On June 21, the 2019 China-Europe Seminar on Human Rights co-sponsored by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and the Austria-China Friendship Association, and organized by the Law School and Institute for Human Rights Law of the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, as well as the Institute for Human Rights of Wuhan University, was held at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice. Nearly 100 people, including experts, scholars, government officials and representatives of social organizations from China, Austria, Germany, France, the Netherlands and other countries in the field of human rights exchanged views under the theme of "Comparison of Human Rights Values between the East and the West".

Photo of the Seminar

On the morning of June 21, Chinese Ambassador to Austria Li Xiaosi, Vice President of the China Society for Human Rights Studies and President of the Southwest University of Political Science and Law Fu Zitang, Secretary-General of the China Society for Human Rights Studies Lu Guangjin, Vice President of the Huazhong University of Science and Technology Xu Xiaodong, former Austrian President and President of the Austria-China Friendship Association Heinz Fischer, Austrian Ombudsman Kräuter, and Professor Kaminski, Executive Vice President of the Austria-China Friendship Association, attended the opening ceremony of the Seminar.

Heinz Fischer, former Austrian President and Chairman of the Austria-China Friendship Association, delivering a speech.

In his opening speech, Heinz Fischer said that human rights are the shared value of mankind, and that despite the great diversity of ways to achieve human rights, our ultimate goal is the same: human rights should be enjoyed by all. Although there have been a lot of explanations in history about human rights, Fischer believes that the best expression of human rights and human dignity comes from the Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights issued by the UN in 1948: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. This value is also embodied in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations. Fischer said that human rights practices around the world are much better today than they were 50 years ago, and that he hopes and believes they would be even better 50 years later than they are today. To achieve that goal, the international community needs to work together to defend and promote human rights. That day, experts and scholars from China and a number of European countries gathered to discuss and exchange views on the "Comparison of Human Rights Values between the East and the West", which will make new contributions to the mutual understanding and academic research between China and Europe in the field of human rights.

Fu Zitang, Vice President of the China Society for Human Rights Studies and President of the Southwest University of Political Science and Law, delivering a speech.

Fu Zitang said in the opening speech that human rights values must be aligned with the history and culture of a country and a nation, be integrated with the fight and needs of its people, be combined with domestic and international issues that needed to be addressed, and be part of the trend of human rights development around the world. There should be no universalism or superiority in human rights values, and the diversity and differences of human rights values should not be regarded as antagonism and hierarchy. There are similarities and differences between Eastern and Western human rights values. The East and the West share a common direction and voice in pursuing the common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, as well as the full enjoyment of human rights and the indivisibility of all human rights. This Seminar provides a great platform for promoting exchanges, dialogue and mutual inspiration between Chinese and European human rights scholars. Just as some people like to listen to Johann Strauss Jr.'s "The Blue Danube", while some like the Chinese music "A Night of Flowers and Moonlight by the Spring River" played by the traditional Chinese instrument of pipa. With respect to different human rights values, we should seek the principle of "all living things are nourished without injuring one another, and all roads run parallel without interfering with one another", and uphold mutual respect, equality, openness and inclusiveness.

Xu Xiaodong, Vice President of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, delivering a speech.

Xu Xiaodong said in his speech that in the era of globalization, humankind faces many common problems and challenges, and needs to seek answers through dialogue and exchanges. In the field of human rights, Chinese and European scholars should respect each other, treat each other with sincerity, and fully exchange their research achievements, so as to bridge the gap of understanding, enhance mutual trust, and provide academic support for the development of human rights in China and Europe.

Ambassador Li Xiaosi delivering a speech.

Li Xiaosi pointed out in his speech that the 2019 China-Europe Seminar on Human Rights held in Vienna fully reflects the growing political mutual trust and the increasingly mature relations between China and Europe and between China and Austria in recent years. Li said that there is no denying that China and Europe have common ground and differences on the issue of human rights. Europe stresses the universality of human rights, while China recognized the universality of human rights but also emphasizes the particularity of human rights; Europe attaches great importance to individual rights, while China values individual human rights and puts more emphasis on collective rights; Europe values political and civil rights, while China values political and civil rights and stresses that the right to life and development should be given priority to. Europe believes that Western-style democracy is the best political system in the world and can succeed anywhere in the world. But China believes that there are no identical political systems in the world. A political system should not be fixed in one model. We must not mechanically copy foreign political systems.

Li said that it is clear that the differences between China and Europe on human rights exist objectively. There is no doubt that the differences are rooted in our different historical and cultural traditions, political and social systems and levels of economic development. How should we deal with our differences? China believes that dialogue and exchanges should be strengthened on the basis of mutual respect and equality. We should enhance mutual understanding and learn from each other to narrow our differences. If we cannot solve the problems for the time being, we should seek common ground while shelving differences and treat the differences in an appropriate way, so as not to let them affect the overall development of bilateral cooperation and relations. To be specific, we should not adopt double standards and resort to public criticism, sanctions or even the use of force to change other countries' leadership. One of the important reasons for the remarkable development of China-Europe comprehensive strategic partnership in recent years is that the two sides have, on the whole, been able to properly handle our differences on the issue of human rights.

Li said that since the founding of the People's Republic of China 70 years ago, especially in the 40 years since the reform and opening-up, China’s human rights cause has made great progress. However, there are still shortcomings. There is no best in human rights, and we can still get better. The Chinese government will unswervingly commit itself to promoting and protecting human rights. At the same time, on the basis of equality and mutual respect, we are ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the field of human rights with other countries, including Austria, so as to learn from each other and make common progress.

Photo of the Seminar

After the opening ceremony, Chinese and European human rights experts and scholars discussed the universality and particularity of human rights, the significance of the community with a shared future for mankind in terms of human rights, the history and evolution of human rights values, the human rights practice of the People's Republic of China and its global significance.

The China-Europe Seminar on Human Rights, founded by the China Society for Human Rights Studies in 2015, is an institutionalized platform for in-depth exchanges and dialogues between China and Europe in the field of human rights. Over the past five years, the Seminar has focused on the rights of children and ethnic minorities, the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities, as well as the diversity of civilizations and human rights, which has enhanced the understanding of various sectors between China and Europe in the field of human rights.

The one-day Seminar was organized by the Law School and Institute for Human Rights Law of the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, as well as the Institute for Human Rights of Wuhan University, and supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice, the municipal government of Vienna, the Austria-China Law Society, and the Austrian Institute for China and Southeast Asia Studies.

Group photo

(Edited based on the Nouvelles d'Europe Central and Eastern European Edition, with some of the photos from Xinhua News Agency)

Translated by Chen Feng