Moderate Prosperity in All Respects: Another Milestone Achieved in China's Human Rights

Human rights are an achievement of humanity and a symbol of progress. Respect for and protection of human rights is a basic principle of modern civilization, and the unwavering goal of the Chinese Communists. The Communist Party of China (CPC) seeks happiness for the people. Its 100-year history records its efforts in fighting for, respecting, protecting, and developing human rights. Owing to its efforts, human rights in China have greatly improved, adding diversity to human civilization.

Building China into a moderately prosperous society in all respects is a major strategy designed by the Party and the government to improve the wellbeing of the people, better protect human rights, and achieve modernization of the country. On July 1, 2021, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and president of China, solemnly declared in Beijing on behalf of the Party and the people that we had realized the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. This means we have brought about a historic resolution to the problem of extreme poverty in China, and we are now marching with confidence towards the goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects. It is an exciting moment for human rights in China, a moment that will go down in history, and a moment from which we will forge ahead into the future.

The realization of all-round moderate prosperity shows that the CPC has stayed true to its original aspiration and founding mission. Under the CPC leadership, the Chinese people worked hard in the final stage towards this goal, and finally completed the historic transformation from poverty to secure access to food and clothing, to a decent life, and finally to moderate prosperity.

Moderate prosperity in China is evident in all respects: a buoyant economy, political democracy, a flourishing culture, social equity, and healthy ecosystems; balanced development between urban and rural areas to the benefit of all the people; and high respect for and comprehensive protection of human rights. China's realization of moderate prosperity serves as a solid foundation for human rights, and takes a deeper and broader perspective on this cause. It represents comprehensive progress in ensuring universal human rights in China, and a new contribution to the world's human rights cause.

I. Achieving Moderate Prosperity and Advancing Human Rights

Xiaokang, an ancient term in China, refers to a status of moderate prosperity whereby people are neither rich nor poor but free from want and toil. It has been the people's wish since ancient times to live a life of peace, stability and happiness. In the early period of reform and opening up, based on its own national conditions, China articulated the goal of building a moderately prosperous society, which demonstrated its concern for improving the people's wellbeing, and its commitment to protecting and promoting human rights. The realization of all-round moderate prosperity ushers in a new era for the protection of human rights in all respects.

1. The Journey to Moderate Prosperity

Building a moderately prosperous society has been a grand strategy since the 1980s, designed to realize national prosperity and rejuvenation, and ensure the people's wellbeing in China under the leadership of the CPC. Based on its analysis and judgment of China's realities at that time, the CPC decided to focus on economic development to drive social progress on all fronts. Since then, the CPC and the Chinese government have made it a key goal to build a moderately prosperous society by stages.

In December 1979, Deng Xiaoping presented the vision of building a xiaokang society. The reference to xiaokang grounded the goal of China's modernization firmly in traditional Chinese culture. The report to the 12th CPC National Congress in 1982 defined the goal to quadruple the annual gross output value of industry and agriculture and secure the people's basic needs in two decades from 1981 to the end of the 20th century. The report to the 14th CPC National Congress in 1992 stated that the country had ensured the basic needs of 1.1 billion Chinese people and was moving on towards xiaokang.

The report to the 16th CPC National Congress in 2002 declared that on the whole the people had made a historic leap from having only adequate food and clothing to leading a life of moderate prosperity, and set forth the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects: In the first two decades of the 21st century, China would build a society of moderate prosperity of a higher standard in an all-round way to the benefit of over one billion people; China would further develop the economy, improve democracy, advance science and education, promote cultural prosperity, foster social harmony, and upgrade the quality of life for the people.

The report to the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012 laid out the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020. According to this report, China's economy would maintain sustained and sound development, people's democracy would be expanded, and human rights would be fully respected and protected. The country's cultural soft power would be improved significantly. Living standards would be raised. Major progress would be made in building a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly society.

The report to the 19th CPC National Congress in 2017 pointed out that to succeed in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, China must strive against all difficulties to promote coordinated progress in the economic, political, cultural, social and eco-environmental fields in light of the current principal challenge facing the country, so that the moderately prosperous society it builds earns the people's approval and stands the test of time.

On July 1, 2021, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and president of China, declared on behalf of the Party and the people that China had realized the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

This is a critical step towards the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, fulfilling the historic commitment of the CPC and the Chinese government to the people.

