By Zhou Jing
zhouj@china.org.cn

This year marks the 30th anniversary of China's adoption of its policy of opening and reform. Over this period, China has not only realized remarkable advances in economic development but also made great progress in human rights, said a senior Chinese expert on Monday at the Beijing Forum on Human Rights.

"Thirty years ago, under the leadership of Mr. Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese set about implementing domestic economic reforms and opening up their country to the outside world", said Luo Haocai, president of the China Society for Human Rights Studies. "Over these years the people of China have seen their civil and political rights secured. Through the structure of the People's Congress, they participate extensively in the political life of the nation, and have full access to freedom of information, the right of review, and the right to vote. In self-governed grass roots mass organizations in urban and rural areas they also directly exercise the right of democratic election, decision-making, management, and review."

"Advances have been made in economic, social and cultural rights. China has made extraordinary progress in eliminating poverty and improving the basic living standards of people in impoverished regions, and these efforts have been widely recognized by the international community," Luo said.

According to Luo, "China reduced the number of inadequately fed and clad poor people in its rural areas from 250 million in 1978 to 14.8 million in 2007. The country's GDP has increased by an average of about nine percent per annum over the past three decades, enabling the living standards of Chinese people to improve rapidly and making China a middle-income country."

"Human rights protection in the judicial field has been improved. More than 800 laws and regulations and more than 7,500 regional laws and regulations have been adopted. Many laws, such as the Property Law, the Law on State Compensation, and the Administrative License Law give protection to human rights. China has also enshrined the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in its revised Criminal Procedure. In 2007 The Supreme Court began a process of review and appeal with regard to all death penalties. As a result, the number of death penalties has drastically declined," Luo said.

"China has sustained the implementation of the system of regional ethnic autonomy, and the protection of ethnic minorities’ right to participate equally in the administration of state affairs and to exercise autonomy over their ethnic affairs in accordance with the law. China attaches great importance to protecting the cultures and the distinctive characters of ethnic minorities. They have the right to use and develop their own written and spoken languages, to preserve their religious beliefs and customs, and to receive education in their own languages."

"Theoretical research on human rights has also made headway. Since the 1990s, China has nurtured a specialized, multidisciplinary research team consisting of institutions of higher learning, research institutions, and experts throughout the country, with the China Society for Human Rights Studies at the center," Luo added.

Despite the significant progress China has made in furthering the cause of human rights, it still faces many problems and difficulties, said Luo.

"China's political and economic systems are far from flawless. Democracy and legal systems require further improvement. Development between urban and rural areas and among different regions is still unbalanced. Problems exist in employment, education, healthcare, housing, social welfare, income distribution, safety in the workplace, and environmental protection."

"The Chinese government is not shying away from these problems. On the contrary, it has publicly pledged to act on them by promoting all-round economic and social development and by improving its democracy and legal systems. In contrast, some Western countries continue to apply double standards on the issue of human rights. While criticizing China and other developing countries, they turn a blind eye to their own human rights failings."

Under the theme of "Development, Security and Human Rights", the Beijing Forum on Human Rights, organized by the China Society for Human Rights Studies, opened on Monday and lasts  from April 21 to 23. More than 100 officials, scholars and researchers from over 30 countries and international organizations attended the forum.

(China.org.cn by staff reporter Zhou Jing April 22, 2008)