The most recent 13 years constitute a period of paramount importance in the history of human rights development in China. These years have seen the Chinese government persistently take economic construction as the core of all work and spare no effort to strengthen the building of democracy and the legal system and promote the development of spiritual civilization. This has brought about an all-round progress of the reform and development undertakings, ensured stability of the country, and brought about a sharp increase in the national strength. A historic change has taken place in living standards, and the Chinese people have come to enjoy a better life after they succeeded in producing enough to feed and clothe themselves. To sum up, China has made great achievements in developing its human rights cause during these years.

National Economy & Rights to Subsistence and Development

China is a developing country with a population of 1.3 million. By proceeding from this basic condition of China's, the Chinese people and government have taken the right to subsistence and development and improvement of the conditions for the exercise of this right as the top goal for their endeavor to turn human rights into reality. What the Chinese people and government have done over the past 13 years testifies to the correctness of this choice.

China's gross domestic product (GDP) has since 1989 grown at an annual average rate of 9.3%. It reached 9.6 trillion yuan in 2001. In the following year, the Chinese GDP broke the 10 trillion yuan mark for the first time, making China the sixth greatest economic power in the world. The figure was six times as great as for 1989, when China generated 1.7 trillion yuan in GDP. China's foreign exchange reserves were computed at a mere US$5.5 billion for 1989. By the end of 2002, the figure had grown 49 times, to US$270 billion, the second largest in the world. The country's trade volume came to US$509.8 billion in 2001; enabling China to rank sixth among all countries, up from the 16th in 1990. For 2002, it exceeded US$600 billion, 5.4 times over 1989. For the development momentum of its national economy and the constant improvement in its investment environment, China has become increasingly attractive to investors from all over the world. Foreign direct investment (FDI) realized in China came to US$48.9 billion in 2001, 15 times the figure for 1989. It grew to US$51 billion in 2002, more than what the United States received in the same year, suggesting that China had replaced the United States as the greatest FDI recipient among all countries in the world. Thanks to so sound a national economic development, sharp increases have been registered in both central and local budgetary revenues. The 2001 budgetary revenues of the state came to nearly 1.64 trillion yuan, 7.1 times the corresponding figure for 1990. Local government budgetary revenues grew steadily during the 1994-2001 period, at averaging annual rates of 21.2%.

Big increases have also been registered in incomes of China's urban and rural residents, resulting in significantly increased consumption and improved quality of life. From 1990 to 2001, the net incomes for the rural residents, calculated on a per capita basis, registered a real increase of 62%, and the disposal incomes more than doubled for the urban residents. The deposits of the urban and rural residents had a balance of no more than 500 billion yuan in 1989. By 2002, the figure had shot up to eight trillion yuan, representing a 15-fold increase over 1989. The 2001 volume of retail sales was 4.5 times that for 1990. Substantial changes have been witnessed in the structure of consumption. In 1990, food accounted for 54% of an average urban family's total consumption spending. By 2001, the proportion had dropped to 37.9%. For rural families, it dropped from 58.8% to 47.7%. Since 1989, the annual food grain production has broken the 450 million and 500 million ton-marks in succession, enabling the country to put aside a record amount of grain for reserve. China produced 63.34 million tons of meat in 2001, 2.41 times over 1989. The 2001 national output of aquatic products came to 43.81 million tons, up 3.8 times. Calculated on a per capita basis, the consumption of meat, eggs, milk and aquatic products in 2001 was 2.12, 2.86, 2.38 and 3.44 times as much as in 1989. The average daily intake of calories, protein and fat from food by the Chinese is now greater than for the world average. At the end of 2001, each member of the rural population had a housing space of 25.7 square meters on an average, and the figure was 21 square meters for each member of the urban population. Moreover, housing in both urban and rural areas became better in construction quality and were fitted with better service facilities. The past 13 years have witnessed a constantly upgrading of consumer articles purchased by both the urban and rural residents. Back in 1989, consumption was meant primarily to meet the basic needs of the people, whose spending went first of all to food, followed by clothing and housing. Spending by residents on self-improvement and enjoyment of life has grown year after year, and the portion has gone up 5.9,12.9 and 6.3 times separately for medical care, travels and communications, and education and entertainment. The number of subscribers to telephone services exceeded 400 million in 2002, including more than 200 million subscribers to fixed and mobile telephone services. Computers and private cars have found their way into people's homes in increasing numbers.

The state attached great importance to helping underdeveloped regions in their endeavor to shake off poverty through development and to assisting citizens living below the poverty line to improve their living standard. Since the mid-1980s, huge sums have been spent for the purpose while all sectors of society have been mobilized to lend a helping hand. What merits special mention is the so-called "8-7 Poverty Alleviation Program" (launched in 1993 to help 80 million people earn enough to feed and clothe themselves in seven years), which has significantly alleviated rural poverty? In implementing the program, governments at different levels stress development, instead of giving out relief, as the chief means to assist poverty-stricken regions and individual rural residents to improve their own conditions. Every effort has been made to help underdeveloped regions in their own effort to develop the local economies. This policy has accelerated the development of such regions, resulting in a significant improvement in production and living conditions there and enabling many families to lift themselves above the poverty line and even become well off. In 2001, 29 million rural residents, or 3.2% of the country's total rural population, were classified as poverty stricken, 73 million less than in 1989, suggesting that an average of 6.08 million formerly poverty-stricken people shake off poverty every year.

Political Civilization & Civil and Political Rights

China has been working hard to promote the development of democracy and the legal system and making positive efforts to accelerate the reform of its political system to promote the socialist political civilization. Thanks to this, Chinese citizens now enjoy more democratic political rights.

