Charter 08

1. Preface

This year marks the centenary of China’s constitutionalism, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 30th anniversary of the birth of the “Democracy Wall,” and the 10th anniversary of the Chinese government’s signing of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. After experiencing a long period of human rights disasters and a difficult and tortuous course of struggle, awakened Chinese citizens have gradually come to clearly realize that freedom, equality, and human rights are the common universal values of mankind; democracy, republic, and constitutionalism are the basic institutional frameworks of modern politics. “Modernization” that is divorced from these universal values and basic political frameworks is a disastrous process that deprives people of their rights, corrupts human nature, and destroys human dignity. Where will China go in the 21st century? Will it continue this authoritarian rule under “modernization,” or will it recognize universal values, integrate into mainstream civilization, and establish a democratic political system? This is a choice that cannot be avoided.

The great historical changes in the mid-19th century exposed the corruption of China’s traditional autocratic system, opening the prelude to “a great change unseen in thousands of years” on the land of China. The Westernization Movement pursued progress in material terms, and the defeat in the Sino-Japanese War once again exposed the outdatedness of the system; the Reform Movement of 1898 touched upon institutional reforms, but ultimately failed due to the brutal suppression of the conservatives; the Xinhai Revolution superficially buried the imperial system that had lasted for more than 2,000 years and established the first republic in Asia. Limited by the specific historical conditions of internal and external troubles at that time, the republican system was only a flash in the pan, and autocracy immediately made a comeback.

The failure of material imitation and institutional renewal pushed the Chinese people to delve into the reflection on the cultural root causes, and thus the “May Fourth” New Culture Movement, which took “science and democracy” as its banner, emerged. Due to the frequent civil wars and foreign invasions, China’s political democratization process was forced to be interrupted. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, China once again started the constitutional process, but the result of the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party plunged China into the abyss of modern totalitarianism.

The “New China” established in 1949 was nominally a “People’s Republic,” but in essence, it was a “one-party dictatorship.” The ruling party monopolized all political, economic, and social resources, creating a series of human rights disasters such as the Anti-Rightist Campaign, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, the June Fourth Incident, and the suppression of civil religious activities and rights protection movements, causing tens of millions of people to lose their lives, and the people and the country paid an extremely heavy price.

The “reform and opening up” in the late twentieth century enabled China to break away from the widespread poverty and absolute totalitarianism of the Mao Zedong era. The private wealth and the living standards of the people have greatly improved, individual economic freedom and social rights have been partially restored, civil society has begun to grow, and the voices of the people for human rights and political freedom have been rising. While carrying out economic reforms towards marketization and privatization, the rulers have also begun to shift from rejecting human rights to gradually recognizing human rights.

The Chinese government signed two important international human rights covenants in 1997 and 1998 respectively. The National People’s Congress passed a constitutional amendment in 2004 to include “respect and protection of human rights” in the constitution, and this year it promised to formulate and implement the “National Human Rights Action Plan.” However, these political progresses have mostly remained on paper so far; there are laws but no rule of law, there is a constitution but no constitutionalism, which is still an undeniable political reality. The ruling group continues to adhere to maintaining authoritarian rule and rejecting political change, which has led to official corruption, difficulty in establishing the rule of law, lack of human rights, moral decline, social polarization, distorted economic development, and the double destruction of the natural and human environment. The rights of citizens to freedom, property, and the pursuit of happiness are not institutionally guaranteed, various social contradictions are constantly accumulating, dissatisfaction is continuously rising, especially the intensification of the confrontation between officials and the people and the surge in mass incidents, which are showing a disastrous trend of out of control. The backwardness of the current system has reached the point where it must be changed.

