The following is an abridged text of a paper presented in English at a seminar organised by Fundación Cátedra China (Spain) and the China Society for Human Rights Studies, which took place in Madrid on 25 June 2025. The abridged text of the paper has already been published on vision-gt.eu. The full text of the paper will be available in the proceedings of the seminar, on the website of the Institute of the Czech Left and will also be published in Geopolitica 2025.
The seminar, which was attended by over 100 participants and speakers from 18 countries, was the fourth for me and took place at a time when the EU even restricted the import of medical devices from China and excluded Chinese companies from participating in public procurement in the field of medicine. Such a course of action towards the PRC will, in the future, be met with divergent attitudes among the EU Member States, as indicated by the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, after his visit to Beijing, or in an interview with a Member of the Socialist Parliamentary Group and others with whom I had the opportunity to speak, as indicated by the results in the field of modern medicine and the training of human resources.
Key aspects of HR include navigating cultural differences, adapting to Chinese labor laws, and addressing challenges related to recruitment, training, and employee relations. Successful European companies in China, I know nothing about Czech ones, have developed a sensitive understanding of both the business environment and cultural context with a strong HR strategy.
In personal conversations, I was able to learn about the successes in research and implementation of projects in AI, ICT and medicine at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (Wu-chan), which I know personally. In addition, I also learned about the campaign launched in March to promote the so-called eight rules of thrift. These were introduced by President Xi Jinping as part of his anti-corruption campaign. In addition to its legitimising function, it has a very pragmatic side. If there is time and interest, I will write something about it, the new campaign, on a future occasion.
Digital and Human Rights in the Age of Anthropological Warfare
First of all, I would like to thank the organizers for the invitation and for the opportunity to talk with some of you in private and exchange some information and ideas not only from the HR field. At the request of the organizers to keep time, I decided to offer you the opportunity to read the full paper separately in the proceedings and to address you with a shortened version and a few slides. The seminar takes place on the eve of epochal changes at the individual, societal and civilizational levels. The night hammer of the United States has struck Iran and definitively ended the era of faith in international law, conventions and the functioning of international organizations, as well as human rights as we know them or as politicians try to convey and explain them to us.
We are living in a time in history when armaments have begun, which not only impoverish us like all armaments, but also do not arm us, but on the contrary, impoverish us. At the same time, it is wrong to regard war as a necessary consequence of man's biological nature. Last but not least, the American attack on Iran has confirmed the importance of correct timing, not only for a belligerent strike. By this I mean not only the shortening of the NATO summit to one day, the unconditional approval of five percent of GDP for armaments sold as defence, but also the ongoing trade war.
In short: We live in an epoch with various types of new wars, lies produced by human beings and artificial intelligence, hypocrisy, ignorance, arrogance. We should all avoid being controlled and governed by the illusion that we know what will happen tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, etc.
Three unanswered questions
Is war a violation of peace? Or is peace a break in war? What is happening to human rights in what I call the anthropological age of war, in which digitalization supports disinformation methods not only in the West, as represented by fragmentation and decontextualization?
To answer the questions, we should accept that political puppeteers will only tell us the part that suits them, without context and without concern for rights, including human rights. On the other hand, we should take into account the unnoticed fact that the UNSC adopted a resolution on 7 June 2024 declaring 10 June as the International Day of Dialogue among Civilisations. The aim of the Day of Dialogue is to replace prejudice with understanding and confrontation with cooperation.
In this sense, I congratulate the organizers for choosing June for this important seminar, which takes place in the era of digital and new warfare technologies in a world without valid agreements between hostile states.
Anthropological war
Although it is not an officially established term in academia and literature, I have used it in confidential documents for several decades. Why do I speak publicly today of anthropological warfare? Because anthropology offers one of the simplest explanations for understanding the labels of certain types of conflicts: the clash of different cultures, values and ways of life. Conflict between West and East, globalised societies against traditional ones, and human rights in the West and in the East. Even Samuel Huntington used the term war of civilizations. It is nothing but a culture war in which the driving force is not nation states and ideologies but civilisations.
