Human Rights Studies
Introduction
Chien-
Feng Wei
Special Issue Article
1. An Examination on the Implementation of the
Two Covenants After Two Years: With a Focus on Judicial Practice
Wen-Chen
Chang Associate Professor, College of
Law, National Taiwan University
2. Situations
and Worries on Hong Kong’s Human Rights Development
Yiu-Kwong
Chong Solicitor; Teaching Fellow, Hong
Kong Institute of Education;
Deputy Chair of HK Human Rights Monitor
Hiu-Chung
Kwok Officer, Hong Kong Human Rights
Monitor
3. The
Chinese Communist Regime’s Human Rights Position Based on Its Policy Programmes
Joseph
Yu-Shek Cheng Coordinator, Contemporary
China Research Project, City University of Hong Kong
Research Article
1. A Study of the Writing Year of Zhu-Zi’s “Zhong He Four
Letters”
Hong-Wen
Huang Part-time Lecturer, General
Education Center, National Taichung University of Science and Technology
Research Note
1. Emotions
and Social Critiques: Emotional Explanation of Human Beings’ Social Actions
Ya-Chen
Chang Research Assistant, Division of
Preventive Medicine and Health Services Research, Institute of Population
Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan; Master of Arts,
Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, UK
Research Article
An Examination on the Implementation of the Two
Covenants After Two Years: With a Focus on Judicial Practice
Wen-Chen
Chang
Associate
Professor, College of Law, National Taiwan University
In 2009, Taiwan ratified the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR). An Implementation Act was also passed to make the
rights enshrined in the two Covenants directly applicable. The initial reports
on the two Covenants were released in April 2012. Despite these seeming
accomplishments, the implementation of the Covenants still requires a close
examination from a legal perspective.
Having examined the practice of legislative, administrative and
judicial branches on their respective implementations, this Article finds that
there remains much space for improvements. Many laws and policies stay
unchanged even after two years of implementation. While courts began to apply
the two Covenants, the number of such direct application – albeit on a steady
rise – is still not enough. The most referenced right concerns the right to
life in criminal cases. This Article concludes by calling for greater attention
on the implementation of the two Covenants in order to improve human rights
protections in Taiwan.
Keywords:
Human Rights, State Obligations, ICCPR, ICESCR
Situations and Worries on Hong Kong’s Human Rights
Development
Yiu-Kwong
Chong Solicitor; Teaching Fellow, Hong
Kong Institute of Education; Deputy Chair of HK Human Rights Monitor
Hiu-Chung
Kwok Officer, Hong Kong Human Rights
Monitor
As a developed region, the human rights situations of Hong Kong are not
up to standard. The development of human rights after the handover of Hong Kong
to mainland China is closely connected to the following factors: Hong Kong as
part of mainland China, the implementation of “One Country, Two Systems” and
the interaction between Hong Kong Government, business sector and civil
society.
With reference to the Concluding Observations adopted by various
United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies, this article analyzes situations and
worries on Hong Kong’s human rights development. These include (1) interactions
between Hong Kong’s and Chinese Government under the principle of “One Country,
Two Systems”, (2) the Hong Kong Government is not sincere in promoting human
rights; and (3) the Hong Kong Government believes in market-led economic policy
and the business sector is allowed to enjoy political and economic privileges.
This article points out that under current political and economic
structure, lack of genuine democracy in Hong Kong, no universal suffrage is the
main obstacles of Hong Kong’s human rights development.
Keywords:
Human Rights, Basic Law, “One Country, Two Systems”, Democracy, Rule of Law
The Chinese Communist Regime’s Human Rights Position
Based on Its Policy Programmes
Joseph
Yu-Shek Cheng Coordinator, Contemporary
China Research Project, City University of Hong Kong
This article aims to understand the Hu Jintao administration’s
position on human rights through an examination of its policy programmes.
Chinese leaders understand that rapid economic development has a severe impact
on social stability. Vested interests pose resistance to liberalization; but
the leadership is also reluctant to accept effective checks and balances
mechanisms limiting the Party regime. As a result, media freedom and the role
of the people’s congress system expanded little in the initial years of the Hu
administration. In this context, dissidents and the human rights movement have
encountered greater pressure. The Chinese authorities intend to create a
deterrence effect. From the boycott of Liu Xiaobo’s Nobel peace prize to the
suppression of Ai Weiwei and Chen Guangcheng, Chinese leaders are willing to
pay the price in terms of damages to China’s intentional image to maintain the
deterrence. While China spends substantial resources to develop its soft power,
it accepts the tarnishment of China’s image, thus reflecting the regime’s
priorities. After all, suppressing the threats to the Party regime is regarded
most important.
Keywords:
Human rights position, policy programmes, Chinese Communist Party’s monopoly of
power, economic development, maintenance of stability
Research Article
A Study of the Writing Year of Zhu-Zi’s “Zhong He Four Letters”
Hong-Wen
Huang Part-time Lecturer, General
Education Center, National Taichung University of Science and Technology
Heretofore, the has been a lot of complicated archives and clues to
discuss the writing year of Zhu-Zi’s “Zhong He Four Letters”. They both use a
sentence from the third letter in “Da He-Shu-Jing”, which says “The
enlightended or unenlightended mind is the same mind “, to comply with the
thought of “Zhong He Four Letters”. The kind of saying doesn’t mention ways of
real practice and ignores that the above guoted sentence should be regarded as
a common pursuit to a stable state of mind for Confucian followers. Besides,
they neglect that there are many words in “Da He-Shu-Jing” in memory of their
deceased teacher Li-Yan-Ping. This emotion contradicts “Zhong He Four Letters”.
Since it is proven that “Da He-Shu-Jing” was written in 1166, it is then proven
that “Zhong He Four Letters” was not written in 1166. As a result, we can
follow Qian-Mu’s textual research that “Zhong He Four Letters” was written in
1168.
Keywords:
Zhu-Zi, “Zhong He Four Letters”, Nan-Xuan, He-Shu-Jing, Shu-Jing-Nan
Research Note
Emotions
and Social Critiques: Emotional Explanation of Human Beings’ Social Actions
Ya-Chen
Chang Research Assistant, Division of
Preventive Medicine and Health Services Research, Institute of Population
Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan; Master of Arts,
Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, UK
The role of emotions should be properly emphasized while people
conducting social critiques. By reviewing the debate about the dualism of
reason and emotion, and relationships between them, the intelligence of emotion
is highly recognized in this article. Meanwhile with addressing concepts of
normative thought in moral philosophy, later the connection between emotions,
especially moral emotions in this context, and human beings’ social actions is
being made. That is emotion motivates people conduct social critiques, and
emotion helps to change the world to fit performers’ ideas. Finally, by
extending the thoughts to moral imaginations and the ethic of care, to further
support the idea of everyday practice of emotions to care in this social world.
Keywords:
dualism, normative, motivation, compassion, moral imagination
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