Contents
Foreword
I. The People's Rights to
Subsistence and Development
II. Civil and Political
Rights
III. Judicial Guarantee for Human Rights
IV. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
V.
The Rights and Interests of Women and Children
VI.
Equal Rights and Special Protection for Ethnic Minorities
VII. The Rights and Interests of the Disabled
VIII. International Exchanges and Cooperation in
Human Rights
Foreword
The year 2003 was an important and
unusual year for China's development. It was also a year of
great, landmark significance for progress in human rights in
the country. In 2003, the Chinese Government did a good job
in tackling the sudden outbreak of SARS and curbing its
spread, as well as in tackling frequent natural disasters.
Persisting in taking economic construction as its central
task, and striving for the coordinated development of
material, political and spiritual civilizations, it achieved
new breakthroughs in its reform, opening-up and
modernization efforts. China maintained political stability,
and achieved rapid economic growth and overall social
progress. Moreover, further improvements were witnessed in
the people's living standards and new progress was made in
human rights cause.
The Chinese Government
gives top priority to the people's life and health and basic
human rights. Adopting the attitude of holding itself
accountable to the people, acting in their interests and
accepting their supervision, the Chinese Government has
formulated the principles of government, that is,
"governing the country for the people," and
"using the power for the people, sharing the feelings
of the people and working for the interests of the
people." It has put forward the scientific view of
development characterized by putting people first and
promoting the progress of society and overall development of
the people. It has established the concept of governing the
country by guaranteeing the implementation of the
Constitution, establishing a government under the rule of
law and creating political civilization. In practice, it has
adopted a series of distinctively epochal measures for
respecting and safeguarding human rights. It has made great
efforts to acquaint itself with the feelings of the people,
to reflect such feelings, to reduce the people's burdens and
practice democracy. These efforts have markedly improved
China's human rights conditions and won universal
acknowledgment from the international community.
In 2003 the Central Committee of the Communist
Party of China (CPC) proposed amendments to the current
Constitution by adding the provision that "the state
respects and safeguards human rights," among others.
Not long ago, the Second Session of the Tenth National
People's Congress (NPC) examined and adopted the amendments
to the Constitution. The added contents include stipulations
on promoting the coordinated development of material,
political and spiritual civilizations, establishing and
improving the social security system, and respecting and
safeguarding human rights. The amendments also include
improvements to the land requisition system and the system
for the protection of citizens' lawful private property,
fully demonstrating that revisions to the Constitution are
made to benefit the people and guarantee human rights. Of
particular importance is the formal addition, for the first
time ever, of "the state respects and safeguards human
rights" to the fundamental law of the state, indicating
that respecting and safeguarding human rights has been
upgraded from the level of Party and government policy and
stand to the level of a constitutional principle, from an
idea and value of the Party and government regarding its
governance and administration to an idea and value inherent
in state construction, thus further confirming the prominent
status of human rights protection in China's legal system
and state development strategy and opening wider prospects
for the overall development of China's human rights cause.
Despite the fact that China has made great
efforts to promote and safeguard human rights, there is
still much room for improvement of the human rights
conditions, as China is a developing country with a big
population and natural, historical, development-level and
other limitations. The Chinese Government attaches great
importance to existing problems, and will continue to take
active and effective measures to steadily improve China's
human rights conditions and earnestly raise the level of
human rights enjoyed by the Chinese people.
To
help the international community toward a better
understanding of the human rights situation in China, we
hereby give an overview of the developments in the field of
human rights in China in 2003.
I. The People's
Rights to Subsistence and Development
In 2003 China's economy observed a
rapid and healthy growth, and the people's rights to
subsistence and development were further improved. Over the
past year the country's gross domestic product (GDP) reached
11,669.4 billion yuan, an increase of 9.1 percent over the
previous year. Calculated at the current rate of exchange,
the GDP per capita surpassed 1,000 US dollars for the first
time, a major step up.
The general living
standard of the people continued to rise. In2003 the
per-capita disposable income of urban residents was 8,472
yuan, an increase, in real terms, of nine percent over the
previous year after deduction for inflation. The net
per-capita income for rural residents was 2,622 yuan, an
increase of 4.3 percent in real terms.
The
consumption pattern of the society showed that it was
gradually changing from one of basic living to one of modern
living. In 2003 China's retail sales of consumer goods
totaled 4,584.2 billion yuan-worth, an increase of 9.1
percent over the previous year. The proportion of urban and
rural residents' expenditure on clothing, food and other
daily necessities kept declining, while the proportion of
their expenditure on high-grade daily-use articles, cars,
housing, medical care and entertainment was increasing. In
2003 the Engel coefficient (i.e. the proportion of food
expenditure in the total consumption spending) per urban and
rural household decreased by 0.6 percentage point from the
previous year. In urban areas, the figure dropped to 37.1
percent from 57.5 percent in 1978, and in rural areas it
dropped to 45.6 percent from 67.7 percent in 1978. In 2003
China produced 2.02 million cars, an increase of 85 percent
over the previous year. By the end of 2003 private cars
owned by individuals had reached 4.89million, an increase of
1.46 million cars over the previous year. In 2003 an
additional 49.08 million households had telephones installed
in their residences, bringing the total number of households
with telephones to 263.3 million at the year's end. Also in
2003, new mobile phone users increased by 62.69 million,
bringing the total number to 268.69 million at the year's
end. The number of fixed and mobile phone users combined
reached 532 million at the end of 2003. There are now 42
telephones for every 100 people, putting China among the top
countries in terms of the pace and scale of development. By
the end of 2003 there were 30.89 million computers
throughout the country connected to the Internet, and the
number of households logging on came to 79.5 million,
ranking China second in the world.
The housing
conditions and living environment for urban and rural
residents steadily improved over the past year. Housing
construction has increased at an annual rate of 20 percent
in the past few years. The per-capita housing area was 22.8
square meters by the end of 2002, and in rural areas it
increased to 26.5 square meters. In urban areas privately
owned housing makes up at least 72 percent. Ninety-four
percent of the newly constructed houses in urban areas were
purchased by individuals. The standards for house
decoration, decoration quality, indoor air quality and
housing environment are rising steadily.
In
the meantime, China made continuous efforts to solve the
food and clothing problem of the impoverished population.
The state input for development-oriented poverty reduction
programs in rural areas increased from 24.8 billion yuan in
2000 to 29.9 billion yuan in 2003. This input was used to
improve the production conditions for agriculture and animal
husbandry in impoverished areas, to build roads, to spread
compulsory education and eliminate illiteracy, to train
farmers in practical technology, to prevent and cure endemic
diseases, to construct farm fields, to build water
conservancy projects and to provide drinking water for both
people and animals. The per-capita income of farmers in the
major poor counties that the government aims to help
increased from 1,277 yuan at the end of 2001 to 1,305 yuan
in 2003, and the size of the impoverished population without
adequate food and clothing in rural China decreased from 250
million at the beginning of China's reform and opening-up
program in 1978 to 29 million in 2003.
