Uncategorized - Decoding China

Modernisation

Brief A globally shared view holds modernity as closely linked to progress. Modernisation is the process of development from a “pre-modern” or “traditional” to a “modern” society. In Western thought, modernisation has been associated not only with technological advancement but also with secularisation, democratisation, and advancement of human rights. It is intimately linked to the […]

Journalism

Brief Journalism, defined as the “activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information”, is crucial to the protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. A 2012 UN Human Rights Council report stressed that journalism is core to citizens’ exercise of their right to “seek and receive information.” Over the past […]

International law

Brief International law is the body of rules and principles regulating the relations between states and other international actors. Based on treaties and customary law, it is an evolving concept that can be traced back some four hundred years. Fundamentally, international law requires respect for the sovereign equality of states, which means that states generally […]

Human Rights

BRIEF Human rights are rights intrinsic to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted in 1948 as a “common standard of achievement for all peoples and nations”. International human rights law lays down the obligations of governments to […]

History

Brief According to one globally shared view of history, its study informs human behaviour. Even in China, George Santayana’s famous words, “[t]hose who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”, have the familiar ring of truth. But history’s constant exploitation is also a fact across much of the world. Following the tradition of […]

Good Governance

BRIEF The term “good governance” (善治) was first mentioned in a high-level Party document from 2014. Today, it is firmly established in the political vernacular. In party-state discourse, the focus is on the efficient provision of public services, combatting corruption and abuses of power within the CCP, and establishing law-based governance, i.e., codifying policies and […]

Freedom of religion

Brief Freedom of religion is protected in international human rights law and includes the right to manifest one’s religion or belief in worship, practice, and teaching. This freedom may be limited by laws to protect public safety, morals, or the rights of others. Countries take different approaches in regulation. The relationship – or degree of […]

Freedom of Speech

BRIEF Article 35 of China’s Constitution states that “[c]itizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration”. Formally speaking, this language seems to accord with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which states: “Everyone has the right […]

Ethnic minority

Brief In the UN context, the term ethnicity often factors in a group’s common origin, language, customs and beliefs, but can only be subjectively and arbitrarily defined. The notion of ethnic minorities is a social construct which appeared with the creation of the nation-state, which was built around a constructed nationality, or an ethnic majority. […]

Development

BRIEF In the context of DAC[1] donor countries, “development” is commonly understood as a multidimensional socio-economic process with political, economic, social, environmental and cultural dimensions. In this regard, the political dimension (in particular, democracy) is seen as essential to realising the others, which is why development cooperation emphasises good governance, respect for human rights and […]

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