The transformation of the concept of "human rights" in China and its implications on the right to privacy = 論「人權」 觀念在中國的轉化對私隱權的啟示

Abstract

Going through briefly how the concept of rights was invented, transformed and enshrined in milestone human-rights-related documents in the west, this dissertation reveals that the introduction of the modern concepts of “rights” and “human rights” to China during the late Qing and early republican periods adopted a utilitarian approach, emphasizing their values in serving the emerging Chinese nation in its process of nation-building, and those not contributing to this process would not be taken seriously by the intellectuals and the public. With this observation, the thesis advances that the adoption of foreign ideas in China usually required their recognition in the social discourse of national interests. Coupled with an anthropological analysis of the concept of “privacy” in recent Chinese surveys, it further argues that privacy in the Chinese context was more sociological and relationship-influenced than that in the west, which was human-rights-oriented. Taking reference from the philosophical debate on “public” (gōng) versus “private” (sī) in China, it anticipates that the future development of privacy protection in China would inevitably be influenced by traditional Chinese philosophical narratives as well as the given socio-political factors and guided by the stated national priorities. As a result, the conception of “personality” (réngé) might be a more cogent force than human rights in defining privacy.

在簡述 “權利” 這個概念如何在西方劃時代的人權文獻中被創造、轉化和彰顯後，本論文揭示了現代的 “權利” 和 “人權” 觀念，在清末民初傳入中國時，採用了一種實用的手法，強調它們在近代中國國族建構中的價值，以致與此過程無關的內容，往往為知識份子和大眾所忽視。建基於此一觀察，論文繼而提出，外來思想若要在中國為人接受，一般必須在國家利益的社會話語中獲得認同。在參考了近年以人類學方法分析 “私隱” 概念的中國內部調查後，本文進一步論証，相比於西方偏重從人權論個人私隱，中國人對私隱問題的理解，更容易受社會性和人際關係等因素的影響。在剖析中國的 “公” 與 “私” 哲學辯論後，論文預期，中國未來保護私隱的發展，將無可避免地會受到中國傳統的哲理論述、社會政治因素的左右，並由國家闡明的優先原則所引導，其結果可能是，在界定私隱的過程中， “人格” 比 “人權”，更能使中國人感到信服。