China
attaches great importance to protecting the health and
safety of its citizens. In 2003, faced with the sudden
outbreak of the SARS epidemic, the Chinese Government made
the people's health and safety its top priority. It adopted
a series of resolute and effective measures, including the
promulgation of the "Emergency Regulations on Public
Health Contingencies" and "Measures for the
Prevention and Treatment of the Infectious Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome," timely release of information on
SARS cases, and improvement of the SARS case reporting
system and measures for prevention and control of the
epidemic. State leaders went to SARS-affected regions many
times to investigate the epidemic conditions and console
SARS patients as well as doctors and nurses, and mobilized
the whole nation to join in the fight against SARS. The
central and local governments earmarked more than 10 billion
yuan to purchase medical equipment, medication and
protective gear, and to reconstruct hospitals. SARS
patients, both farmers and towns people who had financial
difficulties, were treated free of charge, making sure that
all SARS patients were given hospital treatment. These
measures effectively reduced the death rate of confirmed
SARS patients on the Chinese mainland to 6.5 per-cent, lower
than the world's average of nine percent.
In
tackling the outbreak of the highly infectious bird flu
(avian flu) early this year, the Chinese Government adopted
many effective measures, such as the killing and compulsory
vaccination of fowls. As a result, the disease was confined
to the infected areas before it could spread to other areas
and infect human beings. By March 16, 2004, the 49 cases of
highly infectious bird flu incidents across China had been
eliminated, and people's life and health had been
effectively protected. Meanwhile, the state adopted policies
to give reasonable compensation to poultry farmers who had
suffered financially during the epidemic. It also provided
support to the poultry industry and poultry enterprises with
respect to loans, bank interest discount and taxation,
effectively protecting the interests of the farmers.
China has strengthened the prevention and
treatment of AIDS. It has established the State Council
coordination meeting system for the prevention and treatment
of AIDS and venereal diseases. It has also worked out
"China's Medium- and Long-Term Plan for the Prevention
and Control of AIDS (1998-2010)" and "China's
Action Plan for the Control, Prevention and Treatment of
AIDS (2001-2005)." In the four years starting 2003, the
Chinese Government will invest 1.75 billion yuan on the
prevention and treatment of AIDS. The state provides free
anti-AIDS medicine to patients among farmers and to other
patients in straitened circumstances. In AIDS-prevalent
areas people can receive anonymous examinations free of
charge, and pregnant women with the AIDS virus can receive
free medical screening to prevent them from spreading the
virus to the baby. Orphans of AIDS patients are exempted
from paying any fees required to attend school. Financial
support is given to needy AIDS patients. On World AIDS Day,
i.e., December 1, 2003, China's Ministry of Health and a UN
AIDS team jointly issued the "Joint Evaluation Report
on AIDS in China," describing the spread of AIDS and
efforts for its control in China. On the same day, Premier
Wen Jiabao visited AIDS patients in hospitals, shook hands
with them and talked to them. This was designed to guide the
public to correctly understand and control AIDS, and
eliminate prejudice against AIDS patients.
At
the same time, the state worked out and implemented the
"Plan for the Establishment of a National Public Health
Monitoring and Information System" and the "Plan
for the Establishment of a Medical Treatment System in Case
of Public Health Contingencies." These plans helped
establish a sound early warning and emergency mechanism
concerning public health contingencies, a disease prevention
and control system and a health care law enforcement
supervision system, thus further improving the basic health
care conditions for urban and rural residents. According to
statistics, by the end of 2003 China had 305,000 health care
institutions, 2.902 million hospital and clinic beds, 4.24
million medical professionals, and 3,600 disease prevention
and control centers (anti-epidemic stations) with 159,000
medical personnel. Moreover, there were 755 health care
supervision and examination institutions with 15,000 medical
personnel, and 45,000 township clinics with 668,000 beds and
a 907,000-strong professional staff.
As health
care conditions improved, people's health has also improved
greatly. The average life expectancy of the Chinese people
has increased from 35 years before the birth of New China in
1949 to the present 71.4 years. The maternal mortality rate
dropped from 1,500 out of 100,000 in the early 1950s to 43.2
out of 100,000 in 2002, and the infant mortality rate from
200 before the birth of New China to 28.4. At the same time,
the incidence and death rates of infectious, local and
parasitic diseases have dropped drastically.
II. Civil and Political Rights
China sets great store by the
development of democracy and the building of political
civilization. It has endeavored to widen the scope of
citizens' orderly political participation, and to safeguard
their civil and political rights in accordance with the law.
The Chinese Constitution stipulates, "All
power in the People's Republic of China belongs to the
people." The NPC and the local people's congresses at
various levels are the organs through which the people
exercise state power. The NPC is the highest organ of state
power, deciding on the major policies and exercising the
legislative power of the state. From early 1979 till now,
the NPC and its Standing Committee have passed 451 laws,
interpretations of laws, and decisions concerning legal
issues; the State Council has enacted 966 administrative
statutes; the local people's congresses and their standing
committees have drawn up some 8,000 local statutes; and the
ethnic autonomous areas have enacted over 480 regulations on
the exercise of autonomy and other separate regulations.
Now, a comparatively complete legal system centered on the
Constitution has initially been formed, so that there are
basically laws to go by for every aspect of social life.
Following the principles of putting people
above all else and legislation for the people, the NPC and
its Standing Committee have strengthened their legislative
work and improved the quality of legislation in the past
year or more. The Second Session of the Tenth NPC, held not
long ago, examined and approved amendments to the
Constitution, which made partial revisions to the current
Constitution and included in it "the state respects and
safeguards human rights" and other provisions closely
related to the people's vital interests. In 2003, the NPC
Standing Committee examined and adopted 10 laws and
decisions concerning laws, including the "Law on
Residents' ID Cards," "Law on Road Traffic
Safety," "Law on Administrative Approval" and
"Law on the Prevention and Control of Radioactive
Pollution." All these display the basic spirit of
serving the people, facilitating the people and benefiting
the people, as well as respecting and safe-guarding their
human rights.
In the past year, the NPC and its
Standing Committee have strengthened its inspection of law
enforcement and supervision over the administrative,
judicial and procuratorial organs. The NPC and its Standing
Committee have heeded, examined and deliberated the work
report of the State Council; the work reports of the Supreme
People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate; the
work reports of the State Council on the control of SARS, on
the guarantee of senior citizens' rights and interests, on
employment and re-employment, and on the project to divert
water from the south to the north. The NPC and its Standing
Committee have also made a thorough examination to clear up
the government-invested projects that owed construction fees
and payment to migrant workers, and examined the enforcement
of five laws, including the "Law on Rural Land
Contracts," "Construction Law" and "Law
on the Protection of Minors." All this has effectively
prompted the state organs concerned to administrate
according to law and to exercise fair jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, the NPC Standing Committee has paid great
attention to petitions from ordinary people, receiving some
31,000 visits and handling more than 57,000 letters from
them. As a result, many practical problems of concern to
citizens have been solved under its supervision, helping
safeguard the legal rights and interests of the people.
