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White paper on political democracy
The Chinese Constitution comprehensively stipulates the citizens' basic rights and freedoms. Based on the Const itution, China has enacted a series of laws on the protection of human rights, and set up a relatively comprehensive legal system for the protection of human rights. On the basis of achievements made over the 50-plus years of economic and social development, the Chinese people are now enjoying human rights more comprehensive and fuller than they have ever enjoyed in the past. - The people's rights to subsistence and development are guaranteed. The CPC focuses on economic construction and has made tremendous efforts to realize the people's rights to subsistence and development. After more than 50 years of hard work, two great historical leaps have been accomplished in people's life - from being poverty-stricken to having enough food and clothing, and then to reaching the moderately well-off stage. China has successfully solved the problem of feeding 22 percent of the world's population with less than 10 percent of the world's arable land. From 1979 to 2004, China's economy kept growing rapidly. Its GDP soared from US$147.3 billion to US$1,650 billion, exceeding US$1,200 per person. The annual per-capita income of urban residents rose 5.5 times in real terms, and that of rural residents, 5.9 times. The average housing space per person increased from 6.7 sq m to 25 sq m in urban areas, and from 8.1 sq m to 28 sq m in rural areas. The rural poverty-stricken population went down from 250 million to 26.1 million. The Chinese people's overall health level has surpassed the average of countries with a moderate level of income, leading most developing countries in this aspect. The people's average life expectancy was raised from 35 years before the founding of New China in 1949 to nearly 72 years in 2004. The mortality rate of pregnant women and women in childbirth decreased from 1,500 per 100,000 before 1949 to 48.3 per 100,000 in 2004; and the infant mortality rate also dropped - from 200 per 1,000 before 1949 to 21.5 per 1,000 in 2004. In recent years, the Chinese government has promulgated and implemented a series of regulations and measures, such as the National Plan for the Construction of an Information System for Public Health Monitoring and the National Plan for the Construction of a System for Medical Rescue and Treatment in Public Health Emergencies, thus greatly strengthening the protection of citizens' rights to health and life. - Citizens' civil and political rights are guaranteed. China's Constitution and law protect citizens' rights to freedom of religion, speech and press, and of association. Citizens' rights to property, reputation, personal name, honor, personal dignity and personal safety as well as the right to keep one's property from encroachment are also acknowledged and protected. China has set up and improved an open information system and other related systems to ensure that the citizens enjoy full democratic rights to information, supervision and participation in public affairs. The state encourages proactively the development of the press and publishing undertakings. In 2004, 25.77 billion copies of national and provincial newspapers, 2.69 billion copies of periodicals of various kinds, and 6.44 billion copies of books were published. In recent years, the Internet has developed with a great momentum in China, and by June 30, 2005, the amount of Internet users had exceeded 100 million, including 53 million broad-band users. The state respects and protects citizens' freedom in religious belief, and guarantees that the legitimate rights and interests of religious adherents and religious groups, and venues for religious activities are not violated. According to incomplete statistics, there are now over 100 million religious adherents, about 300,000 members of the clergy, and more than 100,000 venues for religious activities in China. The state has formulated the Regulations on Social Organization Registration and Management, the Provisional Regulations for the Registration and Administration of Private Non-Enterprise Units and the Regulations for the Management of Foundations to guarantee that citizens have the legal freedom to form associations. By the end of 2004, there were over 289,000 NGOs of various types in China, including 153,000 social organizations, 135,000 private non-enterprise units and nearly 900 foundations. - People's economic, social and cultural rights are
guaranteed. There are comprehensive stipulations in the Chinese Constitution,
laws and regulations on citizens' rights to labor, rest, gender equality, equal
pay for equal work for men and women, intellectual property, social security,
receiving material aid and education, marriage and divorce, as well as the right
to engage and participate in scientific research, literature, art and other
cultural activities. In recent years, the state has taken various measures to
solve the problem of employment and re-employment, stepped up efforts in the
establishment of a social security system, increased support to education,
science and technology, culture, public health and other social undertakings,
and striven to ensure that citizens' economic, social and cultural rights are
guaranteed. By the end of 2004, the numbers of urban people taking out policies
of basic pension insurance, unemployment insurance, medical insurance and
industrial injury insurance had reached 164 million, 106 million, 124 million
and 68.45 million, respectively, 8.47 million, 2.11 million, 15.02 million and
22.70 million more respectively than at the end of the previous year. In the
rural areas, 55 million people had participated in social old-age pension
system, and the number is increasing rapidly. A total of 22.05 million urban
residents in China were issued minimum living allowances by the government.
China has generally achieved the goal of basic nine-year compulsory education
and elimination of illiteracy among young and middle-aged people. In 2004, the
central treasury appropriated various special-purpose funds, totaling over 10
billion yuan, for compulsory education in rural areas, an increase of 70 percent
over the previous year. There are over 20 million students in institutions of
higher learning in China, bringing the gross enrolment ratio for higher
education to 19 percent. By the end of 2004, China had 282 radio stations and
314 TV stations, and the overall population coverage rates of radio and TV
broadcasting had reached 94.1 percent and 95.3 percent, respectively. The
government has made continuous efforts to strengthen the protection of the
legitimate rights and interests of migrant workers from rural areas, and
formulated the Provisional Measures for the Management of Payment of Wages to
Migrant Construction Workers from Rural Areas in 2004, which provided for an
overall clearing-up and settlement of defaults on payment of project fees as
well as wages of migrant construction workers from rural areas.
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