In China, all powers belong to the people. The Chinese people exercise the state power through the National People's Congress (NPC) and local people's congresses at different levels. Upholding the people's congress system and improving it, therefore, constitute the core of the country's endeavor to safeguard and ensure the rights to which citizens are entitled. In April 1992, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Deputies to the National People's Congress and to the Local People's Congresses at Various Levels was adopted at the Fifth Session of the Seventh NPC. The law aims to ensure exercise of their powers by deputies to the NPC and local people's congresses in accordance with the law, fulfillment of their obligations, and performance of their duties. Deputies attending the Second Session of the Seventh NPC put up 411 motions and proposals. Since then, the number of motions and proposals has increased session after session, to a total of 1,194 at the Fifth Session of the Ninth NPC in 2002, 2.9 times the figure for the 1989 NPC session. During the ten-year period for the terms of the Eighth and Ninth NPC, delegations and individual deputies forwarded 8,108 motions and 26,384 proposals, complaints and recommendations. The NPC, on its part, has constantly strengthened its own organizational construction. Nine specialized committees were set up under the Ninth NPC the NPC committees of nationalities, legal, internal affairs and justice, finance and economy, education, science, culture and health, foreign affairs, overseas Chinese, environmental and resources protection, and agriculture and rural areas. This indicated progress made by the NPC in institutionalizing its day-to-day work and setting up a complete range of procedures for its handling. The NPC and local people's congresses have constantly intensified their supervision over implementation of laws and government work. Over the past 13 years the NPC Standing Committee has made some 50 inspections into implementation of laws with a view to resolving major economic and social development problems and issues that are the focus of public concern. It has also heard and examined work reports from the State Council, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procurator ate on more than 40 specific subjects.

In striving to improve democracy and the legal system, China has accelerated the process of law-making over the past 13 years. In line with the principle of running the country in accordance with the law, the NPC and the NPC Standing Committee have formulated 125 new laws, which account for 62.5% of the total currently in force, revised 56 laws, and published seven pieces of legal interpretation. At the Second Session of the Ninth NPC in March 1999, the Constitution of the People's Republic of China was revised to include the formulation "implementing the principle of governing the country according to law and building a socialist country ruled by law." Importance has always been attached to protection of citizens' rights in the process of law-making. A series of laws has been promulgated to this effect, including the Organic Law of the Urban Residents' Committees, the Organic Law of the Villagers' Committees, the Trade Union Law, the law on Assemblies, Processions and Demonstrations, and the Copyright Law. The NPC has also revised the Marriage Law for better protection of Chinese families. At the end of 2002, more than 200 laws were in force, and so were 600 administrative regulations promulgated by the State Council and 8,000 pieces of legislation adopted either by local people's congresses or their standing committees. These figures suggest that China has by and large accomplished the task of building up a complete legal system with Chinese characteristics and with the Constitution of the People 's Republic of China serving as the core.

The nationwide campaign to cultivate and raise awareness of law has been gathering momentum, enabling Chinese citizens to constantly enhance their understanding of the need to abide by laws and use laws to protect their legitimate rights and interests. The NPC Standing Committee has so far published three decisions on publicity of law and mass education in law. Concerned government departments have jointly issued a five-year plan for mass education in law. Jiang Zemin and other leaders of the Party and state take the lead in study of laws. The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has organized 12 forums on law for its own members and other leaders and senior officials. The NPC Standing Committee, on its part, has over the past five years organized 30 such sessions. More than 12,000 officials at the provincial and city-prefecture levels have attended similar study sessions. All told, 800 million Chinese citizens have received education in law through the nationwide campaign.

Multi-political party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party is a basic political system in China. It entered the Constitution in 1993 to represent the will of the state. Since 1989, more than 150 meetings for political consultation, discussions or briefings have been held either by the CPC Central Committee and State Council themselves or by the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee on their request. At such meetings, leaders of China's democratic parties and representatives of personages without political party affiliation were consulted on major political and economic issues of the state and on important appointments and dismissals. Since 1993, representatives of the democratic parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and personages without political party affiliation have, at the invitation of the CPC Central Committee, made inspections in groups for a first-hand knowledge of the Three Gorges Project, development of China's western regions, and China's agriculture and sustainable development. Following each inspection, a meeting chaired personally by Jiang Zemin or another top leader would be held to solicit opinions and suggestions from the participants. The democratic parties and personages without political party affiliation are active players in the country's political life. Nine of them are serving as vice-chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee; 850 as deputies to the NPC and 120,000 as deputies to local people's congresses. In addition, 16 of them are serving as vice-chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC); 1,300 as CPPCC National Committee members; and 240,000, as members of local committees of the CPPCC. Moreover, 13 non-communists are serving as vice-ministers of ministries or vice-ministers in charge of state commissions under the State Council, and 27 as deputy provincial governors or assistants to provincial governors. One of the vice-presidents of the Supreme People's Court is a non-communist, and another non-communist serves as deputy chief procurator of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. Among vic-pepresidents of higher and intermediate people's courts, 28 are not members of the Communist Party, 21 non-communists are deputy chief procurators of people's procuratorates at the provincial and city-prefecture levels. Persistent efforts to uphold and improve the system of political consultation fill members of the democratic parties and personages without political affiliation with enthusiasm in managing and discussing political affairs. The democratic parties' central committees have over the past 15 years raised 160 proposals of major importance, and their local organizations contributed more than 20,000. Many of these proposals have been adopted, testifying to the importance attached by the CPC Central Committee and State Council and local governments to them. Members of the democratic parties and personages without political party affiliation have also taken part in inspections that aim at curbing corruption and promoting honest government, protecting the environment and correcting irregularities in land management, which come as a way to broaden the channels for democratic supervision. In this sound political environment that features multi-party cooperation, the various democratic parties have been able to expand organizationally. Of the 80,000 members of the Jiu San Society, one of the democratic parties, 80% have been recruited over the past 13 years.