2. Our Basic Concepts

At this historical juncture that determines the future destiny of China, it is necessary to reflect on the modernization process of the past century and reiterate the following basic concepts:

Freedom: Freedom is the core of universal values. The rights to freedom of speech, publication, belief, assembly, association, migration, strike, and demonstration are all concrete manifestations of freedom. Without freedom, there is no modern civilization.
Human Rights: Human rights are not bestowed by the state, but are rights that every person is born with. Protecting human rights is not only the primary goal of the government and the basis of the legitimacy of public power, but also the inherent requirement of “people-oriented.” China’s past political disasters are closely related to the ruling authorities’ disregard for human rights. People are the main body of the state, the state serves the people, and the government exists for the people.
Equality: Every individual, regardless of social status, occupation, gender, economic condition, race, color, religion, or political belief, has equal personality, dignity, and freedom. The principle of equality before the law must be implemented, and the principle of equality of citizens’ social, economic, cultural, and political rights must be implemented.
Republic: Republic means “governing together, living in peace together,” which means separation of powers and checks and balances, which means that various interest groups, different social groups, and groups with diverse cultures and beliefs, on the basis of equal participation, fair competition, and joint deliberation, handle public affairs in a peaceful manner.
Democracy: The most basic meaning is that sovereignty resides in the people and a government elected by the people. Democracy has the following basic characteristics:

The legitimacy of the regime comes from the people, and political power comes from the people;
Political rule is chosen by the people;
Citizens enjoy genuine suffrage, and the main government officials at all levels must be produced through regular elections;
Respect the decisions of the majority while protecting the basic human rights of the minority.

Constitutionalism: Constitutionalism is the principle of guaranteeing the basic freedoms and rights of citizens as determined by the constitution through legal provisions and the rule of law, restricting and defining the boundaries of government power and behavior, and providing corresponding institutional facilities.

In China, the era of imperial power is long gone; worldwide, authoritarianism is also nearing its twilight; citizens should become the true masters of the country. Removing the mentality of subjects who rely on “wise rulers” and “honest officials,” promoting the consciousness of citizens who take rights as the foundation and participation as their responsibility, practicing freedom, practicing democracy, and upholding the rule of law are the fundamental way out for China.

3. Our Basic Propositions

Therefore, with a responsible and constructive spirit of citizenship, we put forward the following specific propositions on the national political system, citizens’ rights, and social development:

