2023: China – Europe Seminar on Human Rights

Následující je zkrácená verze referátu předneseného předsedou Akademické Rady ICL v rámci hlavních referátů (key speakers) na semináři v Římě 20. září 2023. Referát nazvaný Modernizace a volný a všestranný rozvoj každého člověka (Modernization and the Free and Well-rounded Development of Every Person) je zveřejněn ve sborníku semináře v anglickém a čínském jazyce a take ve Vision and Global Trends - https://www.vision-gt.eu, author: Jan Campbell - 15/09/2023 2023 China – Europe Seminar on Human Rights Modernization.

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Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, colleagues and friends!

Let me thank the organizers of this timely venue and allow me to address you at the crossroads of known, less known and even unknown developments in many countries, old a new blocks and last but not least in a variety of civilizations.

For reasons of time restrictions I would concentrate on the main theses related to the topic as the full paper would be available in the proceedings.

As you may know, the Government of Italy has been facing – in the words of the PM Mrs. Meloni an unbearable pressure from migration, asking the EC to assist and at the same time hoping, that the human rights in European understanding could be more or less maintained and applied even in this complex situation.

At the same time we can observe not only in the Ukraine, that the special military operation – as the war these days does not need to be declared as in the past,– demonstrates clearly that a respect for human rights cannot be protected at all in times of crisis.

There is no doubt that we have been living many decades, not years with crisis. Actually in times of historical and irreversible changes. Why for decades and not years? Following shor answer proves, that non-organic reforms, materialistic values, generally against the laws of nature and consume have been determining our life style.

At the conference dedicated to the Comparison of Human Rights Values between the East and the West, held in Vienna (Austria) on 20 – 22 June 2019 I delivered a paper titled - A contextual view at human rights. In it I confirmed that there is no doubt, that the European Convention on Human Rights, drafted in 1950 and entered into force on 3 September 1953 is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe, but at the same time I said, that the ECHR is outdated, and today, when considering the current irreversible changes of values of civilizations, the ECHR is even dead.

I my short address I will argue that the key characteristics of HR stand for a fundamental human rights whose protection cannot be absolute. Further, that current processes and events in the world could have been avoided, if the human being would learn from the history, and that one of the realistic solutions stands for a radical transformation of each individual which can become the beginning of a peaceful life for all people living on this Planet.

Do not be angry that a rose has a thorny bush, but rejoice that a thorny bush has roses and ask.

Why the protection of HR cannot be absolute?

Following are 4 main reasons: 1) The historical background. 2) The language aspect and the fact of formulation in broad terms. 3) The fact of non-resolvable contradictions. 4) The non-scientific origins of HR concepts.

Further to this, the ECHR autonomous interpretation allowing a protection much wider in scope than the protection offered under national law lead practically to limitations of national sovereignty. There is a question to be asked: Cui buono?

In general we can say that ECHR stands for a play with words. On the Chinese internet we can find two words - meizhong buzu. In my own interpretation they mean something like – in the beauty there is a deficit. Deficit in understanding the fundamentals in relations between the East and the West, and it seems to grow by day.

I learned the history of the 19th century, including of the deep crisis that befell European civilization and of the warnings that this rot could spread from Europe not only to Russia or China. The inevitable rise of China, the role of globalization, and blurring the individual traits of each personality, this and much more indicated that a time of disintegration of the traditional way of life is on the horizon.

This begs the question: What are the causes of the decline of the Western world, and the Western civilization? Why did not only I see the phenomenon, that the salvation of any civilization has its roots in strong power and strength? What determined my personal early worldview?

Was it the fascination with medical science - the medical empiricism - the formation of a special type of thinking about the world from the natural scientific point of view or the professional experience gained during my five-year intermezzo at the EC or the appointment as a personal advisor to two prime ministers?

I would recall a history of confrontation of Konstantin Nikolayevich Leontiev (1831-1891). Leontiev was a conservative tsarist and imperial monarchist, Russian philosopher and diplomat who advocated closer cultural ties between Russia and the East against what he believed to be the West’s catastrophic egalitarian, utilitarian and revolutionary influences. His attitude to work was matter-of-fact, sharp and professional.