Grass-root democracy in China has experienced an unprecedented development. In 1987, the Organic Law of the Villagers' Committees was put to trial implementation, and in 1998, it officially became effective. Under this law, self-government by villagers has become a basic political system in the countryside. By 2002, four re-elections of villagers' committees had taken place in most Chinese provinces, with a voter turnout exceeding 80% in general and, in some cases, as high as 95%. Some 690,000 villagers' committees are in operation across China. Some 90% of the villages are run under rules and regulations formulated by villagers themselves, where discussion and management of public affairs and village budgets have become an institutional practice. This kind of self-government features democratic election of village leaders, decision-making through a democratic process, democratic management of public affairs and democratic supervision over work of village leaders and public budgets. It has filled the rural population with a soaring political enthusiasm and effectively protected their democratic rights. The international community has been keen on self-government by Chinese villagers. Since the 1990s, groups of government officials, parliamentarians and journalists from two dozen countries have come to China to see for themselves how the system works. An American expert on Chinese affairs said that the Chinese government has been working genuinely and in real earnest to promote village autonomy. "This grass-root democracy with Chinese characteristics will take the world by surprise," he noted.

Also thriving is urban grass-root democracy. More than 90,000 urban residents' committees have come into being since adoption of the Organic Law of the Urban Residents' Committees by the NPC Standing Committee in 1989. Self-government by communities in Chinese cities and urban towns has become especially popular since 1998. Residents in a given urban community are able not only to select their own leaders through direct election, but also comment on work of civil servants and government's working departments in general. In short, community autonomy has enriched urban grass-root democracy and made it diverse in form. Employees at factories, mines and companies are involved in democratic decision-making and management through congresses of their own representatives and other channels. It is now an institutional practice for the management of an enterprise to make managerial affairs known to the employees. Diverse forms of grass-root democracy have kept coming into being, including popular participation in meetings to have public affairs properly administered, meetings to comment on government officials in performing their duties, as well as the practice of appointing official posts on a competitive basis. To sum up, Chinese citizens in either town or countryside are enjoying increasingly extensive democratic rights.

China is a multi-religion country, with a total of 100 million religious believers. It pursues the policy or principle that calls for respect for religious beliefs and independence of religious believers in running religious affairs. The Chinese Constitution stipulates in explicit terms the right of citizens to religious belief. Of those laws adopted or revised over the past 13 years, many contain provisions on protection of religious beliefs. Those years have seen intensified effort on the part of governments at different levels to implement the religious policies of the state on restoration of religious sites and protection of legitimate religious activities. Some 17,000 religious leaders are serving as deputies to people's congresses and members of CPPCC committees, thus involving themselves in the country's political life. The various religions are equal in status and their respective believers are able to join hands in striving for mutual development, and little religious strife has occurred. Religious believers and non-believers are locked up in mutual respect, and are able to live side by side in harmony. Since the Chinese government banned the illegal Falungong cult in 1999 in accordance with the law, the general public and religious circles have thoroughly exposed the anti-humanity and anti-society nature of the cult and, in the process, large numbers of people misled by the cult have been helped mend their ways. People in China's religious circles agree that in China today, they are enjoying full freedom to religious beliefs under protection of the Constitution and law. As many of them have put it, "the religious circles are experiencing a truly 'golden age.'"

Judicial Reform & Protection of Human Rights

Running the country in accordance with the law is a strategy of fundamental importance for management of state affairs by the Chinese government. In accelerating the process of law making and striving to build a complete legal system with Chinese characteristics, the Chinese government has over the past 13 years attached great importance to law enforcement in strict accordance with the law. Judicial protection of human rights has been effectively ensured as a result.

In step with the development of China's reforms and modernization endeavor since 1989, there have emerged numerous new circumstances in the country's economic, political and social life. In response, public security and judicial departments have, in accordance with the law, dealt severe blows on crimes and this has effectively ensured safety of state property and people's lives and property. To create a safe environment for production and living, these departments have concentrated on cracking down on crimes that seriously affect people's safety and frequently occur, including homicide, robbery, rape, explosion, kidnapping and larceny. In the most recent years, the crackdown has been targeted, in particular, against crimes committed by Mafia-like gangs, those local bullies who ride roughshod over the people. Just in 2001, 350 such cases were tried, involving 1,953 defendants. Meanwhile, severe blows have been dealt upon crimes of violence and terrorism. Resolute actions have been taken in accordance with the law to fight crimes of explosion, homicide and arson organized and planned by groups of terror, religious fundamentalism and national separatism. A group of criminal offenders have been arrested and prosecuted allegedly for sabotaging the implementation of law and undermining social security by making use of Falungong and other cults.

A nationwide campaign has been launched to consolidate the market order. In the process, punishments have been meted out in accordance with the law against crimes that do harm to people's lives and health, including production and marketing of counterfeit and substandard foods and medicines, as well as crimes of tax evasion and defraud, financial swindling, smuggling and pyramid selling. This has effectively protected the people's legitimate rights and interests. Work has been intensified to investigate and prevent on-job crimes, bringing to justice those proven to have acted as behind-the-scene leaders of Mafialike gangs or as their "protective umbrellas" by taking advantage of their powers and influence.

The people's procuratorates at different levels have improved their work related to criminal prosecution. In doing so, they have stuck to the principle of attaching equal importance to punishing crimes and protecting human rights. On one hand, they have concentrated on preventing laxity in cracking down on crimes. To achieve the purpose, they have been striving to correct, in accordance with the law, irregularities such as failure to place on file and investigate into cases that are serious enough to constitute crimes, use of administrative penalties to replace criminal sentencing, and criminal sentencing lighter than should be. On the other, procuratorates have worked hard to protect the litigation rights of all participants in lawsuits by being stringent with facts, evidence, applicable laws and legal procedures while correcting acts in violation of law such as exacting confession with torture and detention exceeding the time limit prescribed by law. The Regulations Concerning Handling by People's Procuratorates of Civil and Administrative Cases of Protest have been published with a view to strengthening procuratorial supervision over trials of civil and administrative cases. Cases of on-job crimes committed as a result of judicial unfairness have been properly dealt with. In 2001, 12,715 people working in China's legal system were penalized for convicted violations of law and discipline.