Because the anthropologist studies social structures, their knowledge is open to abuse in times of peace and war. We can see this in Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, Gaza and Iran. Anthropology is about symbolism, the ideology of human nature, values and answers to questions like: What is man, what is his natural identity, gender and role in society? Debates on race, colonialism and human rights are also found in the context. Examples of abuse include the US Human Terrain System, or USAID and some EU programmes. They show that anthropology serves as an effective weapon, just like language.
Language aspect
The function and importance of language and its archetype, which is inextricably linked to the archetype of psychology and creativity, have been removed from the curriculum. The shift from the dissemination of truth to the dissemination of lies and bullshit has resulted in a stupidity that threatens society. There is no knowledge of the functions of language today that we have known since the Prague Linguistic Circle.
One of the key challenges is English. Why? Few young people, professionals and analysts see English as an imperialist tool. This is a topic for a separate seminar.
Artificial Intelligence
Almost all technological inventions are in the hands of a few entrepreneurs. They pursue their own agenda and interests, which may not be beneficial to everyone and society in general. Therefore, it is not always possible to talk about sustainable progress. The digital divide and the shortcomings in the protection of digital rights prove this thesis.
I generally call artificial intelligence a multidimensional approximation and the greatest thief in the history of mankind. Why? It exploits and processes all of human heritage for the material benefit of a few and supposedly enables the benefit of all, but at a very high price: complete control over thought, creative output, and very importantly: the freedom to make mistakes.
Never before have private companies had such deep insight into people's minds - and such direct influence over them - as AI providers. They do not fulfill the great responsibility of ownership. That's why it's high time to change course.
The systemic crisis of the Western concept of human rights
As a consequence of what is happening in the world, and as I said, we can observe a systemic crisis of the Western concept of human rights and resources in terms of the limitation of freedom of expression, electoral procedures at the state, national and personal level, and the politicized legal level of the ECHR proceedings. The same applies to the election and appointment of elites, academics and professionals to participate in public education, governance and transnational corporate activities. The West continues to promote the narrative that its values are universal and that other civilisations are either backward or even dangerous and extremist, while distorting the Confucian tradition as a symbol of authoritarianism.
Confucius, Islam and Kant
In the light of the recent international conference on the dialogue of civilizations held in Malaysia on 15 April, a fundamental question arises again: How much longer will the West continue to create and perpetuate negative stereotypes about non-Western civilizations? The Western tradition of stigmatizing and scandalizing Confucianism and Islam forms the basis for a long-standing media and political agenda that has created a deep trap of civilizational clash that prevents any sincere cooperation and dialogue between different cultures.
Reflections on civilizations, morality and ethics would be incomplete if we ignored Immanuel Kant. The idea of autonomy of the will is one of the most important things Kant put forward. There is no point in saying that we can have knowledge of reality because it is independent of our minds.
Technology and geopolitics
First: If technological progress is to lead to widely shared prosperity, it must first be directed there, rather than waiting decades for the expected positive outcome. We can't just let the market (which doesn't really exist) decide, or rely on the genius of a few individuals and hope that it can work out with a smile of fortune on our faces.
Second: A change of hegemon is the most sensitive period in international relations, when a major war is most likely. Therefore, politics needs analysis based on relevant facts that are not only true but also significant. Relevant means important, selected according to certain criteria. The criteria require knowledge, specific talent and creativity.
The current weakness of our society is not only in our knowledge of facts and mathematics, but also in our philosophy. It should help to analyse the facts, not blindly, uncritically copy the prescriptions of liberal democracy.
What next
As traditional Western narratives are in many ways exhausted and unable to find solutions, we must look beyond Western schemes and models for inspiration. Any new model should take into account that, in an era of a long anthropological war with migration, economics and all the even harder to imagine social problems, artificial intelligence and automated decision-making carry the risk of discrimination and politicized (in)justice.
