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China registers historic progress in human rights

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-09 14:11

Many foreign media described the exhibition as "having reflected the progress and openness of China" and "very useful for the international community to know about China's human rights."

--- Spreading knowledge about human rights to heighten the awareness of the people so as to stimulate an all-round development of the human rights cause. Over the years, we have offered human rights lectures that lasted for several months over the Central People's Broadcasting Station, started a Q&A column on human rights in the People's Daily that lasted for a year, sponsored a human rights knowledge quiz in the Guangming Daily, organized the compilation of the "Human Rights Reader for Officials," which has been made part of the teaching materials for cadre training in the country and organized training courses of all kinds for human rights cadres.

These activities have not only helped heighten the awareness about human rights on the part of officials and common people but also enhanced their consciousness in respecting and safeguarding human rights, thus expanding the social foundation for safeguarding and protecting human rights.

At the same time, we have taken the lead in organizing the formulation of "National Human Rights Program of Action," aimed at bringing about a complete and orderly development of human rights in China. That is China's first national program of action in the area of human rights, which has mapped out plans for human rights development for the next two years.

It is an important move of the Chinese government in implementing the constitutional principle of "respecting and protecting human rights" and the "people first" scientific development theory. The program covers such areas as government functions, extension of democracy, law and order, people's livelihood, protection of the special rights of women, children and the ethnic minorities and the raising of awareness about human rights in the whole society. By setting and implementing the goals and measures in a systematic way, it will surely help improve the human rights conditions in China and make progress in this regard.

Q. Just as you have mentioned that China has made great achievements in the human rights cause since reform and opening up, but there are still some problems and difficulties that cannot be ignored. As far as the present is concerned, what problems and difficulties do you think still exist in the human rights cause? What is the prospect of the development of human rights in China?

A. Human rights are a development process. China is a developing country with a population of 1.3 billion. Due to natural, historical, cultural and economic and social factors, there are still many problems and difficulties in the development of human rights.

There are quite a few things less than satisfactory in the human rights conditions in the country. For instance, the political and economic structural systems are yet to be improved; democracy and the legal system remain to be perfected; governments at all levels have to heighten their awareness about protecting human rights and about exercising administration according to law;

the economic and social development is uneven and the enlarging gaps between the urban and rural areas, between different regions, and between the rich and the poor have not been brought under control; problems and difficulties are quite outstanding in such areas as employment, social security, income distribution, education, medical service, housing and production safety. All this will affect the immediate interests and rights of the people. It is, therefore, a long-term and arduous task of the Chinese government and people to continue and strengthen their efforts to promote and protect human rights.

Despite all these difficulties and problems, I am still fully confident of the prospects of human rights development. First of all, China has put human rights high on the agenda for national development. Running through the entire report to the 17th CPC National Congress are such terms as "people first," improvement of people's livelihood, expansion of democracy and protection of human rights. The report stressed the importance of respecting and protecting human rights and ensuring the rights of all members of the society to equal participation and equal development.

The report made a clarion call for improving the democratic system, diversifying the forms of democracy and expanding democratic channels, and "protecting the people's right to know, right to participation, right to expression and right to oversight."

It also called for acceleration of social construction focusing on the improvement of the livelihood of the people, "promoting social justice and equity, striving to enable all the people to have school to attend when in need, get due income from labor, have access to due medical treatment when falling ill, get proper care when in old age and have decent and adequate housing."

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