Once, by his confrontation with the French consul, who in his presence dared to speak unfavourably about Russia, Leontiev, without engaging in an argument, simply struck the consul in the face with a whip. Such an undiplomatic gesture certainly could not be approved by his superiors and the Tsar. However, Leontiev was not punished and was simply transferred to another official post. He himself evaluated his act as a way of defending the homeland.

The question – Cui buono was answered and it was proved that physical punishment could occasionally be more ecological, effective and economical than endless and repeated diplomatic protests and notes.

Slavism is, Slavism is not

This is also a famous Leontiev´s sentence. In essence, it is a very actual topic today: The absence of a unified Slavic ideology. And also questions: What is Slavophilism? Could this not be the Great Russian utopia?

For a better understanding I recall that Slavophile thinkers approached the Slavs naively, believing that there was a possibility to unite them all not only in one state, but in some special formation that they – unfortunately or intentionally had never defined.

The current military confrontation on the Ukraine territory and the Dostojevsky statement prove: Russia will not have and never has had such haters, envious, slanderers and even obvious enemies as all these Slavic tribes. What is happening today in the Czech basin, Poland and the rest of Ukraine speaks for itself. It proves that the ECHR is dead.

The Eastern question

The Eastern question first became acute at the end of the 18th century. It was characterized by the growing role of the Russian Empire in the Middle East. As a result of the victorious wars with the Ottoman Empire, the military-political successes contributed to the awakening of the national consciousness of the Balkan peoples and spread the ideas of the liberation movement among them. The interests of the empire came into conflict with the efforts of other European powers in the Middle East, especially Great Britain and France. Here, too, it is possible to see and evaluate historical parallels with today´s events and ask: Has the Eastern question really been eliminated as a problem of world politics? In my personal evaluation – the Eastern question has not been eliminated, and it still significantly affects the human rights issue and discussions at least in Europe.

Europe – the engine of everything that happens in history is dying

In my paper I consider three characteristics of Europe. First, egalitarianism. That is, equality of rights and opportunities, which does not exist in nature and cannot exist anthropologically. That is why I consider egalitarianism to be a long-term disease of European civilization, despite the fact, that it was the Western world, still the spiritual world that created and continued to create culture.

The Age of Enlightenment, which culminated in the French Revolution, began the end of European civilization. The revolution was made in the name of equality, which never happened. At best, there was an equalization of all classes and political rights, which have to be considered contrary to the very nature of man and the equality between people is unnatural.

Second, I have been criticizing the establishment of happiness and well-being of the individual as the supreme achievement of the entire life. It does sound to me simply ridiculous, because happiness in (this) life cannot be comprehended. It is therefore a convulsive effort that embraces all people, but can have no result.

The third object of my criticism is the individualism. A man who fights only for himself, for his own benefit – ideally within the limits of the rules laid down by law, nevertheless, destroys the (European) civilization and makes all people the same. Sex in all its forms, sadness and depression with negative stress cannot offer a happy life.

It is an anthropological degradation when there is no exceptional personality or heroism. Therefore it is a symptom of the historical decline offering questions like: There is a great mass of the people, but what is its dignity, when the masses are the subject of the formation of national culture in all its colours, moral features and religiosity? When the rights discourse began in the East, including Russia and China if there was no concept of rights in traditional thought?

China – the past and the present

In general I pursue the conviction that a social order and harmony can only be pursued by affirming and protecting people’s interests in security, material goods, social relationships, and fair treatment. On these issues, at least, there is no incompatibility between Confucianism and the general concept of human rights in Europe.

Instead of claiming rights, Chinese ethical teaching - in my opinion - emphasizes the sympathetic attitude of regarding all one’s fellow men as having the same desires, and therefore the same rights, as one would like to enjoy oneself. This contradicts the political propaganda stand of the West, which thinks and promotes the position that the government of the People’s Republic of China, guided by a totalitarian ideology under the absolute rule of the CP deprives citizens of their rights on a sweeping scale and systematically curtails freedoms as a way to retain power. The truth one can find by looking into the history and ask:

Can we in fact find in China today a distinctive conception of rights? Do we consider the last century, including the period before and after the establishment of People´s Republic of China in 1949? Do we really try our best to find more about the rights discourse in the old China and consider Confucius teachings as one of a few other teachings?

