When the 2025 China-Europe Seminar on Human Rights kicked off in Madrid on June 25, the city buzzed with a shared mission: rethinking rights in a digitally powered world. Over 20 European delegations joined forces with scholars and officials from China to unpack the theme "Human Rights in the Era of Digital Intelligence."
Marta Montoro, Vice Chair of the China Knowledge Lecture Hall Foundation in Spain, opened with a rallying call for global solidarity. "In a multipolar world, every voice matters," she declared, pushing back on divides that leave children, women and the Global South behind. Her message was clear: true progress must be inclusive to stand the test of time.
Data took center stage when Lu Guangjin, Vice President of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, laid out China's digital boom. By December 2024, the Chinese internet counted 1.108 billion users – 78.6% of the population – with 974 million shopping online. "Leading the world in sheer scale brings a responsibility to protect privacy," he noted.
Lu highlighted landmark laws like the Data Security Law and the Personal Information Protection Law, which enshrine informed consent and give citizens control over personal data. These legal shields aim to prevent leaks and abuses, ensuring that human rights evolve alongside technology.
As discussions move from theory to practice, participants called for cross-border partnerships that align tech growth with human rights. From open-source AI safeguards to global data governance frameworks, the seminar sparked fresh ideas for a future where digital intelligence amplifies, rather than erodes, our shared humanity.
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China's human rights progress takes center stage at Madrid seminar
cgtn.com
