Zhang Xiaoling
China

In the recent a few years, the most important theory innovation of the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese government is the advancing of the Scientific Outlook on Development, which is the important strategic guiding thoughts to promote the reform and opening up and the modernization construction of China. The core of the Scientific Outlook on Development is people-orientation, which is a sort of right concept, and whose essential requirement is to respect and protect the human rights. Therefore to respect and protect the human rights is the inherent meaning of the concept of people-oriented development. From this point of view, the Scientific Outlook on Development is a development concept based on the respect and protection of the human rights. The Concept is the crystal of the profound understanding of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government for the relation between the human rights and development, whose essential spirit agrees with the international documents of the human rights. During the three decades of the reform and opening up, China has achieved great success in development and protection of the human rights. However, at the stage of social transformation, China is still confronted with quite a few problems and challenges in the aspect of development and respect and protection of the human rights. And the new issues facing us are according to the demand of the people-oriented Scientific Outlook on Development, to change the viewpoints, to observe and handle problems and conflicts in the economic and social development from the level and angle of respect and protection of the human rights, and to properly handle the relation between development and protection of the human rights.

I. To protect the human rights is the inherent meaning of the people-oriented development

What is the meaning of people-oriented development? There are rich and profound intensions in the people-oriented development. It is the radical denial of the real-oriented development concept. It highlights people as the center and subject of development, and emphasizes that the aim and outcome of development is to achieve the overall development of human and to generally realize the human rights. President Hu Jintao has pointed out in the early 2004 that "Adhering to the principle of "putting people first" means that we should set the goal for the all-round development of the people, seek for and promote development for the fundamental interests of the masses, constantly satisfy the growing material and cultural needs of the people, conscientiously guarantee the economic, political and cultural rights and interests of the people, so that achievements gained in development will benefit the whole people" .

At first, the people-oriented development put people as the subject of development. People is the subject of development, but not the object of development, which shows the central position of people in development, and also shows the dignity of people and the equality of people in legal status. "People" here refers to all members in the overwhelming majority of the people in China, without distinction of any kind, such as nationality, sex, language, religion, social origin, property, birth or other status. People here, is in accordance with the fundamental spirit of the universality of the subjects of human rights in Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "People" here possess the basic human rights to equally participate in development. Without the equality in citizen's legal status, there will be no equality in society, let alone the realization of people-oriented development. The people-oriented development means to treat all social members equally, all social members deserve equal respect, "and to ensure the equal right to participation and development for all members of society in accordance with the law".  Meanwhile, the people-oriented development also highlights the important position and role of the overwhelming majority of the people in development. "People and mass are the essential force to create the world history. The overwhelming majority of the people in China are the subject for the cause of constructing socialism with Chinese characteristics, the creator of the advanced productivity and advanced culture, and the impeller for the harmonious development of socialist material civilization, political civilization and spirit civilization."  The declaration on the right to development of the United Nations clearly pointed out that "The development policy should make people become the major participant and beneficiary of development."