Assessment Report on the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010)
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Xinhua, July 14, 2011
Contents
Preface
I. Overall Implementation
II. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
III. Civil and Political Rights
IV. Guarantee of the Rights and Interests of Ethnic Minorities, Women, Children, Elderly People and the Disabled
V. Human Rights Education for the Public
VI. Performing International Human Rights Duties, and Conducting Exchanges and Cooperation in the Field of International Human Rights
IV. Guarantee of the Rights and Interests of Ethnic Minorities, Women, Children, Elderly People and the Disabled
Over the past two years, China has taken further measures to protect the rights and interests of ethnic minorities, women, children, elderly people and the disabled, and achieved the goals set by the Action Plan.
(1) The rights of ethnic minorities
The lawful rights and interests of ethnic minorities are protected in accordance with the law. At present, all 55 ethnic-minority groups in China have representatives in the National People's Congress. Of all the deputies to the 11th NPC, 411 are from ethnic minorities, accounting for 13.76 percent of the total; on the 11th NPC Standing Committee, 25 members are from ethnic minorities, accounting for 15.53 percent of the total. Both figures exceed the proportion of minority population in the total population of China, i.e. 8.49 percent. All the 18 ethnic-minority groups with a population of more than one million have members on the NPC Standing Committee. At the end of 2010, in each of the 155 ethnic autonomous areas, among the chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of the standing committee of the people's congresses there was one or more citizens of the ethnic group or groups exercising regional autonomy in the area concerned, and the head of any autonomous region, autonomous prefecture or autonomous county (banner) has to be a citizen of the ethnic group exercising regional autonomy in the area concerned, in accordance with the law. There are now over 2.9 million ethnic minority cadres in China.
Education among ethnic minorities is developing rapidly, as 100 percent of the populations of ethnic autonomous areas now has access to nine-year compulsory education. At present, there are 18 universities and colleges for ethnic minorities, with over 200,000 full-time students. There are 83,000 schools of all levels and all types in the minority areas, and the number of students from ethnic minorities studying in schools of all levels and all types across the country amounts to 23.0985 million. More than 300 general institutions of higher learning have organized preparatory classes for ethnic minorities, with the annual enrolment of 30,000 students and accumulative enrolment of over 200,000 students. The state has allocated more than two billion yuan to promote boarding-school education in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Qinghai. Tibetan secondary schools and Xinjiang senior high classes established outside Tibet and Xinjiang have recruited over 40,000 ethnic minority students.
Ethnic minorities' right to learn, use and develop their own spoken and written languages is guaranteed. A bilingual teaching mode has taken shape, adapting to the language environment and educational conditions of each ethnic group. By the end of 2010 there were more than 10,000 schools carrying out bilingual teaching in the country, with close to five million students attending these schools. Radio programs are broadcast in 14 minority languages, and TV programs in eight minority languages. At the same time, 11 film dubbing centers had been set up in ten provinces and autonomous regions, including Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and Tibet, using 34 minority languages or dialects. Since 2009 they had finished the dubbing of 466 digital films and the production of 361 digital films dubbed in minority languages. Seven languages of ethnic minorities can be used on computers. With the allocation of 120 million yuan from the state, 36 publishing houses catering to ethnic minorities are publishing books of all kinds in 23 minority languages. Nearly 100 newspapers and 192 periodicals in ethnic minority languages are subsidized by the state.
The cultures of ethnic minorities are protected and promoted. A four-level intangible cultural heritage list and one of inheritors of cultural traditions have been set up to strengthen the protection of minority cultures. In addition, the state has established experimental zones to protect the cultures of the Regong, Qiang, Tujia, Miao and other ethnic groups. By the end of 2010 the government's funding of cultural undertakings of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang totaled 300 million yuan. Over the past two years China has produced a series of influential films and TV programs with ethnic minorities as the subject matter, and organized events including "Intangible Cultural Heritage Show - Special Performances of Traditional Music and Dances of Ethnic Minorities" and "Select Performances of Intangible Cultural Heritage Projects of Ethnic Minorities."