China's courts have achieved significant results in carrying out a judicial reform under the principle of "justice and fairness." Court trials, which shall be open to the public except in instances otherwise provided by law, have become an institutional practice under a set of procedural rules and regulations. Open trials are becoming diverse in form for greater transparency, including for example telecast of court trials. All courts have set up separate divisions to take charge of placing cases on file, trials, execution of sentences passed and supervision over the process of execution. Complete systems are in operation, in charge of trials of criminal, civil and administrative cases with a view to ensuring implementation of the principles of "basing court trials on facts and using law as the sole criterion (in sentencing and making decisions)" and "correcting any mistake once it is discovered." This has enhanced the fairness and authority of court trials. A new work mechanism has been instituted to ensure execution of court sentences and decisions by enabling the higher court of a province, autonomous region or municipality to administer and coordinate in a unified manner such work done by courts under its jurisdiction. Priority is now given to execution of court sentences and decisions on cases involving monetary support for children and aged people, old-age and retirement pensions, social insurance and enumeration for labor. In 2001, court sentences and decisions on these matters in more than 60,000 cases were executed, and that ensured the basic needs in life of the applicants for having such sentences and decisions executed. Important progress has been made in work of China's court system to build up a contingent of professional judges. Beginning 2002, all courts are obliged to recruit judges from among those who have passed the state judicial examination for job qualification, which also comes as a part of the effort to ensure judicial fairness. More than 360,000 candidates took part in the first state judicial examination held in March 2002. A system has been fully instituted for selection and appointment of presiding judges and independent judicial officers. Thanks to this, collegiate benches are able to conduct court trials and pass rulings under truly professional chief judges, thus able to improve their handling of cases.

Work has begun to ensure that administrative law enforcement is carried out as an institutional practice, by following procedures prescribed in relevant laws and in accordance with the laws applicable to the specific cases. The promulgation of the Administrative Procedure Law, the State Compensation Law and the Administrative Reconsideration Law has played a big role in standardizing law enforcement behaviors and ensuring supervision over them. By June 2002, 29 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have instituted the system of responsibility for administrative law enforcement, and also in widespread use are public notification, public hearing and other methods to ensure transparency of administrative law enforcement. This has helped public servants enhance their understanding of the need to be law-abiding in performing their duties and made them more capable of duly exercising their administrative powers, making decisions and administering public affairs. The broad masses of the people have become increasingly conscious in using laws to protect their rights and interests and supervise over the government. Lawsuits filed by ordinary citizens against government officials have kept increasing in numbers since the Administrative Procedure Law became effective for implementation on October 1, 1990. The number of such lawsuits filed in 2002 exceeded 100,000. in 40% of them the plaintiffs won. Since the State Compensation Law was promulgated in 1995, courts across China have handled 11,323 cases involving state compensation.

The past 13 years have also witnessed a constant improvement and development of the system of lawyers and legal assistance in China. The systems have played an increasingly important role in safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of citizens in accordance with the law and in ensuring correct implementation of laws. The state attaches great importance to the role of lawyers in safeguarding human rights. It takes the system of judicial defense as an important part of judicial protection of human rights, and has constantly improved the system through legislative and judicial practice. By the first half of 2002, the number of Chinese lawyers had grown to 120,000, and the number of law firms, to more than 10,000. Judicial fairness has been effectively promoted thanks to lawyers' participation in criminal procedures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects and the accused. In 2001, Chinese lawyers were involved in 339,000 criminal cases by acting either as defense counsels or agents of the defendants.

China has instituted legal assistance to ensure that the poverty-stricken and the vulnerable enjoy equal rights as all other citizens under the constitutional principle that calls for "equality of all people before law." Under the Rules of the Supreme People's Court on Legal Assistance to Litigants Verified as in Financial Difficulties, litigants in civil and administrative lawsuits verified as in financial difficulties may, in accordance with the law, have the litigation fees exempted or reduced or have payment of such fees delayed. This applies in particular to cases involving senior citizens, women, delinquents, disabled persons and workers laid off from state-owned enterprises demanding monetary support, compensation or old-age pension, as well as cases involving victims of traffic and medical accidents and occupational injuries demanding compensation. In 2000 and 2001, practice of such privileges involved a total of two billion yuan in half a million cases. The Ministry of Justice proposed in 1994 that a system of legal assistance be set up. By August 2001, 2,156 legal assistance institutions had been set up with a total of 7,000 professionals, which offer services at levels corresponding to people's courts at the state, provincial, city and county levels. The past years have seen a steady increase in the number of cases that call for legal assistance, from 40,000 in 1997 to more than 170,000 in 2000. Over the past five years, legal assistance has made it possible for nearly 600,000 people to have their legitimate rights and interests protected. The Outline of the Tenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development passed by the National People's Congress in March 2002 sets, in explicit terms, the task of "setting up a complete system of legal assistance" in the country. This indicates that the government has become duty-bound to institute and provide legal assistance to those in need and that legal assistance has become an important part of the national endeavor for social development.

The Prison Law of the People's Republic of China adopted by the NPC Standing Committee in December 1994 provides, in explicit terms, the rights to which prison inmates are entitled. Justice departments of the government have been working in real earnest to implement this and other laws related to prison administration. To put in a nutshell, the country has by and large set up a system with Chinese characteristics for protecting the legitimate rights of prison inmates.

The judicial reform has not only won recognition by Chinese people of different walks of life but also favorable international comments. After hearing a trial at a Chinese court, the Bolivian Chief Judge observed that efficiency, transparency and work in real earnest characterize court trials conducted in China. He believed that China's judicial system is very progressive and China will definitely become even greater thanks to its judicial system that features efficiency, transparency and work in real earnest.

