While in the early 1930s the CCP was extremely critical of the ruling GMD for its suppression of people’s rights and freedoms, it nonetheless agreed with the GMD in criticizing the Xinyue group’s concept of human rights, on which see the previous two selections. Although GMD and CCP perspectives differed, they were in agreement in rejecting human rights as an excessively abstract idea which did not fit China’s revolutionary needs. Zhou Fohai’s essay (Text 20) gives a good picture of the nature of the GMD’s critique of human rights. The CCP focused on the political and class standpoint of the Xinyue group as it revealed itself in the struggle for human rights. Communists argued that laws and rights are products of existing social relationships and therefore reflect the interests of those in power. The Xinyue group was only fighting for the freedoms of the individual and the bourgeoisie, whereas the Communists were fighting for the freedoms of the proletariat. CCP member Peng Kang furthermore claimed that the Xinyue group’s critique of the GMD’s violations of human rights was not convincing, and questioned the notion that respect for human rights could be brought about through the establishment of laws and a constitution. Rights and freedoms, the Communists argued, could only be secured through political struggle. What was needed was a political revolution and the overthrow of the GMD, rather than reform of the present political system. Although they criticized the concept of human rights, they nonetheless affirmed the value and importance of freedom of thought and speech.
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