P.C. Chang and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by Hans Ingvar Roth (review)

I. INTRODUCTION

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is widely regarded as the most important human rights document and is the foundation of international human rights law. Over the last decades, a lot of research has been dedicated to the UDHR's history, content, and philosophy.

Hans Ingvar Roth, a professor of human rights at Stockholm University, leads us with his book to a better understanding of the drafting process and the philosophy of the UDHR by telling the story of one of the most influential contributors to the Declaration: Pengchun Chang (1892–1957). Chang was the representative of the Republic of China and vice-chairman of the United Nations Human Rights Commission during the drafting process of the UDHR. He was one of the most active and influential contributors to the Declaration together with the Chairwoman and US delegate Eleanor Roosevelt, the Lebanese and French delegates Charles Malik and René Cassin, and the first director of the UN Human Rights Division, the Canadian John Humphrey.

Roth's book consists of two main parts: Pengchun Chang's biography and his work on the UDHR. The second part describes Chang's interventions at the UN, the philosophy behind his ideas, and his relationship with other delegates, such as Charles Malik and René Cassin.

II. CHANG'S LIFE

Chang was both a professor at renowned Chinese and American universities and a diplomat for the Republic of China, serving as ambassador in Turkey, Chile, and ultimately the United Nations. Chang was influenced and guided in his thinking by both Chinese and Western philosophy, in particular Confucianism and John Dewey's ideas on democracy and education. He was a Ph.D. student at Columbia University during the time John Dewey was a professor there.

However, according to Stanley Chang, Pengchun Chang's youngest son, "he believed that China as a country was the centre of the world,"¹ and "that Chinese culture was superior to many other cultures."² His father upheld Chinese traditional views in his private life and was for example opposed to the marriage of his oldest son to a US wife.³ These accounts reveal some contradictions between Chang's public and private life and Roth deserves credit for giving us a comprehensive view of Chang. As he states himself, he did not want to write a hagiography, but the most accurate account possible of Chang's life and of his work.⁴ He did succeed with this objective.

III. CHANG'S MAIN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE UDHR

As Roth shows in his work, "Chang was involved in practically all of its [UDHR] central articles and their defining attributes."⁵ In particular, Chang's role was crucial in ensuring that the UDHR was universal and neutral when it comes to religion or philosophical traditions, that it encompasses a broad conception of human rights, such as civil and political as well as social, economic and cultural rights, and that the document strikes a balance between individual rights and duties: "Universality, religious neutrality, a broad conception of rights, a balance between individual rights and duties and an instructive style—Chang helped to ensure that all these characteristics became part of the document. What is more, he did so with only minimal compromising of his own Chinese cultural heritage."⁶ He strongly believed that all these characteristics are an essential part of Chinese culture and philosophy.

Clarity and a logical structure in order to ensure that the UDHR could be understood by all human beings was also one of its core objectives, as well as keeping the Declaration brief and concise. Chang wanted the Declaration to become a document that promotes "pluralistic tolerance in humanity that recognized the value of people having different views on life, ways of living, and cultural frameworks,"⁷ with which different philosophies and cultures could easily identify and relate. To achieve this objective, he served as a bridge-builder between the...