"China adheres to the basic principle of a legally prescribed punishment for each specified crime, suitable punishment for each crime, criminal law equally applicable to everyone, public trials and statutory procedures," it read.

It reiterated that all death sentences must be reported to the Supreme People's Court (SPC) for review and approval, in addition to those verdicts rendered by the SPC.

The SPC loosened its control over death penalty reviews in 1983 amid a national crime crackdown. But it was found later that judges in different areas handled similar cases in varied ways. The SPC took back the power of reviewing death sentences from provincial courts in January 2007.

On the right to a fair trial, the document stipulated that "the information of open trials shall be fully released," and that courts "shall record or video their court sessions and major relevant trial activities, and establish audio-visual archives of trial work" for consultation.

"People's courts are required by law to give the reasons for cases that are not tried openly."

The action plan pledged to guarantee lawyers' rights to meet, correspond with and review files of people in custody, as well as to conduct investigations and collect evidence.

"The state also guarantees the personal rights of lawyers and their right to debate or defend when they carry out their duties," the document stated.

It promised to improve government transparency through better disclosure of important information including revenue, expenditures and development plans.

On participation in political affairs, the government said the people's congress system, or legislative body, will be more widely represented by ethnic minorities, women, and farmers.

The government promised that "all channels are unblocked to guarantee citizens' right to be heard."

"Journalists' right to gather materials, criticize, comment and publish" will be ensured in accordance with the law. Citizens' right to use the Internet, in accordance with the law, will also be guaranteed.

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's leading political advisory body, will invite more social organizations to join to play a bigger role in reporting public opinion, according to the document.

"The channels for people to make complaints in the form of letters and visits will be broadened and remain unblocked," the document stated, vowing to establish a nationwide complaint information system and a state-level office to deal with complaints.

It reiterated the government's stance on freedom of religious belief, saying normal religious activities and religious believers' rights would be protected in accordance with the law.

Rights to development high on agenda

The government admitted that "China has a long road ahead in its efforts to improve its human rights situation," though unremitting efforts have been made to promote and safeguard human rights since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

As a developing country with a population of 1.3 billion, China must give priority to the protection of the people's rights to subsistence and development, such as the rights to employment, education, medical and old-age care and housing, the plan stressed.

Major goals to be achieved by 2010 included:

- To create 18 million new jobs for urban workers while helping 18 million rural laborers move to cities and towns to find jobs by 2010;

- To increase net annual income of some 800 million rural residents by 6 percent from the 4,761 yuan (696 U.S. dollars) recorded in 2008;

- To have more than 223 million people covered by the urban basic old-age pension insurance, 400 million people covered by basic medical care insurance, 120 million covered by unemployment insurance, and 140 million covered by workers' compensation insurance;

- To provide safe drinking water for 60 million rural residents;

- To invest more than 2 billion yuan to help areas inhabited by ethnic minorities to accelerate economic and social development.

The document also detailed what the government will do to "guarantee human rights in the reconstruction of areas hit by the devastating earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province" on May 12, 2008, in which about 87,000 people were confirmed dead or missing, more than 370,000 were injured, and at least 15 million people were displaced.

The government plans to complete housing reconstruction by the end of this year to ensure all quake survivors can move into new houses.

More than 1 million people in quake-affected areas, who were unemployed at present, will be helped to find a job, according to the document.

The government said its action plan was framed in response to the United Nations' call for establishing a national human rights plan. It was also based on the essentials of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2009)