The economy is developing rapidly in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, and their standard of living is rising correspondingly. Over the past two years, the state has appropriated 2.779 billion yuan as a development fund for ethnic minorities. It has allocated 1.184 billion yuan to support the economic and social development of border areas and solve difficulties in people's livelihood in those areas, of which 153 million yuan was invested in Tibet and 240 million yuan in Xinjiang. By the end of 2010 the per capita net annual income of farmers and herdsmen in regions where ethnic minorities with relatively small populations live in compact communities was 2,344 yuan, an increase of 2.6 times over that of 2005. In 2010 Xinjiang and Tibet saw their GDP reach 541.88 billion yuan and 50.75 billion yuan, respectively, 10.6 percent and 12.3 percent higher than in 2009. By the end of 2010 most of the 640 impoverished villages inhabited by ethnic minorities with relatively small populations had access to roads, power supply, telephones, and radio and TV coverage. They also had schools, clinics, safe drinking water for both people and livestock, safe housing, and basic farmland or pastureland for the supply of adequate food and clothing.
(5) The right to know
The state makes active efforts to keep the public informed of government affairs, and takes effective measures to guarantee citizens' right to know. On the basis of the Regulations on the Disclosure of Government Information, and the Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Implementing the Regulations on the Disclosure of Government Information, the State Council, in October 2010, issued the Opinions on Strengthening the Building of a Government Ruled by Law. Thus, the system of keeping the public informed of government affairs took initial shape.
By the end of 2010 some 75 departments under the central government had adopted the practice of publicizing their budgets; 18 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government had begun to publicize their public financial and government fund budgets; 12 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government had begun to publicize their budgetary performance every month or quarter. A government affairs service system connecting provinces, cities, counties, townships and villages has taken initial shape. A total of 2,842 government affairs service centers and 25,000 township and neighborhood administrative service centers have been set up in 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government.
In June 2010 the State Council passed the Regulations on Natural Disaster Relief, which contains specific regulations on issues concerning the disclosure of information about natural disaster relief work. It is stipulated in the Regulations that when a natural disaster takes place and meets the conditions to activate the emergency plan for natural disaster relief, the central government should inform the public of its measures against the disaster as well as what precautions they should take, and that the government should inform the public of the source, quantity and use of state relief funds and materials, and public donations. The mechanism of a joint meeting for determining the liability in major production accidents has been established to conduct regular special inspections on the investigation and handling of suspected cover-ups of production accidents.
The government news release system and the spokesperson system have been improved. The spokesperson systems for committees of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and for governments at county level have been established. In 2010 the CPC Central Committee promulgated the Opinions on Establishing the Spokesperson System for Party Committees, to vigorously promote the setting up of the spokesperson system in related departments of the Party Central Committee and Party committees in provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government. At present, 13 departments and units of the Party Central Committee and Party committees of 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have established the spokesperson system. The news release work of Party committees is becoming institutionalized and standardized. In the past two years all ministries, commissions and departments, and provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government held a total of 3,522 press conferences.
(6) The right to participate
Citizens' right to participate has been effectively guaranteed. In March 2010 the National People's Congress adopted the decision to revise the Election Law to stipulate that deputies to the people's congresses should be elected in the same proportion to the populations of urban and rural areas. The revisions broadened the representativeness of the people's congresses, and improved the regulations concerning election organs and procedures, better demonstrating the equality among all people, regions and ethnic groups. In 2009 and 2010, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) filed over 10,000 proposals, of which over 90 percent have been replied to and handled. The CPPCC organized 15 inspection groups and 30 investigation groups, submitted inspection and investigation reports to the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and received 27,333 reports on social conditions and public opinions, and 75,119 petitions from the public. It also convened meetings among members of its Standing Committee to discuss political and government affairs, and hosted consultative symposiums, seminars and consultation meetings, actively making proposals for the social and economic development of the country.
