China endeavors to improve human rights
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China Daily, July 13, 2011
Thirdly, the rights and interests of ethnic minorities, women, children, elderly people and the disabled have been fully guaranteed. Over the past two years China has perfected laws and regulations to protect the rights and interests of ethnic minorities, and fully guaranteed their rights to manage the affairs of ethnic autonomous regions as well as State affairs in accordance with the law. The living standards of ethnic minorities have also been greatly improved as ethnic regional economies realize rapid development. Over the past two years the state has appropriated 2.779 billion yuan as a development fund for ethnic minorities, and over-fulfilled the targets in this regard set in the Action Plan. Protection for religious beliefs and heritages has also been improved. A bilingual teaching mode has taken shape, adapted to the language environment and educational conditions of each ethnic group. A bilingual teaching system is taking shape to train ethnic-minority people proficient in both Chinese and their own spoken and written languages.
The equality and legitimate rights and interests of women have been fully protected. The past two years have seen increased participation of women in the management of State and social affairs. The State formulated and enriched the Social Insurance Law and the Regulations on Labor Protection for Female Workers and Employees. The National People's Congress closely inspected the enforcement of the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests. Trade unions at various levels also provide legal assistance to female employees.
The legitimate rights and interests of minors are now well protected. By 2010, among all the country's provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government, 18 had revised the relevant local regulations in support of the Law on the Protection of Minors, and five had made local regulations on the prevention of juvenile delinquency. Children's rights to health and education are guaranteed. Welfare institutions for children have been established in cities at and above the prefectural level all over the country, forming a basic service network for child welfare. The government has also intensified its efforts to prevent and crack down on the crimes of abusing child labor and abducting and trafficking in children. The protection of the legitimate rights of minors has been further enhanced.
Moreover, the government has improved services for elderly people. The state has amended the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Aged. The Safety Management Standards for Social Welfare Institutions is now being drawn up. The government carries out nationwide inspections on institutions providing services for elderly people. In 2010 enterprise retirees saw their per capita basic pension increase by 140 yuan per month. This pension had already grown for four consecutive years, from 2005 to 2009. The government has also built institutions to provide various urgently needed services for elderly people.
In addition, laws and regulations protecting the rights and interests of people with disabilities are being improved. The NPC Standing Committee has included the Mental Health Law into its lawmaking plan, and the related departments have jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Building of the Social Security and Service Systems for People with Disabilities, and an overall plan to implement this policy has also started. In 2010 a total of 3,592 legal aid agencies throughout the country provided legal services to over 54,000 people with disabilities.
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