The system of multi-party cooperation and
political consultation under the leadership of the CPC has
further played its role in China's political life. The
National Committee of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference (CPPCC) has performed its functions
of participating in the discussion and administration of
state affairs, exercised democratic rights and carried out
democratic supervision through its regular work of making
proposals, inspections, and reflecting public opinion. In
the past year, the various special committees of the CPPCC
National Committee made in-depth investigations into
specific issues, such as rural poverty-relief work in the
new stage, the defining of government functions in
employment, and the increase in farmers' income in areas
inhabited by ethnic minorities, resulting in 37
investigative reports and 114 proposals in specialized
fields. They have organized 23 inspection groups composed of
over 500 CPPCC National Committee members and members of its
Standing Committee for inspection tours across the country,
culminating in the submission of 22 reports on their
inspections. The central committees of all the democratic
parties and the All-China Federation of Industry and
Commerce submitted 84 proposals and passed on to concerned
quarters 1,674 pieces of public opinion and information
through the CPPCC channel.
Along with the
full-scale democratic construction at the rural grass-roots
level, the democratic rights of the masses there have been
respected. At present, 28 provinces, autonomous regions and
centrally administered municipalities have worked out or
revised the measures for implementing the "Organic Law
of Villagers' Committees" and 31 of them have
formulated the procedures for the election of villagers'
committees. The election of villagers' committees of the
fifth or sixth terms have been completed in most of the
provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities throughout
the country, with the average rate of participation in the
elections being above 80 percent, and the rate even
exceeding 90 percent in Guangdong, Hainan, Sichuan, and
Hunan provinces. Making village affairs known to the
villagers, referred to as the "Sunlight Project"
by the people, has been practiced across the country. So
far, over 90 percent of villages have set up bulletin boards
for such purposes, giving timely reports to villagers of
village, financial and administrative affairs concerning
their interests.
The legal protection of
citizens' lawful private property has been further improved.
The revised Constitution states clearly that citizens'
lawful private property is inviolable; that the state
protects citizens' rights to private property and to its
inheritance in accordance with the law; and that the state
may, in the public interest, and in accordance with the law,
expropriate or requisition citizens' private property for
its use and shall make compensation for the private property
expropriated or requisitioned.
Citizens'
freedom of information, of speech and of the press, as
prescribed by law, has been further protected. In 2003, the
press spokesperson system was successively set up by
people's governments at all levels, and the related
information publicizing system was improved, thus greatly
helping make the government's administrative affairs better
known and enabling citizens to enjoy more rights to
information, supervision and participation in public
affairs. At present, the "Measures for Protecting the
Copyright of the Information Net-work" is in the
process of investigation prior to being put into law. The
newly revised and promulgated "Publications
Administration Regulations" and "Regulations
Governing the Administration of Audio-Visual Products
"have made further stipulations on citizens' freedom of
speech and of the press. The "Publications
Administration Regulations" prescribe that
"citizens may, in accordance with these Regulations,
freely express in publications their opinions and
expectations of state affairs, economic and cultural
undertakings and social affairs, and freely publish the
results of their scientific research, literary or artistic
creations and other cultural pursuits." The state
energetically promotes undertakings of the press, providing
favorable conditions for citizens to enjoy freedom of speech
and of the press. By the end of 2003, China had 282 radio
stations, 744 medium- and short-wave radio transmitting and
relay stations, 320 TV stations and 62 education TV
stations, and published national and provincial newspapers
with a print run of 24.36 billion, periodicals with a print
run of 2.99 billion, and books with a print run of 6.75
billion.
Employees' rights to participate in
and organize trade unions are protected. By the end of
September 2003, the total number of grass-roots trade union
organizations had increased 79.1 percent as compared with
the figure five years ago, and the number of trade union
members nationwide had risen 38.8 percent over that five
years ago. There were 808,000 non-public enterprises with
trade union organizations, boasting a membership of 29.601
million, which accounted for 32.7 percent of the total
staff. Among all enterprises and institutions, 351,000 had
established the employees' conference system, 263,000 had
their employees' conferences carry out the evaluation of the
performance of the enterprise or institution leaders, and
291,000 practiced the publicizing of enterprise or
institution affairs. Of the 56,000 enterprises and
institutions that had grass-roots trade union organizations
and the boards of directors, 29,000 had trade union chairmen
on the boards of directors. Of the 44,000 enterprises and
institutions that had grass-roots trade union organizations
and supervisory committees, 25,000 had trade union chairmen
on the supervisory committees. Some 118,000 non-public
enterprises in China practiced the publicizing of enterprise
affairs.
Citizens enjoy the freedom of
religious belief in accordance with the law and normal
religious activities are protected. According to incomplete
statistics, there are more than 100,000 venues for religious
activities in China, with a clergy of about 300,000, and
over 3,000 national and local religious organizations, and
74 religious colleges and schools. Each religion publishes
its own scriptures or classics, books and magazines, among
which the print run of the Bible alone has reached 30
million. Chinese religious organizations have established
relations with religious organizations and personnel in more
than 70 countries and regions.
III. Judicial Guarantee for Human
Rights
In
2003, China further beefed up its judicial reform, claiming
significant progress in judicial guarantee for human rights.
China has cracked down on various criminal
offenses in accordance with the law to protect citizens'
life and the safety of their property. In 2003, the Chinese
public security organs vigorously combated gang-related
crimes, homicide, robbery, rape and kidnapping, and other
serious violent crimes and criminal offenses, investigating
and cracking 2.341 million criminal cases. The people's
courts concluded the investigations of 634,953 criminal
cases of first instance, of which 57,505 were criminal cases
involving the jeopardizing of public security, 184,018 were
cases of infringement on citizens' rights of the person or
their democratic rights, and 278,969 were cases of property
infringements, effectively protecting the victims'
legitimate rights and interests.
The Chinese
Government has carried out a major reform in its social
assistance program, replacing the "Measures for the
Sheltering and Send-off of Urban Vagrants and Beggars"
with the more humane and law-based "Measures for
Assisting and Managing Urban Vagrants and Beggars with No
Means of Livelihood." Public security organs have
practiced strict enforcement of the law and emphasized law
enforcement in the interests of the people. They have
promulgated the "Provisions on Procedures of Handling
Administrative Cases by Public Security Organs";
tightened law-enforcement procedures; strengthened internal
supervision over law enforcement; firmly dealt with
violations of human rights involving the extortion of
confessions by torture, the abuse of guns and police
instruments and other coercive measures; actively conducted
on-site supervision and special supervision; and seriously
dealt with law and discipline violations, so as to ensure
that law enforcement by public security organs is strict,
just and humane, and to protect and guarantee human rights.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Security has made great
efforts to improve administrative management and publicized
30 measures for facilitating and benefiting the people,
involving household register, traffic, entry and exit, and
fire control that are closely related to the people's vital
interests - to the acclaim of the people nationwide.
Preventing and correcting cases of extended
detention to protect the legitimate rights and interests of
the suspects and the accused. In 2003, the Supreme People's
Court, Supreme People's Procuratorate and Ministry of Public
Security jointly issued the "Notice on the Strict
Enforcement of the Criminal Procedure Law, and on the
Conscientious Prevention and Correction of Extended
Detention," which provided for a strict system for
investigating and dealing with extended detention. The
Supreme People's Procuratorate set up special telephones and
e-mail addresses for handling reports on extended detention
by procuratorial organs, so as to strengthen public
supervision and to gradually put in place a mechanism for
preventing and correcting extended detention. In 2003, cases
of extended detention involving 25,736 people were
corrected, basically rectifying such deviations. This was a
clear-up of extended detention, the most extensive in scope,
the biggest in scale and the largest in number of people
involved in the nation's judicial experience. Thereby, the
judicial guarantee for human rights was greatly
strengthened.
