided policy for the past 70 years. Without assuring the right to survival and development, other rights are castles in the air.
翻开近代史，在长达一百多年间，中国因西方列强入侵、军阀混战、内战而山河破碎，生灵涂炭，国破家亡的乱世中生存殊为不易，谈何人权？ 70年前中华人民共和国成立时，中国人均预期寿命才35岁，面对的最大国情是百废待兴，最大要务是解决人民的生存问题。70年来，我们坚持把生存权和发展权作为首要的基本人权，因为没有这些，其他人权犹如无本之木、空中楼阁。
The results of our hard work are indisputable. China’s life expectancy reached 77 in 2018, higher than the world average of 72. In the last 40 years, over 740 million people have been lifted out of poverty, accounting for over 70% of the world’s total population lifted from poverty, an accomplishment applauded by the World Bank as “the fastest rate of poverty reduction ever recorded in human history.” Further, China has put in place the world’s largest networks of education, social security, medical care, and community-level democracy.
“Respecting and protecting human rights” has been included in the Constitutions of China and the Communist Party of China, and the various strategies guiding national development. Indeed, the expansion and protection of human rights has become an important principle of governance for the Party and the Chinese government.
我们改善人权的努力取得了不容抹杀的成果。2018年中国人均预期寿命已经达到77岁，比世界平均预期寿命72岁还要高。过去40年，中国7.4亿贫困人口实现脱贫，占同期全球减贫人口总数的70%以上，被世界银行称为“迄今人类历史上最快速度的大规模减贫”。中国还建成了世界最大规模的教育、社保、医疗和基层民主体系。尊重和保障人权也被写入宪法、中国共产党的党章和国家发展的战略规划，成为党和政府治国理政的一条重要原则。
The assumption that China is not a democracy reflects a large misunderstanding. Democracy is a means to deliver a happy life to the people by constantly improving the governance of the country and society. For decades, China has been committed to upholding the Party’s leadership, ensuring that the people run the country and practice law-based governance. The people can have their voices heard in local and state affairs and can freely claim their rights. Anti-corruption campaigns have been successful. State power is now exercised with checks and balances, and the people enjoy higher standards of living. Indeed, it is those countries who masquerade as democracies but flout the will of the people who should think about the condition of their democracy.
还有一个很大的误解就是所谓“中国没有民主”。民主是一种通过对国家和社会治理的探索实现人民幸福生活的手段。过去几十年来，我们坚持中国共产党的领导、人民当家作主和依法治国有机统一，全体人民依法管理国家各项事务、畅通表达利益要求、有效参与国家政治生活，反腐取得积极成效，权力运用得到有效制约和监督，老百姓日子越过越好。倒是那些标榜民主却挟持民意的国家，要好好审视一下自己的民主是否异化了。
Citizens’ right to vote, freedom of speech, and freedom of religious belief are well protected by China’s Constitution. An election system with both direct and indirect election is practiced. Leaders are elected from the rank and file, with the participation of the whole population in various forms, so they are keenly attuned to the people’s wants. This is democracy in both name and nature.
We have over 800 million netizens, and people can speak freely on a wide range of conventional and new media platforms. Of course, law-breaking, hateful or inciteful comments are prohibited, as is the case in most other countries.
The Chinese people also enjoy the freedom of religion. There are nearly 200 million worshippers, over 380,000 religious personnel, and 144,000 legally-registered houses of worship in China. Tibet alone has 1,778 venues for practicing Tibetan Buddhism, with some 46,000 resident monks and nuns, and Xinjiang has 24,400 mosques, which means one mosque for every 530 Muslims, a higher rate than most Muslim countries.
说起公民选举权、言论自由和宗教信仰自由，这些都是受到宪法保障的。中国实行直接选举和间接选举相结合的选举制度。我们选出来的领导人，基本上都有基层工作经历，最知道老百姓想要什么，始终把为老百姓谋福利作为头等大事。中国领导人的产生过程，包含着各层级干部群众的评判与意见，是实实在在的民主。中国光网民就超过8亿，老百姓可以在传统和新媒体各种平台上自由发表见解，当然任何违法、煽动仇恨等言行都必须被制止，这在哪个国家都一样。中国公民有宗教信仰自由。中国有各类宗教信徒近2亿，宗教教职人员38万余人，依法登记的宗教活动场所14.4万处。例如，西藏自治区有藏传佛教活动场所1778处，住寺僧尼4.6万多人。新疆自治区有清真寺2.44万座，平均每530位穆斯林就拥有一座清真寺，比例超过许多穆斯林国家。
Speaking of the “Xinjiang issue”, a so-called stain on China’s human rights record recently hyped up by some ill-informed or even ill-intentioned people, is not an issue about human rights or religion at all. Since the 1990s, Xinjiang has been a victim of the same rampant terrorism and religious extremism that has plagued the whole world. We have endured thousands of violent terrorist attacks.
To bring the situation under control, the government has taken a comprehensive approach, focusing on preventive measures, including establishing vocational education and training centers, to help misdemeanants misguided by extremism to learn the country’s common language and law, and acquire employable skills. These measures have worked - there have been no violent terrorist attacks in Xinjiang for 28 months. What we are doing is protecting human rights at every level.
说到新疆，现在有一些无知或不良的人大肆炒作所谓“新疆问题”，称之为“中国的人权污点”，其实这根本不是什么人权和宗教问题。在国际上恐怖主义猖獗，宗教极端主义渗透的影响下，新疆自上世纪90年代以来就深受其害，发生了数千起暴力恐怖事件。为此，我们采取包括源头治理和预防性措施在内的综合措施，如依法建立职业技能教育培训中心，帮助那些受到极端思想影响、有轻微违法犯罪行为的人，学习通用语言、法律和职业技能。这些措施取得了积极成效，现在新疆已经连续28个月没发生暴恐事件了。我们所做的恰恰是保护人权的事。
As we Chinese often say, only the wearer knows if his shoes fit or not. China’s development philosophy is people-centered. Pay a visit to China, and you will see the people are leading happy lives. This is in itself a show of confidence in the country’s progress on human rights. The protection of human rights is a never-ending process, and China will always strive to do better.
鞋子合不合脚自己穿着才知道。我们奉行以人民为中心的发展理念。只要你到中国去走一走、看一看，就会感受到人们的获得感、幸福感和安全感，这就是对中国人权进步的信任票和满意票。
保护人权永远在路上。中国会努力做得更好。
