Awarding Nobel peace prize to Liu ignores China's true human rights progress: scholar
Additionally, the Chinese government has significantly improved the lives of low-incomes groups in terms of employment, education and housing through similar social welfare and public service programs.
The Chinese government has always paid great attention to alleviating poverty, which is closely related to the rights of subsistence and development.
From 1978 to 2008, the population living under the poverty line declined by over 230 million, which means three-fourths of the people delivered from destitution in developing countries are from China. Also, the life expectancy reached 73 years old, five years higher than in 1978.
"The State respects and protects human rights" was written into the Constitution in 2004 to provide a legal guarantee of human rights.
Human rights experts, at home and abroad, have recognized China's devotion to improving and protecting human rights in a way that is consistent with Chinese characteristics.
China has improved human rights in all aspects, along with progress in reform and development, while maintaining social stability, they said.
A spokesperson with China's foreign ministry said, earlier this month, that the Nobel Committee's decision to award the peace prize to Liu is a political decision seeking to push change in China and clearly shows their conspicuous political attempts.
This runs utterly against the prize's purpose, and any unprejudiced people of justice would make the right decision, the spokesperson said.
The human rights experts said this year's peace award is no longer an issue of freedom and human rights, but it is, in fact, an issue concerning whether judicial sovereignty should be respected and how to judge China's development path.
The 1.3 billion people in China are the ones who have the utmost legitimate right to speak on these issues. It is certain that China will be steadfast in a development path that fits the country's national condition.
