Chinese intellectuals urge action on human rights The ICCPR is one pillar of the United Nations International Bill of Human Rights and calls for countries to safeguard freedom of speech, assembly and religion. China ratified its sister treaty, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in 2001, but has delayed the ratification of the ICCPR, despite signing up to it in 1998. The letter, which was posted on several prominent Chinese websites and blogs, but was rapidly censored, said conditions in China are now ripe for the ICCPR to be ratified. "We worry that - as we [as a society] lack a proper sense of human rights, and as we lack basic protections for personal freedom, rights and dignity - our entire society risks sliding into [a chaos of] hatred and violence, moving toward separatism and hostile division, in the event that we face a comprehensive crisis," the petition read, according to a translation by the China Media Project. "We worry that - as we lack proper knowledge of constitutionalism, as we lack the most basic understanding and faith in the sanctity and authority of constitutionalism [...] our leaders will find it difficult to establish a set of values that accord with modern civilisation, and that they will then forfeit all governing legitimacy and all necessary dignity," the letter added. The signatories include some of China's most prominent liberals, including He Weifang, a legal scholar, Mao Yushi, an economist, and Wang Keqin, an investigative journalist. The petition says that if the National People's Congress cannot ratify the treaty this year, it should explain why and set a clear timetable. In December, a similar petition by a group of Chinese intellectuals demanded that the Communist party begin to reform its legal system and end internet censorship. "We don't dare to dream that China will make a lot of progress in one giant leap," said Wang Keqin to the BBC. The country develops step by step and our efforts are also aimed at changing things step by step. This is the embarrassing situation we are in now.