The people's courts have
improved their work of judicial interpretation and the
administration of justice concerning administrative and
state compensation. In 2003, the Supreme People's Court
formulated 20 documents of judicial interpretation related
to criminal law, civil law, administration and law
enforcement. Among them, the "Interpretations of Some
Questions Related to the Concrete Application of the Law in
Handling Criminal Cases That Impair the Prevention and
Control of the Sudden Onset of Infectious Diseases and Other
Disasters," and the "Interpretations of Certain
Questions Related to the Application of the Marriage Law of
the People's Republic of China, Part Two" provided a
guarantee to the legitimate rights and interests of citizens
in a more practical way. In 2003, the people's courts
concluded the investigations of 88,050 administrative
lawsuits of first instance, in 10,337, or 11.74 percent, of
which improper administrative actions were annulled. The
people's courts also handled 3,124 state compensation cases,
where a compensation sum totaling 89.74 million yuan was
ordered. All this has served to protect the legitimate
rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other
organizations that had fallen victim to illegal exercise of
power by government functionaries.
Procuratorial organs have exercised their
power of legal supervision, and strengthened legal
supervision over infringements at various links of lawsuits.
In 2003, among the cases prosecuted by procuratorial organs,
259 were cases of illegal detention, 29 of illegal search,
52 of extorting confessions by torture, and 32 of abusing
prisoners or detainees Procuratorial organs appealed against
court judgments of 2,906 criminal cases that they deemed
incorrectly tried, and offered 1,184 written proposals for
correction regarding infringements by the courts in handling
criminal cases. By the end of June 2003, procuratorial
organs at all levels had set up 3,329 procuratorial offices
at prisons, detention houses and reeducation-through-labor
centers, established 75 procuratorates at large prisons, and
provided procuratorial services through representative
offices at 92 percent of the nation's prisons, detention
houses and reeducation-through-labor centers. In 2003, the
Supreme People's Procuratorate carried out a special
clear-up of complaints by prisoners at procuratorates at all
levels, continuously strengthened its efforts in handling
cases of criminal compensation, and went all out to remove
obstacles to access by people with complaints, thus
protecting the people's legitimate rights and interests in a
practical way.
Legal aid has been implemented
effectively, ensuring citizens' right to receive legal aid.
The "Regulations on Legal Aid," formulated and
promulgated in 2003, are the first administrative statute to
be ever issued in China. They established a basic framework
for China's legal aid system, and defined the scope of
citizens' right to legal aid. By the end of 2003, there were
2,774 legal aid agencies in China, or 356 more than in the
previous year, with 9,457 workers, or 1,172 more than in the
previous year, providing legal aid services in 166,433
cases, or 36,658 more than in the previous year. The
people's courts further strengthened their legal aid work.
In the same year, they reduced lawsuit fees in 4,860 cases,
exempted lawsuit fees for 16,926 cases, and allowed delayed
payment of lawsuit fees in 206,496 cases, where the
litigants had real financial difficulties. The total amount
of reduced and exempted lawsuit fees was 141 million yuan,
and that of delayed payment of lawsuit fees was 916 million
yuan. In this way, the people's courts ensured that people
whose legitimate rights and interests had been infringed
upon but had financial difficulties could afford to press
lawsuits.
The legitimate rights and interests
of criminals are also protected. In 2003, the Ministry of
Justice, based on the "Law on Prisons," formulated
and implemented the "Regulations on Reform Through
Reeducation in Prisons," "Regulations on the
Procedures for Appli-cations by Prisons for Commutation and
Parole," and "Regulations on Visits to and
Correspondence of Foreign Prisoners, "which further
defined the legitimate rights of prisoners in custody.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice is actively seeking to
reform the ways of imposing punishment in prisons and the
ways of prison management, practicing open prison management
in an all-round way, promoting the institution of law-based
prison work, and making efforts to build a new type of
prison system that is just, incorruptible, free of abuses
and highly efficient, to guarantee prisoners' legitimate
rights and interests in accordance with the law.
IV. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
In 2003, adhering to the
principle of putting people first, the Chinese Government
made new efforts to promote the all-round development of the
urban and rural areas, regions, economy and society, and to
enhance the people's economic, social and cultural rights.
These efforts were crowned with marked success.
Emphasizing employment as the basis of
people's livelihood, the Chinese Government has made
positive efforts to establish a responsibility system for
employment and re-employment, formulating mutually
supporting policies, creating job opportunities, increasing
fund input, and improving employment services, so as to
provide a fairly adequate guarantee for people's right to
work. In 2003, the Central Government appropriated an
additional special subsidy of 4.7 billion yuan to support
employment and re-employment, which greatly increased
employment. At the end of 2003, there were 744.32 million
people in employment in China, 6.92 million more than the
number at the end of 2002. They included 256.39 million
urban people, an increase of 8.59 million from the previous
year. In 2003, 4.4 million people laid off from state-owned
enterprises were re-employed. At the end of 2003, the
nationwide registered urban unemployment rate was 4.3
percent.
To guarantee the legitimate rights
and interests of people sustaining work-related injuries, in
2003 the Chinese Government strengthened its efforts and
increased financial input for legislation and law
enforcement in the field of labor security. Regulations were
formulated and promulgated, such as the "Regulations on
Insurance for Work-related Injuries," and supplementary
regulations such as the "Procedures for Confirming
Work-related Injuries," "Measures for Casualty
Compensation Paid in One Lump Sum by Illegal
Employers," and "Regulations on Identification of
Dependents of Employees Who Incurred Work-related
Death." Coverage of insurance for work-related injuries
has been extended to include enterprises of all types
throughout China, as well as private businesses with hired
workers. It is clearly stipulated that all employers in
urban and rural areas alike shall sign for the insurance
scheme on work-related injuries to guarantee that employees
receive timely medicare and compensation when they are
injured in accidents on the job or when they contract
occupational diseases, thus promoting the prevention of
work-related injuries and vocational rehabilitation.