Labor & Social Security

Labor and social security affect the immediate interests of the people, and therefore constitute a basic citizen right. The Chinese government sees employment as vital to the people's livelihood and has always taken the issue of ensuring employment and social insurance as a task of strategic importance to be accomplished through national economic and social development. To this end, it has adopted a series of measures and has achieved remarkable successes.

Employment has increased rapidly. Some 650 million people were employed in 1990 and, by 2001, the figure had grown to 730 million, a net increase of 83 million. The number of employed urban people grew from 170.41 million to 239.4 million, a net increase of 69 million; and the number of employed rural people, from 477.08 million to 490.85 million, a net increase of more than 14 million. The rate of registered urban unemployment was around 3% for the most of these years. However, the rate has risen over the last two years, reaching 3.6% at the end of 2001. In 2002, the government was able to limit the rate of registered urban unemployment to 4%.

China's employment reform has progressed smoothly. The state follows a proactive employment policy under which work has been done to appropriately readjust the employment structure. To create as many jobs as possible, work is being done to diverse the forms of employment while broadening the existing channels for employment. As a result, a market-oriented employment system is now in place by and large. The country's employment policy can be summarized as one of "encouraging laborers to get self-employed and readjusting the market mechanisms to create jobs with encouragement from the government." Meanwhile, various methods have been adopted to help laborers better prepare themselves for jobs, as work is being done to set up employment service centers while improving the existing ones with a view to eventually building up a complete system of employment with centers operating at different levels. In line with China's development strategies including those for urbanization and for development of the western regions, the government is carrying out a policy of fundamental importance that encourages rural residents to get employed where they live while providing proper guidance to their cross-region migration in search of jobs. Joint effort by the government and different sector of society has ensured a constant increase in job opportunities and improved the employment structure. In 1990, laborers employed by the third industry accounted for 18.5% of China's total and, by 2001, the proportion had grown to 27.7%. In comparison, the proportion assumed by those employed by the first industry dropped from 60% to 50% during the same period. The number of employees working at privately owned, individual and foreign-funded enterprises has kept increasing. The net increase was 30 million, accounting for 40% of those urban people who got employed during the 1990-2001 period. Migration of rural laborers in excess of the need by agricultural undertakings to cities and urban towns has gone on at an accelerating pace. More than 130 million rural people are now working in township-run enterprises in their native places or elsewhere, and 80 million others are working in cities.

A new kind of relationship of labor has taken shape in the country. In light of the complicated circumstances emerging in relationship of labor under the market economy, the state has lost no time to promulgate the Labor Law of the People's Republic of China and other laws and statues. Hand-in-hand has come the establishment of the labor contract system, the system of collective agreement, the mechanisms for coordination between the employer, employee and trade union, the system of labor standards, and the system of social insurance inspection. The system for handling of labor disputes has been improved. Besides, the system of wages and distribution has been reformed. Thanks to this new relationship of labor, protection is ensured for laborers' rights to selection of jobs, enumeration for their work, rest and holidays, occupational safety and health, social insurance and welfare. By the end of 2001, a total of 270,000 collective agreements had been signed and submitted by the relevant enterprises to the government for the record. A total of 3,174 labor inspection agencies had been set up, which together had 40,000 inspectors, and so had been labor disput arbitration committees operating at the county and higher levels for arbitration of labor disputes, which had 20,000 full and parttime arbitrators. From issuance of the Regulations Concerning Handling of Labor Disputes at Enterprises in August 1993 to the end of 2001, labor dispute arbitration committees at different levels handled 688,000 cases, which involved a total of 2.37 million laborers. And year after year during this period, cases that were settled accounted for no less than 90% of the total submitted for arbitration. Also settled were 503,000 cases that were relatively simple and were not put to the record. Since the mid1990s, the number of work hours for Chinese employees has been reduced twice, from 48 hours per week to 44, and then to 40. Statutory holidays have been prolonged, from seven days to ten. Chinese employees now have a yearly 114 free days with full pay, instead of 59 days as in the past.

The state has intensified the reform of the system for social security to make it conform to requirements of the market economic system. Unified administration by labor and social security authorities over social security affairs has replaced the old system under which such affairs were administered by numerous government departments. Steps are being taken to shift those social security affairs for which enterprises are responsible to sub-district offices and communities for administration. Meanwhile, the government has strengthened the management of social security funds and encouraged supervision by society over their use. In 2001, 98.2 billion yuan was earmarked from the central budget for social security, 5.18 times the figure for 1998. Since 1998, a social security system has by and large been established which, with distinct Chinese characteristics, calls for the so-called "two guarantees"-guarantee for the basic living standards of laid-off workers and guarantee for full payment of pensions for retirees-and "three guarantee lines." Some 26 million workers were laid off from state-owned enterprises from 1998 to the end of June 2002. Of these, more than 90% have entered enterprise reemployment service centers, which provide them with a basic cost of living and pay their insurance fees. The number of retirees entitled to basic old-age pensions increased from 27 million to 32 million during the same period. All of them have been receiving such pensions in full sums and without delay. Besides, old-age pensions amounting to 21.5 billion yuan having been in arrears for years have been given to their recipients. From 1998 to 2001, the central government allocated 130 billion yuan for "two gurantees" in old industrial bases and those relatively underdeveloped central and western regions. The practice of the "three guarantee lines" entitles a laid-off employee to a basic cost of living for three years from the reemployment service center at his or her own enterprise. The laid-off employee may receive a sum of money against unemployment for the following two years if, upon expiration of the three-year period, he or she still finds it impossible to get a new job. If the laid-off employee remains unemployed at the end of the two-year period, he or she may apply to the local government for a subsistence allowance. By September 2002, 101 million people had benefited from insurance against unemployment, and 4 million others had been receiving money against unemployment. The "three guarantee lines" and "two guarantees" are linked up in practice, and have effectively ensured the basic living standards for laid-off employees and low-income residents.

