State Councilor Wu Yi has urged all relevant departments to implement plans for the development of women and children's affairs for the 2001-2010 period.
Wu made the call Friday at the Fifth Plenary Conference of the Third Women and Children's Work Committee of the State Council.
This year, the Communist Party of China will hold its 16th congress, and it is also the 10th anniversary of the release of the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women, said Wu, who is also the chairman of the committee.
She called for helping re-employ women laid off from factories, an environment promoting equal rights for the employment of women, and a tough crackdown on rape, women and children smuggling and prostitution.
Gu Xiulian, vice chairman of the committee and vice president of the All-China Women's Federation, presented a work report to the meeting.
(People's Daily August 17, 2002)