Social security has been improved. The newly
amended Constitution stipulates clearly, "The state
establishes and improves a social security system compatible
with the level of economic development." In 2003, the
Central Government spent 70 billion yuan, 19.9 percent more
than the previous year, to ensure that the basic living
allowances for laid-off employees from state-owned
enterprises and pensions for retired employees from
enterprises were paid on time and in full, and to guarantee
the issuance of basic living allowances to laid-offs from
state-owned enterprises, the access to unemployment
insurance, and the implementation of the scheme of a minimum
standard of living for urban residents. Of the 70 billion
yuan, 9.2 billion yuan were used for subsidizing urban
residents for a minimum standard of living, as compared to
4.6 billion yuan spent in the previous year. According to
statistics, in 2003 154.9 million people nationwide enjoyed
basic old-age insurance, 7.54 million more than in the
previous year; basic pensions issued totaled 313.1 billion
yuan, which basically ensured that retirees from enterprises
received their pensions on time and in full. There were
29.33 million retirees from enterprises covered by
socialized management and services, accounting for 84.5
percent of the total, and an increase of 41 percentage
points over the previous year. Nearly 60million people have
been covered by the rural old-age insurance scheme, and
close to 1.4 million farmers were paid pensions. At the end
of 2003, there were 108.95 million people around China
covered by medical insurance, an increase of 14.95 million
as compared with the figure at the end of 2002; 103.73
million people covered by unemployment insurance, an
increase of 1.91 million; 45.73 million people covered by
work-related injury insurance, an increase of 1.67 million;
and 36.48 million people covered by child-bearing insurance,
an increase of 1.6 million. There were 4.15 million people
enjoying unemployment insurance benefits, 250,000 fewer than
in the previous year; 1.95 million laid-off employees from
state-owned enterprises registered at the re-employment
service centers, 1.44 million fewer than in the previous
year, all of them having received their basic living
allowances on time and in full and had their social
insurance fees paid. In total, 22.35 million urban residents
throughout China received minimum standard of living
allowances from the government, an increase of 1.7 million
over the previous year.
The state attaches
great importance to the protection of the legitimate rights
and interests of migrant workers from rural areas. In 2003,
the State Council issued the "Notice on Properly
Carrying Out the Work of Management and Services for Rural
Migrant Workers in Urban Areas," which clearly provides
for handling the issues concerning rural migrant workers in
urban areas, delayed wage payment to those workers,
schooling of their children, improvement of their working
and living conditions, and job training for them. The
government launched a special campaign to protect rural
migrant workers' rights and interests around the country.
This campaign, aimed at protecting the labor rights and
interests of rural migrant workers, included distributing
free "Manual of Protection of Laborers' Rights";
setting up hotlines for their complaints; solving the
problems of delayed wage payment, poor working environment
and faulty social security; and guaranteeing wage payment on
time and in full. The fact that the Premier of the State
Council personally ordered the payment of rural migrant
workers' arrears of wage vividly reflects the government's
great concern about the problem of failure to pay rural
migrant workers' wages and the protection of their rights
and interests. According to statistics, from November 2003
to February 2004, a total of over 24 billion yuan of overdue
wages was paid to rural migrant workers.
The
state protects farmers' legitimate rights and interests in
accordance with the law. In 2003, the state promulgated the
newly amended "Law of the People's Republic of China on
Agriculture," thus strengthening efforts in
guaranteeing farmers' rights and interests. The chapter
"Protection of Farmers' Rights and Interests" in
the "Law on Agriculture" stipulates clearly that
farmers' right to contractual operation of land shall not be
infringed upon, and that such activities as qualification,
upgrading and checking, equal sharing out of tax payment,
imposing illegal education charges on farmers, and holding
back or diverting compensation fees for requisitioned land
are forbidden. At the same time, it standardizes the
procedures for raising funds and recruiting rural labor, and
provides corresponding administrative or judicial aid
measures to be taken when farmers' rights and interests are
infringed upon. The "Law on Rural Land Contracts,"
effective as of last year, furnishes farmers with a
long-term, guaranteed land-use right, and clearly describes
their legal rights to the use of contracted land, to
proceeds from the land, to the transfer of the contracted
operation right, to independent organization of production
and disposal of products, to inheritance of the proceeds
from contracted operation, and to proper compensation when
the contracted land is requisitioned in accordance with the
law. Special provisions have been made to protect female
farmers' right to contract land. At present, China is
drafting a "Law of the People's Republic of China on
the Protection of Farmers' Rights and Interests," which
will go a step further toward providing all-round legal
protection to farmers' rights and interests.
In 2003, the central and local governments
made a series of decisions aimed at encouraging farmers to
increase their incomes and become prosperous. The state
adopted various measures, including sci-tech training for
farmers, establishment of a sci-tech service system in rural
areas, and aid to the impoverished through sci-tech
development. Great amounts of manpower and funds were put
into the work to help farmers shake off poverty and attain
prosperity. To reduce farmers' burdens, the government has
carried out a reform of rural taxation. Taxes on
agricultural specialties other than tobacco will gradually
be canceled. From 2004, the rate of agricultural tax will be
reduced yearly by more than one percentage point until it is
canceled five years later. In the meantime, the government
will take further steps to increase input in public welfare
undertakings in rural areas, solving the difficulties in
rural children's access to primary and secondary school
education and in farmers' medicare; to speed up the reform
of the rural economic system, increase input in agricultural
infrastructure, improve rural production and living
conditions and promote the development of the agricultural
economy; to comprehensively solve the issues of farmers'
old-age pension and insurance according to the minimum
standard of living scheme for city residents; to reform the
household registration system in rural areas and protect
farmers' right to migration and choice of work.
On February 8, 2004 the Central Committee of
the CPC and the State Council promulgated the
"Proposals on Several Policies to Increase Farmers'
Incomes," which clearly provides for readjustment of
the agricultural structure, expansion of farmers'
employment, promotion of sci-tech progress, deepening of
rural reform, increase of agricultural input, and
strengthening of support and protection for agriculture
according to the demands of comprehensive economic and
social development in urban and rural areas, and in pursuit
of the principle of "giving more, taking less, and
being flexible." These measures, aimed at increasing
farmers' incomes at a higher speed, and reversing the trend
of widening the gap between urban and rural residents'
incomes as soon as possible, fully embody the Chinese
Government's determination to protect farmers' rights and
interests. They are bound to bring blessing to the country's
900 million farmers.
The state puts great
efforts into the development of education, to ensure
citizens' right to receive education. From 1997 to
2002,appropriations for education nationwide increased by 59
billion yuan annually on average, at a yearly rate of
increase as high as 16.7 percent. In 2002, the total input
in education nationwide was 548 billion yuan, and the
proportion of the government's financial appropriation for
education in the GDP increased from 3.19 percent in 2001 to
3.41 percent, representing the highest increase since 1989.
According to statistics, 2,478 counties (cities and
districts) in China have basically introduced nine-year
compulsory education and eliminated illiteracy among young
and middle-aged people, of which number 51 were added in
2003. Meanwhile, the national illiteracy rate among young
and middle-aged people shrank to below five percent. In
2003, the UIS of UNESCO published the latest statistics on
the elimination of illiteracy worldwide in the past decade,
which shows that among the 40 countries surveyed, China had
made the greatest achievements in this field. In 2003,
ordinary institutions of higher learning around China
admitted 3.822 million students and 269,000 graduate
students, 617,000 and 66,000 more than in the previous year,
respectively.
The state is speeding up
cultural restructuring to promote cultural development. In
2003, the "Regulations on Public Cultural and Sporting
Facilities" officially went into effect. A number of
key basic cultural projects were completed, and some public
cultural facilities were built, rebuilt or expanded,
including libraries, museums, cultural centers, cinemas,
theaters and music halls. According to statistics, from 1998
to 2002, total appropriations for cultural undertakings in
China reached 32.42 billion yuan, 2.7 times that during the
period of the Eighth Five-Year Plan (1991-1995). In 2002,
there were 972 projects of fixed assets investment in the
cultural sectors around the country, with completed
investment totaling 3.09 billion yuan. In 2003, the
appropriation from the central budget for cultural
undertakings totaled 537 million yuan, a record figure in
China. At the end of 2003, there were 2,587 art troupes,
2,892 cultural centers, 2,708 public libraries and 1,519
museums in China. In the same year, 140feature films and 61
films on science and education, documentaries and animated
cartoons were produced. These developments have met the
demands of the people for cultural life.
