驻美国大使崔天凯：要尊重中国人权与民主的事实——驻美国大使崔天凯在美《华盛顿时报》发表署名文章

2019年6月4日，驻美国大使崔天凯在美国《华盛顿时报》发表题为《要尊重中国人权与民主的事实》的署名文章，全文译文如下：

Ambassador Cui Tiankai's Op-ed about China's Quest for Human Rights and Democracy on The Washington Times

On June 4, 2019, Ambassador Cui Tiankai's op-ed about China's quest for human rights and democracy was published by The Washington Times. Here is the full text of the article:

China's quest for human rights and democracy

Cui Tiankai

Chinese Ambassador to the United States

　　“中国人权”在西方人眼里似乎总是一个负面词汇。由此产生的悖论是，一个由世界五分之一人口组成的“没有人权”的国家却取得了突出的经济、社会发展成就。中国人权的真相到底是什么？要了解这个问题，需要我们结合中国历史和国情，摒弃成见和臆测，拿出实事求是的态度，用客观事实说话。

To many Westerners, the concept of human rights in China is a negative one. However, what is left unexplained by China's critics is a paradox: How could a country with one-fifth of the world's population but no human rights to speak of have made such enormous strides in its economic and social development? The real picture of China's human rights situation is more complex than what stereotypes and assumptions convey. Understanding the truth requires an appreciation of China's history and national aspirations.

　　翻开近代史，在长达一百多年间，中国因西方列强入侵、军阀混战、内战而山河破碎，生灵涂炭，国破家亡的乱世中生存殊为不易，谈何人权？ 70年前中华人民共和国成立时，中国人均预期寿命才35岁，面对的最大国情是百废待兴，最大要务是解决人民的生存问题。70年来，我们坚持把生存权和发展权作为首要的基本人权，因为没有这些，其他人权犹如无本之木、空中楼阁。

Since 1840, for more than a century, China was ravaged by the aggression of Western powers, warlord fighting, and a civil war. For a starving, downtrodden people in a war-torn country, "human rights" were a luxury. Seventy years ago, when the People's Republic of China was founded, the average life expectancy in China was only 35. In such dire times, ensuring the survival of its people was China's imperative, and this guided policy for the past 70 years. Without assuring the right to survival and development, other rights are castles in the air.

　　我们改善人权的努力取得了不容抹杀的成果。2018年中国人均预期寿命已经达到77岁，比世界平均预期寿命72岁还要高。过去40年，中国7.4亿贫困人口实现脱贫，占同期全球减贫人口总数的70%以上，被世界银行称为“迄今人类历史上最快速度的大规模减贫”。中国还建成了世界最大规模的教育、社保、医疗和基层民主体系。尊重和保障人权也被写入宪法、中国共产党的党章和国家发展的战略规划，成为党和政府治国理政的一条重要原则。

The results of our hard work are indisputable. China's life expectancy reached 77 in 2018, higher than the world average of 72. In the last 40 years, over 740 million people have been lifted out of poverty, accounting for over 70% of the world's total population lifted from poverty, an accomplishment applauded by the World Bank as "the fastest rate of poverty reduction ever recorded in human history." Further, China has put in place the world's largest networks of education, social security, medical care, and community-level democracy.

"Respecting and protecting human rights" has been included in the Constitutions of China and the Communist Party of China, and the various strategies guiding national development. Indeed, the expansion and protection of human rights has become an important principle of governance for the Party and the Chinese government.