ECHR relates explicitly to politics, effective political democracy and the belief, that the rule of law stands for a pre-condition for peaceful cohabitation of peoples and states.

Ideas of ECHR were based on the strongest traditions in the UK, France and other member states of the Council of Europe, not on Asian or Chinese strongest traditions.

Therefore the Eastern and Chinese concepts differ from corresponding Western concepts. At this point we need understand what it means for concepts to differ from one another. Why? Because concepts are more messy and complex than one may imagine. It should be enough for one begin to understand the complexity of the question – What makes the difference between concepts – by analysing what His Excellency Mr. Liu Huaqiu, head of the Chinese delegation to Vienna had written about quanli – his term for rights – in June 1993, 30 years ago. In my full paper I include what he said.

From a philosophical and religious point of view, we can quote the Gospel: my strength is perfected in weakness, and the famous command of Jesus Christ: the kingdom of heaven is taken by force. Think not that I have come to bring peace to earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

Therefore it has not been difficult predict the epoch of great violence of the twenties and thirties of the 20th century, and the current violence in the world. Therefore it seems that to save the statehood is possible only with the paternalistic cult of the leader.

The symphony of civilizations and the rapprochement

The symphony of civilizations, is an old idea Leontiev entertained for many years. Today, we call it the multipolar world. There is a question: How to realize the symphony of civilizations in a peaceful way, how to incorporate European civilization with all its pathologies, monstrous obsession and will to expand into all other worlds, and if considerations cannot exclude any sign of Europe’s impending doom?

The rapprochement between East and West, including the Muslim world, could be possible when Europe got rid of its insane self-confidence. And accepts, that the creators of European culture were not some nameless masses and processes, but people with exceptional talents, kings and knights. They should therefore be treated with great piety, their work studied today and it should include the basics of the system of intensive development of individual abilities SID(I)A.

What stands for SID(I)A

The principles of the recommended radical change in education by adopting a systemic approach are focused on the development of individual abilities that facilitate ecologically, efficiently and economically how to define challenges and opportunities under uncertainties and manage the associated changes. The competencies in the field of cognitive, behavioural and creativity processes allow solving tasks and challenges using modelling processes. They include the principles of cognition, how the brain works, functions in direct relation to speech, relation to nonverbal communication and vice versa.

Basic process of change involves finding out what the present state of the person is and adding the appropriate resource (s) to lead that person to the desired state, the change. Beside this one needs to accept that the map is not the territory. Every person has its own individual map of the world; no one is any more ‘real’ or ’true’ than another. Already from this point of view human rights cannot be absolute. And that is why human rights in a variety of civilizations demand the acceptance of diversity, insight, spontaneity, creativity and other dynamics.

Although creativity is considered mainly a cognitive process, SID(I)A is based on the combination of linguistics, abstract language, E- Prime, psychology and quantum psychology, creativity on purpose and not by chance, original neurolingustics, theory of inventive problem solving and neurofeedback for managing internal and external stress. Therefore one can say: SID(I)A allows one to become flowers in own hand. And who knows what may blossom then?

It is also worth to recall that the knowledge and characteristics of Chinese language and literature stand for a serious challenge to everyone dealing with Chinese texts, documents, people and organizations. Similar applies to other Eastern countries.

The Chinese language is linguistically analytic and isolating, word units do not change because of inflection, idioms and allusions from traditional Chinese culture. It can be said that the concepts in West are West´s own. In East are East´s own, and in China are China’s own.

Let me close with the words of Nikolaj Konstantinovich Rerich (1874-1947), Russian mystic, painter, philosopher, archaeologist, theosophist, writer and traveller:

The last war between men will be a war for truth. This war will be in every person. War with one’s own ignorance, aggression, irritation. And only a radical transformation of each individual can become the beginning of a peaceful life for all people.

And also the Chinese proverb: A hut of straw in which people laugh is worth more than a palace in which people cry. Consent not needed. …Thank you very much for your attention.