V.
The Rights and Interests of Women and Children
The state protects the
legitimate rights and interests of women and children in
accordance with the law. Since 2000, the state has
successively enacted or revised laws and regulations,
including the "Marriage Law," "Law on
Population and Family Planning," "Law on Rural
Land Contracts," "Regulations for the
Administration of Family Planning Technology and
Services," "Implementation Procedures for the Law
on Health Care for Mothers and Infants," and
"Regulations for Premarital Health Care Work." In
2001, the Chinese Government promulgated and put into effect
the "Outline for the Development of Chinese Women
2001-2010" and "Outline for the Development of
Chinese Children 2001-2010." Currently, the "Law
on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests" is
being revised. The formulation, revision and implementation
of these laws, regulations and policies have enhanced the
protection of the rights and interests of women and children
in respect to children's survival and growth, and women's
health care, education, employment, marriage and family.
Women's right to participate in the
administration of state affairs is protected. Currently,
among the 29 ministries and ministerial-level commissions
and agencies of the State Council there are 22 female
officials of the ministerial rank. Among the deputies to the
Tenth NPC, women make up 20.24 percent of the total; among
the NPC Standing Committee members, 13.2 percent; and among
its vice-chairpersons, 18.8 percent. The Tenth NPC elected
one female vice-premier and one female state councilor.
Among the Party and government leaders at all levels in 31
provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly
under the Central Government there are more than 5,000
women.
Job opportunities for women keep
growing, and women have become increasingly independent
economically. In 2002, some 335.52 million women were
employed, or 45.5 percent of the total female population.
The net increase of employed women over the past five years
was 5.65 million. From January to September in 2003, 1.31
million laid-off women were re-employed, or 37.43 percent of
the total number of laid-off women. The number of urban
women employees makes up 38 percent of the total number of
the urban employed. The proportion of women employed in the
primary and secondary industries has been on the decline,
while in the new industries and technology and
knowledge-intensive industries, the proportion of women has
increased remarkably.
The educational gap
between men and women is narrowing, and the ratio of women
in education at all levels has been on the rise. By2002, the
enrollment rate of school-age children in primary schools
was 98.58 percent, and that of girls 98.53 percent. Female
students currently in primary schools, ordinary middle
schools, secondary vocational schools and ordinary
institutions of higher learning were 47.2 percent, 46.7
percent, 51.86 percent and 43.95 percent, respectively, of
the total student body in those schools. The rate of
illiterate young and middle-aged women had dropped to less
than 5 percent. In 2002, there were 78 female academicians
in the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy
of Engineering, representing 6.2 percent of the total number
of academicians.
Health care for women and
children has been improved. Recently, the Chinese Government
has conducted a general survey and provided medical
treatment for gynecological diseases and a systematic health
examination for women in pregnancy and confinement recently
throughout the country. In addition, measures for the
prevention and treatment of common gynecological diseases
are regularly carried out. By the end of 2002, the rate of
nationwide medical examination for pre-marriage women and
prenatal examination for pregnant women was respectively
68.03 percent and 90.14 percent, which were increases of
3.48 percent and 0.78 percent, respectively, compared with
the figures for 2000. In 2002, there were 3,067 maternity
and child care establishments in China. The rate of adoption
of modern midwifery in rural areas reached 97.2 percent that
year. Over a long time in the past, the state has instituted
a planned immunity, prevention and vaccination system,
carrying out activities to prevent and cure juvenile
pneumonia, diarrhea, rickets and iron-deficiency anemia. It
has launched a baby-friendly drive, promoted breast-feeding,
established baby-friendly hospitals, and provided health
services, including nutrition guidance, monitoring of the
growth and development of children, screening of infantile
diseases and children's early-stage education, so as to
continuously enhance the level of children's physical
development and nutrition. In 2002, the rate of serious
malnutrition in children below the age of five was
2.83percent, or 0.26 percentage point lower than the figure
for 2000. In 2002 there were altogether 178 children's
welfare homes, 52 more than in 2000, and social welfare
institutions took in 55,000 children, over 10,000 more than
in 2000. Some 51,400 handicapped children were given
rehabilitation training, over 10,000 more than in 2000.
The state has taken special measures to crack
down on abducting and selling and other criminal activities
against women and children in accordance with the law, to
protect women and children's rights from infringement. In
2003, public security organs have rescued well over 2,000
abducted women and children from the clutches of human
traffickers. In 2002, the State Council revised and
implemented the "Regulations on Prohibiting the Use of
Child Labor," and effectively curbed this abuse.
VI. Equal Rights and Special Protection for
Ethnic Minorities
In China, citizens of all ethnic
minorities enjoy all equal civil rights specified in the
Constitution and laws, as well as various special rights
granted them, in accordance with the law.
Ethnic minorities enjoy equal rights to
participate in the administration of state affairs and the
rights to independently manage the affairs of their own
regions and their own ethnic communities. Among the deputies
to the Tenth NPC, there are 415 of ethnic-minority origin,
representing 13.91 percent of the total number of deputies.
Each of China's 55 ethnic minorities has its own
deputy(ies). By 2003, all principal leading positions of the
local autonomous governments at all levels and of all kinds
in China had been entirely assumed by citizens of the ethnic
group(s)exercising regional autonomy in the areas concerned.
A large number of people of ethnic-minority origin also
served in leading positions in working departments in organs
of self-government of ethnic autonomous areas. The training
of ethnic-minority cadres has been further promoted. In the
past three years, the number of such cadres who attended the
training sessions sponsored by the State Ethnic Affairs
Commission alone reached 4,000. Most of the 42,000
ethnic-minority cadres at the county (division) level or
above have attended training courses of one kind or another.
The economy in ethnic-minority areas has been
developing rapidly, and the local people's living standard
has improved greatly. In 2003, the gross output value in
those areas exceeded 1,100 billion yuan, an increase of 11.1
percent over the previous year, which was higher than the
nation's average. Of these regions, the gross output value
of Tibet and Ningxia exceeded 11.5 percent, while that of
Inner Mongolia reached 16.3 percent, ranking first in the
country. Since the beginning of 2004, funds for helping the
poor provided by the Central Government will be increased by
60 million yuan, to be used primarily in programs for
invigorating the border areas, enabling the poor to become
comfortably off and accelerating development in border areas
inhabited by ethnic minorities. The state has, for the first
time, listed poverty relief for ethnic minorities with
relatively small populations as a focus of the state's
development-oriented poverty reduction program. A special
help-the-poor policy is adopted for a total of 630,000
people of 22 ethnic-minority groups, the population of each
of which is smaller than 100,000. Within three to five
years, great efforts will be made to assure them of
relatively great improvement in production, living standard,
infrastructure, culture and education, medical and health
care, telecommunications and transport. The state has listed
Muslim food in the "Catalogue of Goods Specially Needed
for Ethnic Minorities," and 345 enterprises have been
designated to engage in the production of these foodstuffs
specially for China's 20 million Muslims. In 2003,400
million yuan was earmarked as development funds for ethnic
minorities, to solve special difficulties in their
production and daily life. Through preferential policies
toward ethnic-minority peoples, 600 million yuan was
channeled to ethnic minorities to develop trade and
enterprises producing special articles used by them.
