BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese
official on Tuesday hailed the publication of the nation's first human rights
action plan as a major step in promoting the cause's all-round development in
the country.
"It signals that the human rights cause has become a
major theme of China's national construction and social development, and has
been ushered into a new phase of planned, all-round development," said Wang
Chen, minister in charge of the State Council Information Office, which issued
the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010) on Monday.
"It will help foster and promote the concept of
respecting and safeguarding human rights at various levels of governments, in
different sectors and the whole society at large, and forcefully propel the
human rights cause in China," Wang said in an interview with Xinhua and the
People's Daily.
The plan defines the Chinese government's goals in
promoting and protecting human rights in less than two years, and the specific
measures it is taking to this end.
The 54-page document is divided into five sections:
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Civil and Political Rights; Rights and
Interests of Ethnic Minorities, Women, Children, Elderly People and the
Disabled; Education in Human Rights; Performing International Human Rights
Duties, and Conducting Exchanges and Cooperation in the Field of International
Human Rights.
Wang said practicability and feasibility constituted
the most distinctive features of the action plan.
"It is dedicated to improving human rights through
solving actual problems concerning the general public's interests," he said.
Wang said the plan involved broad participation of
more than 80relevant government departments and non-governmental organizations.
"The drafting process has become one of awareness
enhancement and responsibility implementation," he said.
Wang urged governments and government departments at
all levels to make the action plan part of their responsibilities and
proactively implement it, and public institutions, social and non-governmental
organizations, press and media agencies, and the general public to give vigorous
publicity to this action plan, and expedite its implementation.
According to Wang, the action plan was framed in
response to the United Nations' call in 1993 for establishing a national human
rights plan. China was one of the 26 countries that have responded to the call.
The plan reflected the principle that "the state
respects and protects the human rights of its citizens" prescribed in the
Constitution of China, and the essentials of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, he said.
Wang said the realization of human rights in the
broadest sense had been a long-cherished ideal of mankind and also a
long-pursued goal of the Chinese government and people.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China
in 1949, and the adoption of the reform and opening-up policy at the end of1978
in particular, the Chinese government has made efforts to promote and protect
human rights.
"The human rights conditions are at the best of the
Chinese history," he said.
However, as a developing country with a population of
1.3 billion, China's human rights development still faces many challenges, Wang
said, listing areas to be improved including civil participation, social
justice, employment, social security, education and healthcare.
He believed that if the action plan was seriously
implemented and problems concerning people's direct and real interests were
addressed, the human rights cause in China would record an even bigger progress.
BEIJING, April 13
(Xinhua) -- China published its first working plan on human rights Monday,
pledging to further protect and improve human rights conditions.
The National Human Rights Action Plan of China
(2009-2010), issued by the Information Office of the State Council, or Cabinet,
highlighted goals that would be implemented in less than two years.
BEIJING,
April 13 (Xinhua) -- A digital cultural service system covering urban and rural
areas will be built with 1.115 billion yuan (about 16.4 million U.S. dollars) of
state investment by 2010, said the National Human Rights Action Plan of China
(2009-2010) released by the Information Office of the State Council on Monday.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- In 2010, China's amount of chemical oxygen demand
(COD) and the emission of sulfur dioxide will be 10 percent lower than those in
2005, said a document released by the Information Office of the State Council on
Monday .
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China's central government
will pool three billion yuan (about 44.12 U.S. dollars) of lottery earnings to
support the building and operation of after-school facilities, said an action
plan released by the Information Office of the State Council on Monday.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The average annual
disposable income of urban residents will reach 15,781 yuan (about 2,320 U.S.
dollars) or more by the year 2010, said an action plan issued by the Information
Office of the State Council on Monday.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- In 2009 and 2010, an
additional 18 million urban workers will be employed and 18 million rural
laborers will move to cities or towns and find jobs there, and the state will
take proactive and effective measures to offset the negative impacts of
international financial crisis, and ensure the economic, social and cultural
rights of all members of society.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The Government will
gradually increase the content of the law and human rights in courses of
secondary and elementary schools. By making good use of the courses of
ideological and moral Standards, China will foster students' awareness of the
obligations and rights of citizens, tutoring them in the ideas of democracy,
rule of law, freedom, equality, fairness and justice, as well as a healthy
concept about interpersonal relations, collectivism, nation and society,
according to the plan.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China will carry out
education in human rights in various forms in a planned way, and will popularize
related knowledge, said the National Human Rights Action Plan of China
(2009-2010) released by the Information Office of China's State Council on
Wednesday.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China strictly prohibits
identifying the sex of a fetus for other than medical purposes and termination
of pregnancy in the case of a female fetus, said the National Human Rights
Action Plan of China (2009-2010) released Monday by the State Council's
Information Office.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- By 2010, more than 95
percent of the population of China's ethnic autonomous areas should have access
to the nine-year compulsory education, said the National Human Rights Action
Plan of China (2009-2010) released Monday by the Information Office of the State
Council.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China will appropriate more
than 2 billion yuan (293 million U.S. dollars) as a development fund for ethnic
minorities during 2009-2010 to accelerate their economic and social development,
said the National Human Rights Action Plan of China released Monday by the State
Council's Information Office.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The population covered by
the urban basic old-age pension insurance in China is expected to exceed 223
million by 2010, said the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010)
released Monday by the Information Office of China's State Council.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government has
promised to help survivors of last year's devastating Wenchuan earthquake to
move into new houses before the end of this year, according to a human rights
document published here on Monday.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The average life expectancy
of Chinese is expected to reach 73 years by 2010, according to the National
Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010) released Monday by the Information
Office of the State Council, or Cabinet.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The coverage of maternity
healthcare services in urban and rural China will exceed 90 percent and 80
percent respectively by 2010, said the National Human Rights Action Plan of
China (2009-2010) released Monday by the State Council's Information Office.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China will place 2.2 million
more beds in service centers for the elderly in rural areas by 2010, said the
National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010) released Monday by the
Information Office of China's State Council.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Women should be present in
at least half of the government leadership of China's central government
ministries, provincial and city governments, said the National Human Rights
Action Plan of China (2009-2010) released Monday by the Information Office of
the State Council.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China will create 300,000
additional jobs for the disabled in cities and towns by 2010, said the National
Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010) released Monday by the Information
Office of the State Council (Cabinet).
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China will promote the
construction of a barrier-free environment for the disabled in 100 cities by the
year 2010, said the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010)
released Monday by the Information Office of the State Council.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China is to increase the
proportion of female and grassroot deputies to the people's congresses at all
levels to expand citizens' participation in political affairs, said the National
Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010) released Monday by the Information
Office of China's State Council.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Death penalty shall be
strictly controlled and prudently applied, said the National Human Rights Action
Plan of China (2009-2010) released Monday by the Information Office of China's
State Council.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China will take effective
measures to ensure detainees' rights and humanitarian treatment, said the
National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010) released Monday by the
Information Office of China's State Council.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government is to
set up a national office to deal with public complaints, said the National Human
Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010) released Monday by the Information
Office of China's State Council.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government will
make more effort to keep the public informed of government affairs, said the
National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010) released Monday by the
Information Office of China's State Council.
