6. Some Basic Values of the Chinese People (Part One)

The Chinese nation has always attached importance to human dignity and value.Even in old times, the idea of people being most important was put forth, that is, “Man is the most valuable among all the things that heaven fosters(天生万物，唯人为贵).”The progress and development of a society lie on human progress and development and on how well human dignity is maintained and how much human values are realized. The huge vigor shown by China today vividly demonstrates the wide freedom and democratic rights enjoyed by the Chinese people.The population of China was about 60 million as early as in the 1 st century AD.For several thousand years, the challenge for every government in the Chinese history has been providing the people with basic necessities of food, clothing, housing and transportation.As a huge country with a population of over 1.3 billion, it should put the rights of living and development in the first place, without which other rights are impossible.In China, collective and individual human rights are closely linked to the development of economic, social and cultural rights, as well as the development of civil and political rights.