全面建成小康社会：中国人权事业发展的光辉篇章

人权是人类文明进步的成果和标志，尊重和保障人权是现代文明的基本精神，也是中国共产党人的不懈追求。中国共产党是为人民谋幸福的政党。中国共产党的100年，是争取人权、尊重人权、保障人权、发展人权的100年，极大提高了中国人权文明水平，丰富发展了人类文明多样性。

全面建成小康社会是中国共产党和中国政府为增进人民福祉、提高全体人民人权保障水平、实现国家现代化而实施的一项重大国家发展战略。2021年7月1日，中共中央总书记、国家主席习近平在北京代表党和人民庄严宣告，“我们实现了第一个百年奋斗目标，在中华大地上全面建成了小康社会，历史性地解决了绝对贫困问题，正在意气风发向着全面建成社会主义现代化强国的第二个百年奋斗目标迈进”。这是中国人权进程中一个激动人心的时刻、一个载入史册的时刻、一个继往开来的时刻。

全面建成小康社会是中国共产党不忘初心、牢记使命的真实写照。在中国共产党的领导下，中国人民奋力决胜全面小康，最终实现了从贫困到温饱到总体小康直到全面小康的历史跨越。

全面小康是经济富裕、政治民主、文化繁荣、社会公平、生态良好的小康，是城乡区域均衡发展、惠及全体人民的小康，是切实尊重和全面保障人权的小康。中国全面建成小康社会，夯实了人权基础，丰富了人权内涵，拓宽了人权视野，意味着人权的全面发展和全民共享，谱写了中国人权事业的新篇章，创造了人类尊重和保障人权的奇迹。

一、全面建成小康社会开辟人权事业新境界

在中国，“小康”是一个古老的词汇，指免于劳苦和匮乏，生活水平处于温饱与富裕之间的一种较为殷实幸福的状态。享有安宁、祥和与幸福的生活是人们自古以来的美好愿景。改革开放之初，中国根据自身具体国情提出建设小康社会的目标，蕴含着关注和增进民生福祉、保障和促进人权的丰富内涵。全面建成小康社会开辟了全面保障人权的新时代。

1．全面建成小康社会的光辉历程

建设小康社会是20世纪80年代以来，中国共产党领导中国实现国家富强、民族复兴、人民幸福的宏伟战略。基于对中国发展实际的分析和判断，中国共产党提出坚持以经济建设为中心，通过经济发展带动整个社会进步。从那时起，“小康”“全面建设小康社会”“全面建成小康社会”成为中国共产党和中国政府的阶段性奋斗目标。

1979年12月，邓小平提出建设“小康之家”的设想，创造性地借用“小康”这个富有中国传统文化特色的概念来表述“中国式的现代化”的重要内容与目标。1982年中共十二大报告明确，从1981年到20世纪末的二十年，力争使全国工农业的年总产值翻两番，解决人民的温饱问题。1992年中共十四大报告指出，11亿人民的温饱问题已经基本解决，正在向小康迈进。

2002年中共十六大报告宣告，“人民生活总体上实现了由温饱到小康的历史性跨越”，并进一步提出“全面建设小康社会”的目标：在本世纪头二十年，集中力量，全面建设惠及十几亿人口的更高水平的小康社会，使经济更加发展、民主更加健全、科教更加进步、文化更加繁荣、社会更加和谐、人民生活更加殷实。

2012年中共十八大报告进一步提出“确保到2020年实现全面建成小康社会宏伟目标”，实现经济持续健康发展，人民民主不断扩大，人权得到切实尊重和保障，文化软实力显著增强，人民生活水平全面提高，资源节约型、环境友好型社会建设取得重大进展。

2017年中共十九大报告提出决胜全面建成小康社会，要求紧扣中国社会主要矛盾变化，统筹推进经济建设、政治建设、文化建设、社会建设、生态文明建设，攻坚克难，使全面建成小康社会得到人民认可、经得起历史检验。

2021年7月1日，中共中央总书记、国家主席习近平在北京代表党和人民庄严宣告，在中华大地上全面建成了小康社会。

小康社会的全面建成，标志着中华民族伟大复兴中国梦迈出关键一步，实现了中国共产党和中国政府向人民、向历史作出的庄严承诺。