This book examines the contentious subject of human rights in China.
However, in contrast to the majority of the literature which focuses on
alleged Chinese abuses of human rights, the author examines the
emergence and evolution of a Chinese conception of rights, paying
attention to the impact of Confucianism, Republicanism, and Marxism on
this conception. It is suggested that the joint influence of these
doctrines helps to explain, among other things, the contemporary
emphasis attached to socio-economic and collective rights in China, and
the importance accorded to citizens duties in relation to the exercise
of their rights.