The state has increased its input in education
for ethnic minorities and is striving to solve the most
difficult problems that hinder the development of their
education, with the aim of enhancing the educational level
of citizens of ethnic-minority origin. Special educational
funds allocated by the central budget and key educational
projects organized and implemented by the state are all
oriented to the ethnic-minority areas. In the application
and distribution of various special educational funds, local
governments have also adopted preferential policies toward
education for ethnic minorities. Beginning in the autumn of
2003, the central and local governments jointly earmarked
funds to provide textbooks free of charge to
poverty-stricken students at the stage of compulsory
education in 56 counties of Xinjiang, and exempted them from
all school fees. Commencing in 2004, the Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region will invest 4.858 million yuan each year
on top of an annual 8.703 million yuan for classes for
ethnic-minority students in boarding schools. Hubei Province
will,as one of its major tasks on its poverty reduction
program for ethnic minorities-inhabited areas, build 100
primary and middle boarding schools for students of the
compulsory education period in rural areas. This will solve
the problem of accommodation for 30,000 ethnic-minority
students from poor families. In higher education, the state
has adopted a preferential policy toward ethnic-minority
students. In the enrollment of institutions of higher
learning, the policy of giving priority to ethnic-minority
students is being continued. By the end of 2003, of 699
administrative areas at the county level in ethnic
autonomous areas in China, 405, or 32 more than in 2002, had
by and large realized the goal of nine-year compulsory
education and eliminated illiteracy among the young and
middle-aged.
The state has all along paid
attention to research, protection and development of
traditional ethnic-minority cultures, organized collection,
editing, translation and publishing of the cultural
heritages of all ethnic minorities in a planned way,
protected scenic spots, historical sites, valuable cultural
relics and other important historical and cultural heritages
of the ethnic-minority people, and formulated special
preferential policies in respect of cultural facilities
improvement, training of literary and artistic talents,
cultural exchanges with foreign countries and protection of
cultural relics. The state has spent a large amount of money
on the protection of cultural relics in the areas inhabited
by ethnic minorities. Some cultural relics in Qinghai
Province as well as Tibet Autonomous Region and Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region have been repaired. For five years
starting in 1989, the state allocated over 55 million yuan
for the renovation of the Potala Palace, and more than 200
million yuan has been planned for all-round maintenance of
the Potala Palace in the future. The state has strengthened
efforts for the collection, editing and rescue work of
ethnic languages and scripts, including those of the Manchu,
She, Hezhen, Jing, Gelo and Tujia. The government regularly
sponsors national ethnic-minority cultural activities and
large-scale traditional sport meets of ethnic minorities to
promote the development of their cultures and sports.
VII. The Rights and Interests of the Disabled
There are 60
million disabled people in China, accounting for about 5
percent of the total population. The Chinese Government puts
great stress on the protection of the rights of the
disabled, and is going all out to implement the
"Outline of the Tenth Five-Year Plan for the Disabled
in China (2001-2005)." By way of taking important
measures such as improving the legal system, implementing
state programs, mobilizing social forces and providing equal
opportunities, the Chinese Government endeavors to give
special help to the disabled, establish and gradually
improve the system for the protection of human rights of the
disabled, encourage them to participate in social life on an
equal footing, and share the material and cultural
achievements of society.
The state will
continuously improve its socialized rehabilitation service
system, implement the key rehabilitation projects, and help
disabled people to improve their physical functions,
self-reliance in daily life, and social adaptability. In
2003, a large number of disabled people overcame their
handicaps to varying degrees: 570,000 people suffering from
cataracts received operations to recover their sight; 31,000
people suffering from poor sight were provided with visual
aids; 18,000 deaf children received training in hearing and
speaking; 77,000 physically handicapped persons and children
suffering from cerebral palsy and mental handicaps
participated in rehabilitation training; 2.43 million people
suffering from serious mental diseases underwent
comprehensive medical treatment and rehabilitation training;
more than 3,800 persons suffering from leprosy-related
handicaps received corrigent surgical operations; and a
total of 1.22 million devices for aiding the disabled were
supplied.
The disabled persons' right to
receive education has been better protected. The Chinese
Government has included education for handicapped children
in the state compulsory education system, and implemented
such education according to overall planning. Currently, the
number of special education schools for blind, deaf and
mentally handicapped children has reached 1,655, and that of
special education classes attached to ordinary schools is
3,154, with a total student body of 577,000 in both. Some
disabled students from poor families have received financial
support. More than 10,000 handicapped children, for example,
have been given financial aid for schooling under the two
programs "Aid the Disabled for Schooling" and
"Enrolling Blind Children for Schooling in the Central
and Western Regions." In 2003, more than 3,000 disabled
students were admitted to institutions of higher learning,
and 490,000 disabled people went in for vocational education
and training.
The state protects the rights of
the disabled to labor and social security. According to
statistics, now 1.09 million disabled people are employed in
urban entities specially set up for the handicapped; 1.236
million are employed by social sectors under specified
apportioning; and still another 1.7 million work on their
own account or find employment in entities organized by
themselves of their own accord. In rural areas, 16.85
million disabled people engage in crop cultivation, fish
breeding and poultry raising or household handicraft making.
The rate of employment for the disabled has increased year
by year. In 2003, 1.23 million poverty-stricken disabled
people in rural areas no longer had the problem of having
enough to eat and wear through the help-the-poor projects.
At present, there are 2.59 million disabled people in China
who benefit from the minimum living standard program. Four
hundred and forty thousand disabled people live in welfare
homes or homes for the aged, or enjoy the
government-sponsored "five guarantees" (of food,
clothing, medical care, housing and burial expenses)
program, or live at separate homes of residents having
regular links with welfare homes or homes for the aged. Some
2.46 million disabled people receive temporary relief or
subsidies and 1.03 million are covered by social security
schemes.
The cultural and sports life of the
disabled has become increasingly rich and active. In
cultural centers, libraries, gymnasiums and stadiums, more
and more conveniences and services have been provided for
disabled people. Nationwide, 1,618 cultural venues for the
disabled and 131 art troupes made up of disabled people have
been established. TV and radio stations, newspapers and
magazines give wide coverage to the lives of disabled
people, including special programs and topics. A national
comprehensive sports training center for the disabled is
being in preparation for construction. In 2003, China
successfully held the Sixth National Sports Meet for the
Disabled. Besides, disabled athletes from China have won 177
gold medals in important international sports meets.
