China and the Uneasy Case for Universal Human Rights

The first part of the article examines the Chinese involvement in the preparation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, revisiting the opinions expressed by China’s representatives. The second section reviews China’s subsequent engagement with the human rights project in international and domestic contexts, with particular attention to official and academic perspectives on the universality debate. Thirdly, it puts forward some suggestions for moving beyond that debate. It concludes that current discussions of the dilemma of universal rights in a diverse world would benefit from revisiting the concept of legitimate pluralism held by the leading participants in the previous discussions.