Ma Weilong’s article appeared in the Shanghai daily newspaper Shibao [The Eastern Times]. Shibao was an organ of late Qing constitutional reformists founded in June of 1904. Little is known about Ma since he was not a regular Shibao journalist. Ma was not the first to mention issues of rights in the pages of Shibao. Between April and July 1907 the newspaper devoted a series of editorials to the subject of constitutional rights. This included a translation of the full text of the French Declaration of the Rights of Man, which was prefaced by a brief explanation of the concept of natural rights and its implications for the citizens of a constitutional nation. While Ma says that natural rights are innate, he simultaneously requires that citizens develop adequate “political abilities” before they can merit any rights.
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