The state endeavors to create a social
environment of care and help for the disabled. The National
Help-the-Disabled Day, the third Sunday of May each year,
has been observed for 13 years, with a rich variety of
activities. In recent years, help-the-disabled activities in
various forms have been carried out, such as
"Volunteers for Helping the Disabled," "Red
Scarf Movement for Helping the Disabled,"
"Cultural Circles' Help for the Disabled,"
"Help for the Disabled from Science and Technology
Circles" and "Legal Assistance for the
Disabled." More than 40,000 liaison offices of
help-the-disabled volunteers have been established
throughout the country. Today, the number of registered
young volunteers is upwards of 1.86 million. Much headway
has been made in building easy environments for the
disabled. A large number of sloping passages, paths for the
blind, handrails and audio traffic signs and other
facilities for the disabled persons' convenience have been
either built or renovated on the major roads, in shopping
centers, hospitals, hotels, cinemas, theaters, museums,
airports, railway stations and residential areas in the
large and medium-sized cities. Many news programs on TV are
accompanied by sign language. More and more TV programs and
films have subtitles.
For years, the great
efforts and achievements made by China for the protection of
the human rights of the disabled have won wide attention and
appreciation from the United Nations and the international
community.
VIII. International Exchanges and
Cooperation in Human Rights
China has all along been supportive
to and actively participated in activities in the field of
human rights sponsored by the United Nations. Since 1981,
China has been consecutively elected and appointed a member
of the Untied Nations Commission on Human Rights. In 2003,
Chinese delegation attended the 59th Session of the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights, the Substantive Session
of the United Nations Economic and Social Council and the
Third Committee Meeting of the 58th Session of the United
Nations General Assembly. China sent specialists to attend
the 55th Session of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations Commission
on Human Rights and the 2nd Session of the United Nations
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. At these meetings,
Chinese delegates and specialists actively participated in
examination and deliberation of issues concerning human
rights, expounded China's principles and stand on human
rights issues, safeguarded the purpose and principles of the
Charter of the United Nations, strove to promote
international cooperation and exchanges in the field of
human rights and made positive contributions to the healthy
development of the international human rights cause.
China has been actively involved in
formulation of legal documents concerning international
human rights. In January and September 2003, the Chinese
Government sent specialists to attend the first meeting and
the informal consultation, respectively, of a UN working
group in respect of drafting the "Legally Binding
Normative Instrument for the Protection of All Persons from
Enforced Disappearances," and to attend the meeting of
the special committee for the formulation of the
"Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities." In November 2003, China organized the
inter-government conference in Beijing for the United
Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific for drafting the "Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities," and adopted the Beijing
Declaration. The conference played a positive and
promotional role in the progress of the formulation of the
Convention. China supports the strengthening of
international cooperation in the field of human rights. It
advocates full consideration for and application of existing
United Nations laws, human rights documents and supervision
mechanism, full respect for the internal laws of all nations
and their functions, and at the same time, due consideration
for the protection of human rights and the preservation of
the normal judiciary functions of nations.
China has been actively involved in and
promoted the activities of the second "Asia and Pacific
Decade of the Disabled (2003-2012)" and striven to
improve the conditions of its own disabled people. On
December 10, 2003, Julian Hunte, Chairman of the 59th
Session of the United Nations General Assembly, presented
the United Nations Human Rights Award to Deng Pufang,
chairman of the China Federation of the Disabled. It was the
first time such an award had been given to a Chinese as well
as the first time it had been presented to a handicapped
person. It was an expression of high appreciation for Deng
Pufang personally by the United Nations on his outstanding
contribution to the protection of disabled persons' human
rights and his tenacious efforts for promoting the
development of world disabled people's movement. It was also
an appreciation of the international community for years of
efforts made by China in promoting and protecting human
rights.
The Chinese Government cherishes the
important role of international human rights documents in
promoting and protecting human rights. It has, to date,
acceded to 21 international human rights conventions, and
has taken every measure to honor its obligations under those
conventions. In 2003, the Chinese Government submitted, as
scheduled, its first compliance report to the United Nations
with respect to the "International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights." The report gave
an overall account of the efforts made by China in promoting
and protecting the economic, social and cultural rights of
the people in recent years. In addition, China also
submitted to the United Nations its second compliance report
with respect to the "Convention on the Rights of the
Child," and the combined 5th and 6th report concerning
the implementation of the "Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women." These reports introduced in detail,
respectively, the legislative, judicial and administrative
measures taken and progress made by China from 1996 to 2001
regarding the protection and promotion of the rights of the
child, as well as actions taken by China in eliminating
discrimination against women from 1998 to 2002. These
reports also dealt with the implementation of the Beijing
Action Program and also with the implementation of the
results of the 2000 Special Session of the UN General
Assembly (United Nations Conference) on Women's Affairs.
Moreover, the reports indicated China's attention to
performing her obligations under the conventions in the
field of women and children, and expounded her stand on
carrying out relevant international cooperation and
exchanges.
China has actively participated in
cracking down on cross-border organized crimes and
terrorism. In 2003, the NPC Standing Committee of China
approved 13 international treaties China acceded to,
including the "Amendment to Article 1 of the
'Convention on Prohibition or Restrictions on the Use of
Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be
Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate
Effects'," "United Nations Convention Against
Transnational Organized Crime," and "Cooperative
Covenant on Cracking on Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism
Between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of
Kyrghyz." The Ministry of Public Security of China and
the United Nations Children's Fund and the International
Labor Organization have jointly carried out an international
cooperative project of preventing and cracking down on the
abducting and selling of women and children.
China has actively carried out
dialogues and cooperation with countries throughout the
world with regard to human rights on the basis of equality
and mutual respect. In 2003, the Chinese Government held
dialogues, discussions or exchanges in respect of human
rights respectively with the European Union and Australia,
Canada, Britain, Germany, Holland, Norway, Switzerland,
Austria and Belgium; hosted the fifth China-Canada-Norway
human rights forum; and hosted, jointly with the European
Union, the China-EU judiciary seminar. Those dialogues,
exchanges and cooperation helped China and the relevant
countries and organizations toward a better mutual
understanding on the human rights issue, reduced
disagreements and expanded consensus. Simultaneously,
non-government-sponsored dialogues and exchanges on human
rights were very active. Non-governmental organizations
(NGO) such as the China Human Rights Society and the China
Human Rights Development Fund have sent many delegations to
a number of countries in Europe, North America, Oceania and
Africa, invited human rights organizations and officials of
certain countries to visit China, and carried out extensive
exchanges and cooperation with regard to human rights, which
have greatly increased mutual understanding and trust. The
China Human Rights Society has translated and published
human rights works in cooperation with the Human Rights
Institute of Norway's Oslo University and the Human Rights
Research Center of Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh College of
Political Science. In October 2003, the China Human Rights
Society submitted, as required, its first work report to the
United Nations Economic and Social Council.
China holds that the development of human
rights is an important mark of the continuous progress of
the civilization of human society, and an important part of
the progressive current of world peace and development. Full
realization of human rights is the common goal of countries
throughout the world as well as an important target for
China in her efforts to build a moderately prosperous
society in an all-round way, as well as her "peaceful
rise" in the world. China will, as always, devote
herself to promoting the human rights cause, actively carry
out exchanges and cooperation with the international
community according to the provisions of the Constitution of
China and the need for modernization of the country, and
make her contributions to promoting the healthy development
of the international human rights cause.