The system of people's self-governance at grassroots level has been improved. In October 2010 the NPC Standing Committee passed the newly-revised Organic Law on the Villagers' Committees to enhance the level of villagers' self-governance and democratic management. So far, 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government have published their own electoral measures for village committees, and eight provinces have formulated their rules on making village affairs more transparent; about 85 percent of the villages have set up the system of villagers' council or villagers' congress, and over 90 percent of the villages have established organs to supervise the transparency of village affairs. The state has promulgated the Opinions on Strengthening and Improving the Work of Building Urban Neighborhood Committees, which puts forth clear requirements for the further standardization of democratic neighborhood electoral procedures and the steady expansion of the coverage of direct elections of neighborhood committee members. In 2010 the election of urban neighborhood committee members was being practiced nationwide.
The transparency of enterprise affairs has been further enhanced to protect workers' rights and interests. In 2010 related state departments jointly issued the Opinions on Making Enterprise Affairs More Transparent and Practicing Democratic Management to reinforce guidance for work in this regard in the reorganization, restructuring, closedown and bankruptcy of state-owned enterprises. By the end of September 2010, among all enterprises and public institutions with trade unions, 2.113 million had established a separate system of making enterprise affairs public, an increase of 20.6 percent over the previous year, and 2.249 million have set up a separate system of workers' conferences, an increase of 22.3 percent over the previous year.
The state encourages mass organizations to participate in social management and public services to protect the people's legitimate rights and interests. By the end of 2010 the All-China Federation of Trade Unions participated in the formulation and revision of laws and regulations having a direct bearing on the rights and interests of workers and trade unions, including the Social Insurance Law and the Work-related Injury Insurance Regulations. It also actively pushed forward the revision of the Trade Union Law. The All-China Women's Federation made great efforts to promote women's representation in villagers' council and villagers' congress. Its active participation in the inspection of the enforcement of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women organized by the NPC Standing Committee gave impetus to the formulation and revision of the rules for the implementation of this law in 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government. Youth League committees at all levels carried out an activity under the title "Youth League Members Meeting with NPC Deputies and CPPCC Members," established the NPC Deputy Mentor Groups for Teenage Affairs and the Working Groups of Guardians of Rights and Interests of Teenagers, and held activities for the Youth League to listen to the opinions of its members, so as to represent and safeguard the rights and interests of teenagers.
The construction and management of social organizations have been strengthened to enhance their function in serving society. The revision of the Regulations on the Management of Foundations, Regulations on the Registration and Management of Social Organizations, and Interim Regulations on the Registration and Management of Private Non-enterprise Entities has been incorporated into the legislative work plan of the State Council. Social organizations raise over 10 billion yuan every year for poverty reduction and relief, and disaster relief and prevention. Social organizations, trade associations in particular, are playing an increasingly important role in regulating market order, developing industry self-discipline, establishing industry standards and mediating trade disputes. At present, China's over 60,000 trade associations keep in close contact with over 20 million members, including private industrial and commercial units; over 40,000 academic organizations keep in close contact with over five million experts and scholars; and special economic associations in the rural areas keep in close contact with over ten million households. Meanwhile, social organizations have provided over ten million full-time and part-time jobs.
(7) The right to be heard
Citizens' freedom of speech has been fully guaranteed. In recent years, the Internet has become a new channel for citizens to exercise their right to be heard. By the end of 2010 China's netizen population had reached 457 million, and the Internet penetration rate had reached 34.3 percent, higher than the world average. China boasts 5.52 million websites, millions of bulletin board systems (BBS) and 295 million blog users. Statistical sampling shows that Chinese netizens issue over three million statements a day on the Internet, and over 66 percent of Chinese netizens often issue statements of views and claims freely on the Internet. Chinese leaders often get on the Internet to learn about public sentiment, and communicate with the netizens online. Soliciting views via the Internet has become a common practice of governments at all levels. The proposals collected from the Internet amount to several million every year.
