Western human rights view is flawed

The United Nations' system of human rights is rather comprehensive and covers civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

However, the Western view and practice of human rights, especially those of the US, are rather problematic－for example, there is a lack of balance among different rights. Also, the US and other Western countries often unduly emphasize civil and political rights while ignoring the right to life, and development, economic, social and cultural rights.

Worse, despite being the sole superpower, the United States has not been party to six of the nine core human rights conventions. And judging by the UN's standards, human rights problems abound in the US and other Western countries. For example, more than 30 million people (out of the US' total population of about 330 million) don't have any medical insurance, and none of the Western countries guarantees equal pay for equal work for men and women. Both are violations of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Besides, the West doesn't recognize the intricate relationship between individual rights and collective rights. The West tends to believe that human rights are individual rights, and contends that collective rights can be abused, without acknowledging that individual rights, too, could be abused and cause huge damage to collective rights.

For instance, a few years ago, a few Danish and French cartoonists infuriated Muslims around the world by publishing cartoons that many believed blasphemed Islam, yet they resorted to freedom of speech, an individual right, to justify their actions. And during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Western countries, many refused to wear a face mask or observe anti-pandemic measures in the name of personal freedom, leading inevitably to a heavy toll of human lives.

In contrast to the Western concept, the relationship between individual and collective rights, in Chinese philosophy, is dialectical.

An ideal human rights protection system should take into account both individual and collective rights, both freedom and responsibility, and strike a balance between rights and obligations. In this regard, China's concept of human rights, which balances rights and obligations, is more in line with the requirements of the times.

The US and many Western countries also tend to ignore the differences in national conditions and demands that all countries follow the same human rights norms. But the fact is, human rights cannot be dissociated from the social and political conditions, and history and culture of a country. Ignoring these conditions, the US has been trying to forcibly transplant Western human rights concepts in other countries, and using human rights as a political tool to interfere in their internal affairs, leading to political fights, social turmoil, economic ills and human suffering.

The West is also trapped in a legalism dilemma. It regards human rights issues almost solely as legal issues, which is by itself controversial. In comparison, China believes in protecting and promoting human rights through comprehensive economic, social and political measures while improving the rule of law.