From 19 to 20 April, the 2025 Asian Human Rights Forum was held at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, focusing on the theme of ‘Technology and Human Rights.’ Nearly 60 human rights experts from Asian countries including China, Japan, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan gathered together, both online and offline, to discuss important issues in the field of human rights. Gong Xianghe, Executive Director of the Human Rights Research Institute and Professor at the School of Law, Southeast University, was invited to attend the forum and delivered a keynote speech, participated in discussions, and summarised the proceedings.
The forum was co-hosted by Southwest University of Political Science and Law and Renmin University of China, and organised by the Human Rights Research Institute (Human Rights College) of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, the School of Law of Renmin University of China, and the Human Rights Research Centre of Renmin University of China. Attendees included Jiang Jianguo, Member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Deputy Director of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee, and Executive Vice President of the Chinese Society for Human Rights Studies; Tang Xianwen, Director of the Human Rights Bureau of the Central Propaganda Department and Secretary-General of the Chinese Society for Human Rights Studies; Zhang Qiong, Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and Director of the Zemir Awan, former Cultural Counsellor at the Pakistani Embassy in China, Deputy Director of the China Research Centre at the National University of Science and Technology in Pakistan, and Founding Chairman of the Global Silk Road Research Alliance think tank in Pakistan; Jayanaath Kolomba, former Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Indonesia and ASEAN, Admiral, Director of the National Security Institute of Sri Lanka, and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Chairman of the Mongolian Centre for Legal Development and Reform, and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and International Law Committee of the Mongolian Bar Association, Uing; Lin Wei, Deputy Party Secretary, President, and Director of the Human Rights Research Institute of Southwest University of Political Science and Law; Han Dayuan, Professor at the School of Law of Renmin University of China and Director of the Human Rights Research Centre; and ambassadors, experts, and scholars from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, and other Asian countries, as well as experts in the field of human rights from the National Human Rights Education and Training Base of China, various universities, and faculty and student representatives from Southwest University of Political Science and Law attended the forum.
The forum included keynote speeches and parallel session presentations. The three parallel session topics were ‘Technology for Good and Human Rights Protection,’ ‘Technological Progress and Emerging Human Rights Issues in Asia,’ and ‘Technological Competition and Global Justice.’
During the first session of Parallel Session 3, ‘Technological Competition and Global Justice,’ Professor Gong Xianghe delivered a speech titled ‘Digital Human Rights: Addressing the “Crisis” of Human Rights Brought by Digital Technology,’ directly addressing the human rights challenges posed by the global digitalisation trend. He pointed out that the development of digital technology and its impact on human rights is a critical issue of concern to countries worldwide. While digital technology has brought unprecedented opportunities and conveniences to human production and lifestyle, it has also introduced new crises to human rights protection. Some countries may, for improper political purposes, accuse other nations of improperly using science and technology, thereby causing human rights crises. The academic community has also raised objections questioning the legitimacy and necessity of the concept of digital human rights. We need to actively promote the concept of digital human rights through theoretical research, seize and advance the discourse on digital human rights, promote the benevolent use of digital technology, mitigate the human rights risks posed by digital technology, and capitalise on the human rights opportunities it presents.
During the discussion session of the second phase of Parallel Session 3, ‘Technology Competition and Global Justice,’ Professor Gong Xianghe provided an in-depth critique of the reports presented by the five speakers, affirming their research from various perspectives and offering his own insights. Professor Gong Xianghe noted that the speakers had explored the relationship between technological development and human rights law from different angles, and had proposed their own solutions to the challenges posed by technological development to human rights, which holds significant theoretical and practical significance.
At the closing ceremony of this forum, Professor Gong Xianghe, as the presenter for Parallel Session 3, delivered a summary report on the presentations in this session. Professor Gong Xianghe noted that multiple scholars had presented from diverse fields and perspectives, including digital human rights, the relationship between technology and human rights, the practice of rights in government service hotlines, the protection of defendants' rights in remote trials, and the legislation of artificial intelligence and human rights protection. They explored the human rights challenges posed by technological development and strategies for addressing them, covering areas such as law, politics, and academic research. The two session discussants provided insightful comments, and the participating scholars engaged in lively exchanges, providing rich intellectual resources for research on the issue of ‘digital competition and global justice.’
After the conference, Professor Gong Xianghe was interviewed by the Global Times and China News Network. Professor Gong Xianghe noted that while the development of digital technology has brought numerous conveniences to human production and lifestyle, it has also triggered political crises. Certain countries have unjustly accused China of ‘using technology to strengthen social control, leading to human rights crises domestically,’ and have even claimed that China is ‘exporting “technological authoritarianism” to neighbouring countries.’ These accusations perpetuate the long-standing political strategy of questioning China's human rights record, exaggerating or even fabricating the risks of technology to achieve the goal of ‘countering China's technology sector’ and strengthening protectionism. China should proactively respond by establishing the value goal of digital human rights in the development of digital technology, constructing a China-specific discourse on digital human rights, and disseminating this discourse to the world to refute the slanderous claims made by certain countries regarding China's digital technology development. Simultaneously, China should support its digital enterprises in going global, take the initiative to set the agenda in the field of human rights, engage in the construction of an autonomous knowledge system and innovation in China's digital human rights theory, and participate in the formulation of international human rights rules. China should adopt a digital technology development strategy that prioritises technology for good and a people-centred approach, using digital human rights to regulate and standardise the development of China's digital technology, ensuring that digital technology serves all humanity.
The forum also solemnly released the ‘Chongqing Consensus of the Asian Human Rights Forum,’ which outlines three key points: first, technological development must be fundamentally guided by the protection of human rights; second, Asia should lead regional collaboration on emerging technology human rights issues; and third, a global technology order that is fair, inclusive, and conducive to the realisation of human rights should be established. The consensus asserts that the technological revolution should serve as a catalyst for realising the vision of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, urging all parties to transcend zero-sum competition, promote governance through cooperation, and ensure that technology truly serves human dignity, social justice, and a sustainable global future.
(Human Rights Research Institute, Southeast University)