BEIJING, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- A new entry in
government-issued press cards, to be added later this month, might help many
Chinese reporters persuade tight-lipped officials to talk.
The entry will say: "The governments at all levels
should facilitate the reporting of journalists who hold this card and provide
necessary assistance."
"Without a proper reason, government officials must
not refuse to be interviewed," said Zhu Weifeng, a senior official with the
General Administration of Press and Publication.
Many considered this a positive signal that the
authorities welcomed supervision from the media.
The new press card statement followed a regulation on
the disclosure of government information, effective last May, which was the
first government rule safeguarding citizens' right to be informed.
"Media and public supervision are among the
arrangements the country is making to control the power of the state and protect
civil rights," said Li Yunlong, a human rights expert at the Institute for
International Strategies of the Party School of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China (CPC).
"How to prevent state power from infringing on civil
rights is a very important issue in human rights protection," Li said.
This week, the United Nations Human Rights Council in
Geneva conducted its first review of China's human rights record, and it
acknowledged the country's efforts in human rights protection.
The country took a long and winding road to
acceptance of the concept of "civil rights" but was headed in the right
direction, Li said. "I have seen a trend toward increasing supervision of the
authorities and more restrictions on their power."
Mo Jihong, a research fellow with the Law Institute
under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, saw the same trend in legislation.
"The changes in the Constitution were obvious," said Mo.
China's first three Constitutions, issued
respectively in 1954,in 1975 and 1978, all had a chapter on the fundamental
rights and duties of citizens. But none of those versions defined "citizen,"
which affected the implementation of these items, he said.
The current Constitution, adopted in 1982, closed
this loophole and put the chapter on citizens' rights before that of the
structure of the state, he said.
"It showed the country acknowledged that the state
derived its legitimacy through protecting citizens' rights, rather than by
giving rights to citizens."
In 2004, an amendment to the Constitution added an
article stating that the state respects and preserves human rights.
"Through the amendments, the Constitution gave more
responsibility to state organs to protect civil rights," Mo said.
The country has also adopted laws to restrict the
exercise of state power. In 1990, the law on litigation against the
administration provided the first way for the common people to sue government
departments.
Further, the law on legislation, adopted in 2000,
included an article stating that only laws can limit personal freedom. This had
the effect of barring any authority, except the legislature, from issuing
regulations or rules to limit personal freedom.
"But the implementation of laws remained a problem,"
Mo said. "The authorities who enforce the laws should be carefully watched."
Li noted that China's unique culture played a role.
Traditionally, Chinese seldom talk about "rights" but instead stress the concept
of people's obedience to the society.
"Civil right is a concept borrowed from the West.
That's why it will take time to make everyone aware of it, especially those
holding power," he said.
"But we should not give up because we don't have such
a tradition," he said. "China does not need to make itself a Western nation but
can explore its own way based on its own culture and reality," he said.
Last year, in the wake of an increasing number of
protests nationwide, the government launched a campaign requiring officials to
talk with citizens and consider their requests regularly. The move proved to be
an effective way to ease public anger and reduce misunderstanding.
A trial program to invite independent inspectors to
detention houses in northeast Jilin Province also received acclaim as an
innovation in this field.
The two-year program ended late last year. The 20
independent inspectors, who were teachers, doctors, businessmen and community
workers, examined conditions in these detention houses and examined their
records so as to ensure that custody procedures were in line with the law and
detainees were not treated inhumanely.
"The concept of 'putting people first' raised by the
present CPC leadership can be regarded as an effort to respect and protect civil
rights," Li said.
