A Chinese human rights expert Monday urged some critics to reject the Cold War mindset and recognize China's historic progress and achievements in human rights.

Li Junru, deputy director of the China Society for Human Rights Studies,said at the Beijing Human Rights Forum that the human rights of Chinese citizens were gradually being realized along with the course of safeguarding the nation's collective human rights.

"Only after long term struggles against imperialism and feudalism did China get the ground for realizing basic human rights," Li said.

He noted that it was China's development that guaranteed the realization of the human rights of each citizen.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), a new China was founded in 1949 where people were the owners of the country, marking a great liberation of human rights for the first time in the Chinese history, he said.

Since China adopted the reform and opening-up policy in 1978, the country has witnessed the second great liberation of human rights, as the reform in economy, technology, education, culture, politics and intra-CPC democracy has further promoted China's human rights cause, he said.

China was now putting more emphasis on building a harmonious society and improving people's livelihoods, which further protected the human rights of its citizens, he said.

Li said it's natural for a populous country and meanwhile a developing country to face many problems in human rights. These basic conditions constitute a huge challenge to China's human rights cause, which many countries have never experienced.

He said the government has given more priority to building a socialist harmonious society in accelerating development, focusing on improving people's living conditions. Human rights of Chinese citizens are better respected, realized and guaranteed in this process.

He said in the human rights field, a developing country like China must give top priority to the rights of subsistence and development of its citizens. China would guarantee other human rights in economic and social development on the basis of the realization of these two basic ones.

(Xinhua News Agency April 22, 2008)