China meets goals of human rights plan
- By Guo Yiming
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E-mail China.org.cn, June 14, 2016
All targets and tasks set by the National Human Rights Action Plan (2012-2015) have been fulfilled on schedule, reveals an assessment report released by China’s State Council Information Office at the sum-up meeting on Tuesday.
![Jiang Jianguo, minister of the State Council Information Office, speaks at the Sum-up meeting on the Assessment of the Implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan on June 14. [Photo by Zheng Liang / China.org.cn]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20160614/7427ea210acc18ca06ab24.jpg "Jiang Jianguo, minister of the State Council Information Office, speaks at the Sum-up meeting on the Assessment of the Implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan on June 14. [Photo by Zheng Liang / China.org.cn]") |
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Jiang Jianguo, minister of the State Council Information Office, speaks at the Sum-up meeting on the Assessment of the Implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan on June 14. [Photo by Zheng Liang / China.org.cn] |
The action plan launched in June 2012 was the second of its kind following one from 2009 to 2010 and has delivered substantial outcomes.
Roughly 48 percent of the binding targets and over 50 percent of the targets concerning the people’s livelihood have been met ahead of time or exceeded, thus realizing the comprehensive implementation of the plan, the report reveals.
The report summarizes the major breakthroughs of ensuring the Chinese people’s economic, social and cultural rights, modernizing the state governance system and guaranteeing citizens’ civil and political rights, promoting human rights education, as well as improving public awareness in the field of human rights.
Against the backdrop of a slowing economy between 2012 and 2015, the per capita disposable income of urban residents and net income for rural residents increased by 7.5 percent and 9.2 percent respectively, which outperformed the average annual GDP growth rate of 7.4 percent during the same period.
The registered urban unemployment rate was kept within 4.1 percent, and 66.63 million people in rural areas were lifted out of poverty.
Judicial reforms were also carried out to improve the transparency of judicial agencies, streamline legal proceedings under the principles of "innocent until proven guilty" while guaranteeing lawyers' rights.
In December 2013, China abolished the system of reeducation through labor.
In 2015, about 30,000 imprisoned criminals in four categories were pardoned under an amnesty.
The latest revision to China’s Criminal Law, adopted in 2015, removed the death penalty for nine crimes, reducing the number of crimes in which the death penalty is applicable from 55 to 46.
Chinese citizens now enjoy a larger freedom of religious beliefs. Between 2012 and 2015, the State Administration for Religious Affairs cancelled or adjusted 12 items subject for administrative approval regarding religious affairs.
The report also says that a total of 200 million yuan (US$ 30.53 million) was spent on renovation and expansion projects of religious facilities in Tibet.
Moreover, China is also engaging itself in international human rights efforts as it continues to honor its commitments under the international human rights conventions and maintain constructive dialogues and exchange with major countries.
China is now drafting the third phase of its action plan (2016-2020), which coincides with the 13th Five-Year Plan, with specific targets and tasks in economic, political, cultural, social and ecological fields as it generated incremental progress during the past two terms, revealed Jiang Jianguo, minister of the State Council Information Office, at the meeting.
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