Press and publishing undertakings have been further developed. In the past two years the State Council has completed the revision of the Regulations on the Administration of Publication and the Regulations on the Administration of Audio and Video Publications; the General Administration of Press and Publications has promulgated the Measures for the Administration of Press Cards and the Measures for the Administration of Correspondent Bureaus of Newspapers and Periodicals to protect the legitimate rights and interests of news media and reporters; the printed sheets for books, periodicals and newspapers totaled 270.114 billion, with 330,000 titles of books and 2,056 newspapers.
(8) The right to oversee
Citizens' right of democratic supervision has been further guaranteed. The National People's Congress and its Standing Committee fully exercise the function and power to supervise the implementation of the Constitution and laws and comprehensively promote the protection and realization of the people's rights. In the past two years the NPC Standing Committee has heard and examined 20 special work reports made by the central government, Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate. It conducted inspections on the enforcement of nine laws, including the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women. The Standing Committee carried out special investigations and surveys on the implementation of some major public investment projects as well as on important issues concerning the formulation of China's 12th Five-year Plan. It held special consultations on work reports on the state final accounts, national food security and deepening of reform in the medical and health care system. The Standing Committee also made a resolution on coping with climate change. It filed and reviewed 3,000 regulatory documents, including administrative regulations, local regulations and judicial interpretations. The democratic supervision mechanism of the CPPCC has been improved, and democratic supervision has become increasingly effective.
The channels for people to make complaints in the form of letters and visits have been broadened. The State Bureau for Letters and Calls has established a nationwide complaint information system featuring interconnection, interworking and resource sharing, and promoted and regulated various channels for making complaints, such as the Internet, hotlines, Green Post, and video conferences. The system of soliciting suggestions from the people has been gradually popularized across the country. Party and government leaders read letters from the people and receive visits by them on a regular basis. The system in which Party and government leaders, deputies to Party congresses and people's congresses, and CPPCC members take the initiative to contact people who have made complaints through letters and visits is being improved step by step.
(2) Women's rights
Women's right to participate on an equal footing with men in the management of state and social affairs is guaranteed. Women representatives account for 21.3 percent of all representatives in the 11th NPC, and female members account for 17.7 percent in the 11th CPPCC. The proportion of females in the leadership of governments at all levels is increasing, as is the level of participation of rural women in grassroots democratic management. In 2009 females made up 21.5 percent and 49.7 percent of the members of village committees and neighborhood committees, respectively, nationwide.
Women's right to employment and equal access to economic resources is guaranteed. By the end of October 2010 the state had provided 16.605 billion yuan in small loans to aid 410,500 women across the country to start businesses. Women's federations in all parts of the country created jobs for more than four million women by launching projects including processing with customers' materials and knitting. The SYB (Start Your Business) project provides training to 50,000 women every year. By September 2010 there were 1.589 million organizations for female employees in 77.61 percent of all the trade unions established in China. A total of 713,600 collective contracts for female employees were signed, covering 1.2439 million enterprises and public institutions, and 54.2446 million women workers.
The state brings population management, family planning and reproductive health into its national development strategy. Centers providing information, consultation and technical services for population management and family planning have been set up in all the counties and 95 percent of townships. High-quality services concerning reproductive health and family planning have been made available in over 80 percent of the counties. In 2010, 6.49 million and 870,000 rural women had tests for cervical cancer and breast cancer, respectively, 8.847 million pregnant rural women received hospital delivery subsidies, and the rate of women giving birth in hospitals reached 96.7 percent in the countryside. Over the past two years a total of 1.16 billion yuan has been allocated from the central budget to support the construction of family planning centers in counties and townships in central and western China, and 300 million yuan has been allocated from the central budget to buy 1,822 mobile service vehicles to provide better reproductive health services for women of childbearing age.
The state has intensified efforts to combat domestic violence against women. Already, 27 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government have formulated special rules and regulations on the prevention of domestic violence. Public security organs at many places include service of reporting domestic violence in their "110" emergency police service networks. Many local courts have set up collegial panels for safeguarding the rights and interests of women and anti-domestic-violence collegial panels, and some have launched a trial of habeas corpus for victims of domestic violence.