Educational & Cultural Undertakings

The government has persistently followed the principle of "using science and technology to invigorate the country." It attaches great importance to development of science, technology, education and culture, and spares no effort to promote cultural civilization with a view to helping citizens improve their personal qualities.

Under the principle of enabling education to serve China's modernization endeavor and adapt to world standards and to the development of the country in the future, the state has since the 1990s accelerated the pace of educational legislation and pressed ahead with reform and innovation of education. The country had 1.35 million schools of different levels in 2001. These had a combined enrolment of 320 million pupils and students. To put it another way, 26.6% of the Chinese were studying in the year, up from 22.2% in 1990. As scheduled, the nine-year compulsory education had been instituted across the country to put it a bit more precisely, in areas inhabited by more than 90% of the Chinese population. In 1990, illiterates accounted for 10.4% of the Chinese in the 15-45 age group. By 2001, the proportion had dropped to 4.1%. The school attendance rate for 2001 was as high as 99.1 % for Chinese children of the school age, and 88.7% of the primary school pupils were able to continue to study at junior high schools. Junior high school students numbered 65.144 million in the year, 64% more than in 1990. Senior high education has kept expanding in scope. In 2001, senior high schools of different types enrolled 9.88 million students, 4.11 million more than in 1990. More than 26 million students were studying at senior high schools in 2001, nearly twice as many as in 1990. Higher education, too, has developed rapidly. In 2001, universities and junior colleges across China enrolled 4.64 million students. Included were 2.68 million by universities, quadrupling their 1990 enrolment. Schools of higher learning for adults enrolled 1.96 million students, twice as many as in 1990. Chinese universities and colleges had a total of 7.19 million undergraduates in 2001, 3.5 times the figure for 1990. The 2001 enrolment of postgraduate students came to 165,200, 4.5 times the 1990 enrolment of 29,700. Adult education has developed at a fast speed since 1990. Schools of higher learning for adults have produced 8.36 million graduates and secondary schools for professional training, 10.18 million. In 2001, the length of schooling averaged 7.7 years for Chinese citizens at six and older, which was 2.4 years longer than for 1990. Among every 100,000 Chinese citizens, 4,087 people had by 2001 received junior college education or education at even higher levels, nearly three times the figure for 1990.

The state has increased its input for education by large margins. The 2001 expenditures on education came to 463.766 billion yuan, six times the 1990 expenditures. In step with the increase in education expenditures, there have been significant improvements in school facilities and increases in teachers' incomes. Breakthroughs have been made in making supporting services for schools market-oriented. Thanks to this, accommodation, catering and other services have markedly improved for students. In the most recent years, large numbers of students from poverty-stricken families have received financial and other assistance from state allocations, scholarships and a national program to support the western regions in development of education.

The past 13 years have also seen big progress made by China in developing the mass media and cultural undertakings. Cultural products have increased in quantity and kept improving in quality. In 2001, the country published books under 154,526 titles, with a combined print of 6.3 billion copies. There were 8,889 periodicals in China, whose print, put together, came to 2.9 billion copies. There were also 2,111 newspapers, with a combined print of 35.1 billion copies for the year. Audiovisual products under 20,971 titles were published in the year, up from about 10,000 in the mid-1990s. Copies of audiovisual cassettes and discs published in 2001 numbered 280 million, up from around 100 million in the mid-1990s. Mass cultural activities have been thriving. By the end of 2001, the country had built some 100,000 radio and TV reception facilities, covering 92.9% and 94.2% of the Chinese population, respectively. Conditions in mass cultural venues have improved greatly over the past 13 years. Literature, artistic and theatrical creations and performances have been thriving, and China's physical culture and sports, full of vigor. To sum up, Chinese people in both urban and rural areas are able to enjoy an increasingly rich, colorful cultural life.

Protection of Women & Children's Rights

The Chinese government and society have always paid special attention to protecting women and children's rights. Improvement in such protection is particularly spectacular over the past 13 years.

Since the NPC Standing Committee passed the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women in 1992, a series of other laws and government regulations to the same effect have been promulgated. These include the Regulations Concerning the Work of Health Care for Female Employees and the Law of the People's Republic of China on Maternal and Infant Health Care. The revised criminal, marriage and labor laws provide even stronger protection of women's rights and interests. Besides, many judicial interpretations have been published for the same purpose. China has by now established a complete legal system for the protection of women's rights and promotion of women's development, which takes the Constitution as the basis and the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women as the core. The Judicial Committee of the NPC Standing Committee has, over the past ten years, carried out four inspections jointly with relevant departments to see to it that the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women has been truly implemented. The State Council, on its part, published two national programs for promotion of women's development in 1995 and 2001, respectively, and has incorporated work to promote women's development into state plans for national economic and social development. By early 2000, special government organs had been set up to take charge of work related to women and children in all the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities on the Chinese mainland, 385 cities and prefectures and more than 2,000 counties. These operate under governments at the corresponding levels, and involve leaders of the relevant government departments. Governments at various levels and their working departments have made women-related work a regular part of work schedule. Judicial departments, in cooperation with local women's federations, have set up collegiate benches in courts special for protection of women and children's rights and interests, as well as legal assistance centers for the same purpose.

Progress has been made in work to ensure women's participation in discussion and management of state affairs. Of the delegates to the 16th CPC National Congress, 382 were women, accounting for 18% of the delegates, against 16.8% for the previous CPC national congress. Of the deputies to the Ninth NPC, 650 or 21.8% are women, 24 more than for the previous NPC and representing a proportional increase of 0.8 percentage points. Some 341 women are on the Ninth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, accounting for 15.5% of the committee's total membership. There are 58 more women than the previous CPPCC National Committee, representing a proportional increase of 1.5 percentage points. Fifteen women are serving as ministers or vice-ministers. Besides, there are women in leading bodies of the Party and government in all the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities on the Chinese mainland. At the end of 2001, women officials in the Party and government numbered 14.88 million, accounting for 36.7% of the national total. They were 4.06 million more than in 1990, representing a proportional increase of 5.8 percentage points.