Therefore, promoting Western and Eastern HR concepts in the digital era requires regulation and oversight with high moral and ethical quality standards, corporate responsibility, digital literacy and access. The problem of privacy and data protection by governments and corporations appears to be almost intractable. Therefore, as data breaches and trends suggest, the right to privacy (Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and freedom of expression and access to information (Article 19) can be expected to remain more theoretical than real.
Dialogue of Civilisations
This dialogue is in fact a monologue that does not take into account the possibility of mutual enrichment. A typical example is the Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1552-1610). He succeeded in approaching the Chinese environment, but his aim was always to convert the Chinese to Christianity. He used Confucianism only as a means. Although there were exceptions, such as Richard Wilhelm (1873-1930), these were rather exceptions that proved the rule.
We should therefore understand and accept that no one civilisation or concept of human rights can dominate over the others and that favouring one's own opinion is always a dead end. Therefore, the new model of dialogue and human rights should be based not on confrontation but on mutual respect, based on a tradition of openness and experience of the intermingling of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and folk religions.
Openness was crucial to the development of Confucian philosophy and the development of Buddhism in the Song period, but also in periods when there was genuine dialogue with the Islamic community.
It is estimated that there are 17-25 million Muslims in China, less than 2 % of the total population. The Hui Muslims are the largest ethnic group that is constantly cited by the West for the Chinese government's violations of their human rights.
In the context of this seminar, it is also useful to reflect on the visions of President Xi Jinping and to study the intellectual connection between two great figures: the Confucian thinker Sun Tzu and the Islamic scholar Ibn Khaldun. Both sought answers to the question of how to maintain social cohesion in times of chaos. Today's globalised world faces the same problems as in the past. Both thinkers pointed out that no theories or ideals can replace the daily cultivation of morality and work for social harmony.
What does this imply
1) Just as Europe has fallen victim to centralisation by the European Union, the media has also fallen under the umbrella of a few publishing concerns, fully integrated into the power structures of the ruling agenda. The reader can judge for himself how a genuine plurality of opinion should function in such an environment.
2) Manipulation can also be done in a more subtle way. Vulgar-aggressive and at the same time mindless media propaganda is beginning to hit the limit of its own destruction.
3) A time bomb is ticking in Germany and many other EU countries where the bitter reality is sold as truth to make it look better. The West does not accept that the illusion of knowing what will happen is the greatest internal enemy and danger to society.
4) There is a specific dilemma between the pursuit of peace and the pursuit of justice in the context of HR. The roots of this dilemma go back to late antiquity, which saw peace in closeness to God. After 1918, the concept of peace was linked to the concept of justice and security. Its deficit is the cause of disorientation and aggression.
5) Modern neuroscience has shown that emotions are the result of a complex interaction between different areas of the brain, the hormonal system, experience, and even the gut microbiome. There is no single emotional center in the brain. That's why we should talk about a neural network.
6) The first law of world politics warns: a change of hegemon is the most sensitive period in international relations. Therefore, politics needs analysis based on relevant, significant and important facts, selected according to certain criteria requiring knowledge, specific talent and creativity.
7) The Museum of Memories on Manhattan's Upper East Side is hosting Xu's exhibition from June 3 to July 3: The Beauty of Harmony and Unity. The exhibition reflects the museum's commitment to cultural exchange, the global presentation of contemporary Chinese art, and ultimately addresses an important question: Where is the human being, the human being, in all of this?
The exhibition offers an example of how art can serve as a space for reflection on spiritual unity across time and cultural change as the world enters the situation described by Thucydides in his History of the Peloponnesian War: I consider the truest reason, though the least talked about, to be the growth of Athenian power, which made the Lacedaemonians so afraid that they decided to go to war. Consent is not required. I thank you for your time and attention.
Jan Campbell
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