(3) Children's rights
The legal system for the protection of minors has been improved. By 2010, among all the country's provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government, 18 had revised the relevant local regulations in support of the Law on the Protection of Minors, and five had made local regulations on the prevention of juvenile delinquency. In the past two years related government departments have jointly promulgated the Opinions on Further Constructing and Improving the Supporting System for Handling Juvenile Criminal Cases. The Supreme People's Court has issued the Opinions on Further Strengthening Juvenile Tribunal Proceedings. Amendment VIII to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China explicitly stipulates the conditions under which a juvenile convict shall be put on probation, or constitute a recidivist, and when a juvenile convicted of committing a small offence shall be exempted from the reporting obligation. At present, there are 2,219 juvenile courts established nationwide.
Children's right to health is guaranteed. The categories of national planned immunity vaccines for children have been increased to 11, aiming at the prevention of 12 diseases, with a vaccination rate of over 90 percent. In the past two years 57.629 million children below the age of 15 have been inoculated against Hepatitis B gratis. More than 70 percent of the expenses borne by rural children with leukemia and CHD (congenital heart disease) are covered by medical insurance, and for those from families meeting the specific conditions, an additional 20 percent of the related expenses will be covered by medical assistance funds granted by civil affairs organs.
Welfare institutions for children have been established in cities at and above the prefecture level all over the country, basically forming a service network of child welfare. In 2010 the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on the Strengthening of Care for Orphans. The central government allocated more than 2.5 billion yuan to offer per capita subsidies of 180 yuan, 270 yuan and 360 yuan, respectively, every month to orphans in the eastern, central and western regions. The government continued its "China Children and Teenagers' Safe & Healthy Growth Project," providing critical illness insurance to 117,000 orphans in Qinghai Province and other places. The Plan for the Construction of Welfare Institutions for Children during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) was implemented, with a fund of 1.52 billion yuan, increasing the number of beds for orphans in welfare institutions by 57,000. Such institutions can look after about 100,000 orphans every year.
The government has made headway in preventing and cracking down on the crimes of abducting and trafficking in women and children. The Action Plan to Crack Down on Abducting and Trafficking in Women and Children (2008-2012) has been implemented. Relevant departments have established a notification and verification mechanism for people of unknown identity and those who are suspected of being abducted. In April 2009 an anti-trafficking campaign was launched throughout China. By the end of 2010 the Chinese government had solved 9,165 cases of trafficking in women and 5,900 cases of trafficking in children, rescued 9,388 abducted children and 18,000 women, rounded up 3,573 trafficking gangs, and placed 22,500 suspects in criminal detention. In the past two years people's courts at different levels have concluded the trial of 7,395 criminal cases of abducting and trafficking in women and children, of organizing children to beg and other violations of minors' rights and interests, and severely punished 9,596 criminals in accordance with the law. In 2010 China and Vietnam jointly launched a campaign to combat transnational crimes of abducting and trafficking in women and children in their border areas, and signed the Agreement on Strengthening Cooperation in Preventing and Combating the Crimes of Human Abducting and Trafficking; China and Myanmar signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Cooperation in Combating the Crimes of Human Abducting and Trafficking.
(4) Senior citizens' rights
The rights and interests of elderly people are better guaranteed. In 2011 enterprise retirees saw their per capita basic pension increase by 140 yuan per month, which had already grown for four consecutive years from 2005 to 2009. At present, there are 38,000 institutions providing services for elderly people, with a total of 2.662 million beds; 175,000 community service centers and 693,000 convenience service outlets; more than 700,000 amenities for elderly people's recreational activities; more than 40,000 institutions of higher learning (schools) for the elderly, with a total enrolment of over 4.3 million senior students; 14 national social organizations for the elderly, with branches all over the country; more than 800,000 associations for elderly people, with over 35 million members; more than 16,000 legal assistance agencies for elderly people; and 96,000 mediation organizations for settling disputes concerning elderly people and protecting their rights and interests.
