Hang Liwu (1903–1991) studied at the University of Wisconsin and at the University of London. After returning to China, he spent some time teaching before becoming an official of the Nationalist government. In the 1940s, Hang served as a vice-minister of education and subsequently in the foreign service. When Taiwan in 1971 lost its position in the UN it became increasingly isolated internationally, which culminated with the American decision to establish diplomatic relations with the PRC and close its embassy in Taipei in 1979 . In the late 1970s, human rights became an important part of American foreign policy during the presidency of Jimmy Carter. To the GMD, the American human rights policy was at odds with its recognition of the PRC. These developments led Hang and others to establish, with government support, the Chinese Association for Human Rights in February 1979. One of the goals of the organization was to expose human rights violations on the mainland, but they also addressed domestic violations of human rights. Hang’s piece translated here is certainly concerned with criticizing Communist excesses, but it also explores the compatibility between Confucian ideals and human rights. Even more striking is Hang’s effort at reconciling Sun Yatsen’s principle of people’s rights (minquan) with the concept of human rights, an interpretation that is somewhat at odds with both Sun’s own writings (see Text 18) and with the views of earlier GMD ideologists such as Zhou Fohai (see Text 20). This reveals that human rights, as Hang himself acknowledges, has become an idea which no society and no government can afford to ignore or dismiss.
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