The state attaches great importance to protecting women's equal right to employment and to access to resources. Some 288 million women in China's urban and rural areas were employed in 1990. By 2000, the figure had grown to 330 million, accounting for 47% of the country's total urban and rural labor force. Women's proportion in the total urban labor force are 11 percentage points greater than the corresponding figure for the world. Laid-off and unemployed women workers enjoy priority in getting assistance and aid from the government. Of the 26.2 million laid-off workers who have entered reemployment centers since 1998, 11.79 million are women. With help from government departments of labor and social security, 7.9 million laid-off women workers have by now found new jobs. The state employment policy prohibits gender discrimination and unauthorized raising by any employer of recruitment standards in discrimination against women. All efforts have been made to create community-based service jobs. There were more than 100,000 community-based service entities in China at the end of 2001. These employed 1.2 million people, of whom 840,000 or 70% were women.

Women's rights and interests in work are effectively protected. Physical conditions of women are taken into full account in working out labor contracts to see to it that legal provisions on special labor protection for women are honored, including those on women's work hours and vacations and labor protection for women during menstruation, pregnancy, puerperium and nursing. The policy of equal pay for equal work is carried out in real earnest. Positive efforts have been made to ensure that labor disputes involving women are properly settled. Work has been done to promote insurance against childbirth expenses in the interest of corporate and factory employees. By the end of 2001, half of the Chinese cities had set up a system to the benefit of 34.55 million people, under which a special fund is set up to cover part of the childbirth expenses incurred by those women who are insured. Governments at different levels ensure that rural women enjoy equal rights to land for farming under the contract system, and assist women in their effort to set up individual and private enterprises. Rural women are given privileges under government programs for poverty alleviation through development. Likewise, the "Project of Happiness" has been launched to assist mothers in their effort to shake off poverty.

About 30 million formerly illiterate women have learned to read and write over the past 13 years. The average length of schooling for Chinese women has increased at a faster rate than for men, and the illiteracy rate for women has dropped faster than for men. The primary school attendance rates are roughly the same for boys and girls 99.14% for boys as against 99.07% for girls, with a difference of only 0.07 percentage points. Since 1995, girls have taken a growing proportion in the total enrolment of China's secondary schools for professional training. In 2001, 3.023 million girls were studying at secondary technical schools across China, accounting for 55.27% of the student population there. College women numbered 3.023 million, accounting for 42.04% of the country's undergraduates. Meanwhile, 139,035 women were studying for postgraduate degrees in the year. Women now account for 40.6% of the technical personnel currently working in China. Nearly 100 million rural women have learned one or two practical skills in recent years. Women play a key role in the 9.24 million rural households designated by local governments to demonstrate application of advanced farming and other techniques, and 2.4 million women have been commended for their contribution in this regard.

Chinese women's heath, in general, has improved constantly. Special targets for improvement in women's health comprise a part of the development plans drawn by governments at various levels. Women and children's health centers are found everywhere, particularly in the countryside. Such centers numbered 3,200 in both town and countryside in 2001.These had 160,000 school-trained gynecologists, pediatricians and obstetricians, and also in service were 270,000 in the countryside who had received elementary training in obstetrics and work as part-time midwives. Chinese women's life expectancy was computed at 73.6 years for 2001, almost as long as the life expectancy of women in developed countries and longer than the life expectancy of Chinese men.

Public security organs spare no effort to suppress crimes against women and children, including raping, seduction of young girls, abduction and trafficking of women and children, forcing or luring women into prostitution, and keeping women for prostitution. Numerous campaigns have been launched to crack down on these and other crimes that violate women and children's rights. In 2001, Chinese police cracked down on 383,000 cases of raping and 108,000 cases of woman and child abduction.

In recent years, the Chinese government has take effective measures to publicize the equal rights and obligations of the husband and wife in marriage and family life. This is also meant to render still more effective protection of women's legitimate rights and interests. The fight against domestic violence has aroused public attention. In March 2002, the Standing Committee of the Hunan Provincial People's Congress adopted the country's first local legislation on fighting domestic violence. Since then, 10 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have formulated local legislation to the same effect.

Honoring Rights and Interests of the Disabled

In March 1988, the China Disabled Persons' Federation was inaugurated. Since then, federations devoted to protection of the rights and interests of the disabled have been set up at different local levels, from the provincial level down to the county level, throughout the country. In addition to the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Disabled Persons adopted by the NPC Standing Committee in December 1990, 40 other laws have provisions pertaining to protection of the disabled citizens. The State Council, on its part, has set up a working committee comprising leaders of 33 ministries and state commissions to coordinate work related to the disabled. Moreover, committees charged with coordinating such work are now in operation under governments at different local levels, from the provincial level down to the county level. Thanks to work done by such committees, the relevant departments of the central and local governments each contribute a due share to protection of the disabled. Meanwhile, the general public is involved in the endeavor. A working mechanism has been established, which is powerful enough to ensure well-coordinated work by different government departments and society at large to protect the disabled. Meanwhile, undertakings in the interest of the disabled are made a part of government planning for national and local economic and social development. The State Council approved three national programs for developing undertakings in the interest of the disabled, separately in 1991, 1996 and 2001 and, accordingly, a complete series of policies and regulations were published by the concerned departments of the central government to ensure implementation of these programs. Already in place is a complete system of laws and regulations and policies on work related to the disabled, along with a complete organizational establishment and a complete system for the handling of the day-to-day work in the interest of the disabled.