(5) The rights of the disabled
The building of the social security and service systems for people with disabilities has been further strengthened. The NPC Standing Committee has included the Mental Health Law into its lawmaking plan. The Regulations on the Construction of a Barrier-free Environment (Draft) has been published, and the National Standards for Classifying and Grading Disabilities has been officially issued and implemented. In March 2010 the related departments jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Building of the Social Security and Service Systems for People with Disabilities and the Opinions on Strengthening the Work of Providing Legal Aid to Disabled Persons. In 2010 a total of 3,592 legal aid agencies throughout the country provided legal services (e.g. defending cases in court or serving as procurators) to over 54,000 people with disabilities.
Rehabilitation services for people with disabilities have improved. In the past two years 180 million yuan from the central budget has been appropriated to support the construction of 396 comprehensive facilities for people with disabilities in central and western China. At present, there are 145,000 community rehabilitation stations across China, enabling 12.68 million people with disabilities to enjoy rehabilitation services in their communities. There are 4,029 nursing homes providing services for 145,000 people with intellectual, mental or severe physical disabilities. The Project on Rehabilitation of Disabled Children Living in Poverty is under way, which benefits 40,000 poor children with disabilities.
Over the past two years relevant departments have issued the Measures for Air Transport of Persons with Disabilities (for trial implementation), revised the Standards for the Configuration of Non-barrier Facilities and Devices at Passenger Terminal Areas of Civil Airports, and the Regulations on the Application for and Use of Motor Vehicle Driving Licenses, making it possible for more disabled people to apply for driving licenses. One hundred cities began to build themselves into non-barrier cities, and so did 1,118 prefectural-level cities and counties. Meanwhile, 27 provincial-level television stations launched news programs with sign language assistance, and 341 public libraries set up multimedia rooms for people with visual impairments.
In May 2009 the General Office of the State Council approved the Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Special Education, clearly pointing out the goals, tasks and measures of the government in accelerating the development of education for the disabled in the coming years. At the end of 2010 there were 1,706 special-education schools in China and over 16,000 special-education classes, with a total enrolment of 550,000 disabled students. More than 20 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government have drawn up policies to assist the disabled in schooling. By 2010 some 80% of the 1,160 schools listed in the Plan for the Building of Special-education Schools in Central and Western China had been built or renovated.
Activities including the "National Month-long Employment Assistance" and "Promoting Employment for Ten Thousand People" projects have been launched to provide special employment services for the disabled. The state has helped 674,000 urban residents with disabilities to find jobs, bringing the number of employed urban residents with disabilities to 4.41 million. Meanwhile, the number of employed rural residents with disabilities has reached 17.497 million.
The government has enhanced support for poor people with disabilities. Related departments have jointly issued the Notice on Giving Priority to the Resolution of the Housing Difficulties of Low-income Families with One or More Disabled Members in Urban and Rural Areas, helping 220,000 poor rural families with one or more disabled members to renovate their houses. At the same time, 4.05 million urban people with disabilities are participating in social insurance scheme; 106,000 people with disabilities are supported in special concentrated dwelling complexes in urban areas, and 605,000 people with disabilities enjoying the five guarantees are supported in rural areas. Some 2.92 million urban and rural disabled people with financial difficulties are receiving temporary relief, and 1.604 million are receiving regular subsidies.
China is also making efforts to enrich the lives of disabled people in the cultural and sports areas. It has launched the "National Special Olympics Day" and 27 demonstration fitness projects aimed at benefiting the disabled. Chinese athletes with disabilities participated in 40 international events, including the Special Olympics World Winter Games held in the United States and the Winter Paralympics held in Vancouver, Canada. By May 2010 the government had held many important cultural and sports events, including China's First Arts Festival for Disabled Children, and organized cultural activities for disabled people in 1,000 communities. A Life and Sunshine Pavilion was built for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, which was the first pavilion dedicated to persons with disabilities in the World Expo's history.
