Op-Ed Contributors

Promoting human rights

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-21 07:51

In recent years, the Chinese government initiated the people-centered Outlook on Scientific Development, emphasizing, that in development, people must be put first - development must serve the people, rely on the people and the fruits of development must be shared by the people. It strives to make society fairer and more harmonious and people's lives happier and healthier. China upholds the overall development of cities and the countryside, various regions, economy and society, people and nature, domestic development and opening-up, and strives to promote the overall concerted, sustainable development of the society. It also has enshrined respect for, and the safeguarding of, human rights into its Constitution and national economic and social development plans, and strives to promote full development of the cause of human rights in the country. In 2009,facing the impacts of the financial crisis, the Chinese government resolutely made an investment of 4 trillion yuan to increase domestic demand, safeguard growth, adjust the economic structure and improve people's livelihoods, ensuring a stable and fast development of the national economy. Meanwhile, it made and implemented its first National Human Rights Action Plan to clearly specify working goals and concrete measures for the promotion and protection of human rights, including putting the development of human rights into overall political, economic, social and cultural development, substantially improving human rights in China.

The past 30 years of China's reform has seen the development of society and people with new concepts, methods and approaches based on accumulated experiences. Over the 30 years, China has made historic strides from not having adequate food and clothing to being well-off with a big improvement in people's living conditions and the effective safeguarding of people's rights to live and develop. From 1978 to 2009, China's GDP saw an average annual increase of 9.9 percent. Its per capita GDP grew 12 times and its economy grew to rank third in the world. People's quality of life has been significantly improved and the Engel Coefficient for urban residents dropped from 57 percent to 36.5 percent, and the Engel Coefficient for rural residents dropped from 67 percent to 41 percent.

The Chinese government attaches great importance to institutionally safeguarding and improving people's livelihoods. China has applied the New Rural Cooperative Medical Care System to its 713 million farmers; it has also started the pilot New Rural Pension Insurance System. It has greatly alleviated the problems of unemployment, education for children and poor living conditions for low-income groups. China enforces nine-year compulsory education in both its urban and rural areas and now the system covers 99.7 percent of its population. Since 1978, China has lifted more than 230 million people out of abject poverty, which accounts for 75 percent of the total population lifted out of poverty in developing countries during this period. Life expectancy has increased by five years to 73 since the start of reform.

Since reform, China has stuck to the path of political development with Chinese characteristics. It has actively and steadily pushed forward political restructuring, adhering to the rule of law and building a country with the rule of law, and it has effectively safeguarded citizens' political rights and freedom on the track of democracy and law. At present, China has 233 laws, more than 690 administrative regulations and more than 8,800 local regulations, which basically form a legal system with the Constitution at its core and a legal institution to safeguard human rights.

In 2009, China's National People's Congress amended the Election Law to clearly stipulate that deputies to the People's Congress should be elected according to the same population ratio in urban and rural areas. The move enhanced the extensiveness of the deputies, improved the election system and better ensured equality among people, areas and ethnic groups. The Chinese government actively promoted the transparency of its administrative affairs. It promulgated and implemented the Decree of Government Information Openness of the People's Republic of China, improved its spokespersons system and exposed government information according to the law, which safeguarded people's right to know, participate, express and supervise. In 2009, the State Council Information Office, other ministries and provinces, ethnic autonomous regions and municipalities held 1,646 press conferences.