Amend the Constitution: Amend the constitution according to the aforementioned value concepts, delete the articles in the current constitution that do not conform to the principle of popular sovereignty, make the constitution truly a guarantee of human rights and a permit for public power, and become the highest law that cannot be violated by any individual, group, or party, laying the legal foundation for China’s democratization.
Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances: Build a modern government with separation of powers and checks and balances, ensuring the separation of legislative, judicial, and executive powers. Establish the principle of statutory administration and a responsible government, preventing the excessive expansion of executive power; the government should be responsible to taxpayers; establish a system of separation of powers and checks and balances between the central and local governments, the central government’s power must be clearly defined and authorized by the constitution, and local governments should implement full autonomy.
Legislative Democracy: Legislative bodies at all levels should be directly elected, legislation should adhere to the principles of fairness and justice, and legislative democracy should be implemented.
Judicial Independence: The judiciary should transcend parties, be free from any interference, implement judicial independence, and ensure judicial fairness; establish a constitutional court and establish a system of constitutional review to safeguard the authority of the constitution. Abolish the party’s political and legal committees at all levels, which seriously endanger the rule of law in the country, as soon as possible, and avoid the abuse of public power for private purposes.
Public Power for Public Use: Realize the nationalization of the military, soldiers should be loyal to the constitution and the country, political party organizations should withdraw from the military, and improve the professionalization of the military. All civil servants, including the police, should maintain political neutrality. Eliminate party discrimination in the recruitment of civil servants, and recruit equally regardless of party affiliation.
Human Rights Protection: Effectively protect human rights and uphold human dignity. Establish a human rights committee responsible to the highest organ of public opinion to prevent the government from abusing public power to infringe on human rights, especially to protect citizens’ personal freedom, and no one should be illegally arrested, detained, interrogated, questioned, or punished, and abolish the system of re-education through labor.
Public Office Elections: Fully implement the democratic election system and implement the equal right to vote for one person, one vote. The direct election of heads of administrative departments at all levels should be gradually promoted institutionally. Regular free competitive elections and citizens’ participation in statutory public office are inalienable basic human rights.
Urban-Rural Equality: Abolish the current dual household registration system of urban and rural areas, implement the constitutional rights of equal treatment for all citizens, and guarantee citizens’ freedom of movement.
Freedom of Association: Guarantee citizens’ freedom of association, and change the current system of registration and approval of social organizations to a system of record-keeping. Lift the ban on political parties, regulate the behavior of political parties with the constitution and laws, abolish the monopoly of power by a single party, establish the principle of freedom of political party activities and fair competition, and realize the normalization and legalization of party politics.
Freedom of Assembly: Peaceful assembly, demonstration, and freedom of expression are basic freedoms of citizens stipulated in the constitution and should not be subject to illegal interference and unconstitutional restrictions by the ruling party and the government.
Freedom of Speech: Implement freedom of speech, freedom of publication, and academic freedom, and guarantee citizens’ right to know and the right to supervise. Enact the “Press Law” and the “Publication Law,” lift the ban on newspapers, abolish the current “crime of inciting subversion of state power” in the “Criminal Law,” and put an end to the practice of punishing people for their words.
Freedom of Religion: Guarantee freedom of religion and belief, implement the separation of church and state, and religious activities should not be interfered with by the government. Review and revoke administrative regulations, administrative rules, and local regulations that restrict or deprive citizens of religious freedom; prohibit the management of religious activities through administrative legislation. Abolish the prior permit system that requires religious groups (including religious venues) to be registered before obtaining legal status, and replace it with a record-keeping system that does not require any review.
Civic Education: Cancel political education and political examinations that serve the rule of a single party and are imbued with a strong ideological color, promote civic education based on universal values and citizens’ rights, establish civic consciousness, and advocate civic virtues that serve society.
Property Protection: Establish and protect the right to private property, implement a free and open market economic system, guarantee freedom of entrepreneurship, and eliminate administrative monopolies; establish a state-owned assets management committee responsible to the highest organ of public opinion, legally and orderly carry out property rights reform, clarify property rights ownership and responsibilities; launch a new land movement, promote land privatization, and effectively protect the land ownership of citizens, especially farmers.
Fiscal and Taxation Reform: Establish democratic finance and protect the rights of taxpayers. Establish a clear-cut public finance system framework and operating mechanism, and establish a reasonable and effective fiscal decentralization system at all levels of government; carry out major reforms of the taxation system to reduce tax rates, simplify the tax system, and ensure fair tax burdens. Without the process of social public choice and the decision of the organ of public opinion, administrative departments shall not arbitrarily increase taxes or levy new taxes. Through property rights reform, introduce multiple market entities and competition mechanisms, lower the threshold for financial access, and create conditions for the development of private finance, so that the financial system can fully exert its vitality.
Social Security: Establish a social security system covering all citizens, so that citizens can obtain the most basic guarantees in education, medical care, old-age care, and employment.
Environmental Protection: Protect the ecological environment, advocate sustainable development, and be responsible for future generations and all mankind; clearly implement the corresponding responsibilities that the state and officials at all levels must bear; give play to the participation and supervision of non-governmental organizations in environmental protection.
Federal Republic: Participate in maintaining regional peace and development with an equal and just attitude, and shape the image of a responsible major power. Maintain the free systems of Hong Kong and Macau. Under the premise of freedom and democracy, seek a solution for cross-strait reconciliation through equal negotiations and cooperative interaction. Explore the possible ways and institutional designs for the common prosperity of all ethnic groups with great wisdom, and establish the Federal Republic of China under the framework of democratic constitutionalism.
Transitional Justice: Restore the reputation of those who have suffered political persecution in the past political movements and their families, and provide state compensation; release all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and release all those who have been convicted for their beliefs; establish a truth investigation committee to find out the truth of historical events, clarify responsibilities, and uphold justice; on this basis, seek social reconciliation.

4. Conclusion

As a major power in the world, as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a member of the Human Rights Council, China should make its own contribution to the cause of human peace and human rights progress. However, it is regrettable that among all the major powers in the world today, only China is still in an authoritarian political ecology, which has caused continuous human rights disasters and social crises, restricted the self-development of the Chinese nation, and constrained the progress of human civilization—this situation must be changed! The political democratization reform can no longer be delayed.

Therefore, with the spirit of citizens who are brave in practice, we announce “Charter 08.” We hope that all Chinese citizens who have the same sense of crisis, responsibility, and mission, regardless of whether they are in or out of the government, regardless of their identity, seek common ground while reserving differences, actively participate in the civic movement, and jointly promote the great changes in Chinese society, in order to build a free, democratic, and constitutional country as soon as possible, and realize the unremitting pursuit and dream of the Chinese people for more than a hundred years.

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