The government of China today, however, stresses that the right to subsistence (shengcun quan, 生存權) is the most important human right of all and the most appropriate for China. Some scholars have concluded that such an emphasis on economic rights reflects the persistence of tradition, in particular the influence of the minben (民本) tradition of providing for the material welfare of the people. Contradicting such a conclusion is the fact that the earliest discussions on human rights focused more on civil and political rights. Economic and social rights only began to be discussed around 1919 and, to my knowledge, it was also around this time that the term shengcun quan first appeared in the political discourse. This term was not coined or monopolized by the communists, however. Liberals such as Kao I-han and KMT members such as Tai Chi-tao (戴季陶) seem to have been among the first to refer to a right to subsistence.
As can be seen from this very brief historical overview, the Chinese people, like other people all over the world, embrace the idea of human rights and use it against those in power. It is obvious that it is not culture but politics that stands in the way of the realization of human rights; something clearly demonstrated by the contrast between the dismal situation for human rights in Taiwan until the 1980s and the political developments in Taiwan since then.
Since human rights have been discussed and affirmed by the Chinese people throughout the 20th century, the question of whether human rights are compatible with the Chinese cultural tradition can be safely laid to rest once and for all. The new millennium should be approached with the conviction that the 100-year struggle of the Chinese people for human rights will bear fruit on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Marina Svensson is a Swedish historian.
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