PROMISES AND ACTIONS

Rights and freedom are no strange jargons in the Chinese cultural and political context.

Chinese scholars believe their ancestor Confucius included the notion of human rights, though not so worded, into his philosophy.

Confucianism, enshrined by consecutive dynasties in Chinese history, advocates a policy of benevolence and bowing to people's wills. The teachings are considered an early Chinese version of humanism.

Though human rights as a political concept was not included into official documents of the CPC until 1997, the Party's history is actually a chronology of struggles for the people's rights and freedom, according to scholars.

The CPC ascended the stage of history upholding high the flag of human rights, said Lu Shuangxi, a human rights researcher with Yunnan University in the southwestern city of Kunming.

Lu cited the labor movements and women emancipation campaign in the early days of the CPC.

The ruling party began to restore law and order after the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), when human rights was considered part of capitalist ideology and thus became a taboo.

As a landmark, the concept of human rights was included into the Constitution, in March 2004, which stipulates that the state honor and protect human rights.

The inclusion was followed by two national action plans for human rights development, with one issued in 2009 and the other in June this year.

Implementation of the plans, however, needs both time and determination.

As more people, especially the new generations groomed by the values of freedom, begin to take actions to defend their rights, the authorities have to take actions to meet the challenge.

It' s also a process that involves wisdom. Weiwen, a Chinese shorthand for maintaining stability, is where the subtlety lies, as occurrences of protests can be interpreted as both a sign of freedom and that of unrest. Thus, the communist authorities have to seek a balance.

One thing, however, is for sure: respect to people's rights has become an irreversible trend.

Authorities in Ningbo wouldn't have had such trouble if they had done a feasibility survey among its citizens on the chemical project.

Better late than never, however, the municipal government has decided to reassess the project inviting citizen representatives to a hearing.