Significant results have been achieved in rehabilitation of the disabled. From 1988 to 2000, 6.54 million people had their disabilities or handicaps repaired to varying degrees. The figure broke down into 3.37 million who had their sight restored after receiving cataract extraction operations, 730,000 who had their limbs and trunk handicaps repaired, 150,000 deaf and mute children who received language and hearing training, 140,000 propped with extremely poor sight who had sight aids fixed, 210,000 mentally retarded children who had undergone rehabilitation training, 1.23 million mental patients who had received treatment, 490,000 who had artificial limbs fixed, and 220,000 with limb and trunk handicaps who had undergone rehabilitation training. In 2001, 490,000 cataract patients had their sight restored after operation, sight aids were provided to 26,000 people with extremely poor sight, 18,000 children underwent hearing and language training, treatment and rehabilitation training were provided to 1.4 million with serious metal disorders, and rehabilitation training was provided to 52,000 with limbs and trunk handicaps, 68,000 children with cerebral paralysis were treated, along with 260,000 children at 14 or younger who had mental handicaps.

Special education has developed rapidly. Before 1990, less than 10% of the physically or mentally handicapped children were able to go to school and, by 2000, the figure had shot up to 77.2%. Some 1,691 schools of special education were operating across the country at the end of 2001, and so were 3,825 special education classes at schools for normal children. These together had 550,000 students. Moreover, 2,166 disabled students were studying at universities and colleges. The number of job training centers special for the disabled had by then grown to 1,029, and also in operation were 1,898 job training centers recruiting trainees from among both normal and disabled people. Altogether, 480,000 disabled people had received job training by 2001.

The state makes positive efforts to help the disabled get employed as a part of the effort to protect their right to work. Before 1990, 58.13% of the disabled people in the 16-59 age group had job and, by 2000, the figure had grown to 80%. Prom 1996 to 2000, jobs were provided to 1.1 million disabled people, and in 2001, to an extra 274,000. An aggregate total of 15.53 million jobs were provided to disabled people living in the countryside. The rate of employment grew further to 82.3% in 2001 for the disabled Chinese citizens.

Assistance to the disable is included in all government plans for poverty alleviation. Disabled citizens, in fact, are taken as constituting a priority group under such plans. With assistance from the government and society, an aggregate total of 11.14 million disabled rural residents had, by the end of 2001, shaken off poverty. Disabled people in cities who live below the poverty line are entitled to a subsistence allowance provided by the state. In the countryside, cash is provided to the disabled regularly so that their basic needs are ensured. Some 2.01 million disabled people in cities and urban towns were receiving a subsistence allowance and 530,000 others were able to benefit from the social insurance programs. All in all, 2.85 million disabled urban people living below the poverty line had their basic needs ensured.

Cultural life for the Chinese disabled has become increasingly lively and rich. Special sites are designated for their cultural activities. The blind may go to sound libraries to "read." Exhibitions that display progress in work to the benefit of the disabled and art performances by disabled artists are frequently held, and the best news reports about the life and work of the disabled are selected regularly for commendation. Art troupes of the Chinese disabled have been out on performance tours in foreign countries, which have turned out to be brilliant successes. Mass sports for the disabled are developing vigorously. Chinese delegations have excelled in numerous international sports for disabled athletes. In 2001, disabled citizens in the Chinese capital and the rest of China played a due role in helping the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee win the 2008 Paralympics.

China now boasts a social environment that features understanding, respect, attention and help for the disabled. A wide range of mass activities are launched each and every year to enhance willingness of all sectors of society, including children, to lend a helping hand to the disabled. These include celebrations of the International Day for the Disabled and the National Day for the Disabled. By the end of 2001,3,414 law firms across China had, on request from the government, committed themselves to giving preferential treatment to their disabled clients. Twenty-eight provincial TV networks air sign language programs. In 2001, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the China Disabled Persons' Federation and 12 other departments jointly issued the Opinions on Promoting Work Related to Disabled Persons. This official document aims to make such work a part of the nationwide drive to develop urban communities and start a new way for honoring the rights and interests of the disabled Chinese.

Common Development of All Ethnic Groups

The Chinese government has always attached great importance to protecting the rights of equality of the country's ethnic minority groups and their rights and interests that are special relative to those of the Han majority. Such protection has entered a new phase of development since the 1990s thanks to adoption by the government of a series of important measures to promote the development of those regions where people of ethnic minority groups live in compact communities.

Ethnic minority groups and the ethnic majority Han group have equal rights in participating in the management of state affairs. Representation of ethnic minority groups in the NPC and CPPCC National Committee far exceeds the proportions of their respective populations to the national total. Of the deputies to the current Ninth NPC, 428 or 14.37% belong to ethnic minority groups, while the combined population of these ethnic groups account for about 6% of the entire Chinese population. All ethnic minority groups, whether large or small, have representation in the NPC and CPPCC National Committee. The state fully respects and protects the freedom of ethnic minority groups to religious beliefs, and protects all legitimate religious activities undertaken by their people. The Chinese government called meetings separately in 1988, 1994 and 1999 to recommend those who had excelled in work to promote unity and common progress of all ethnic groups in China. These meetings came as a part of the effort to create a public opinion and a social environment conducive to unity of the various ethnic groups in the country.

Protection of ethnic minority groups' rights has become even more institutionalized under an even more complete legal system over the past 13 years. In China, people of ethnic minority groups practice a system of regional ethnic autonomy in regions where they live in compact communities. The Law of the People's Republic of China on Regional Ethnic Autonomy adopted by the NPC in 1984 provides in explicit language that regional autonomy by ethnic minority groups constitutes the basic policy for resolving China's ethnic issues and an important political system of the country. What merits special mention is the revision in February 2001 to the law. The revised law, upgrading the system of regional ethnic autonomy as part of the basic political system of China, has provisions on increase in the capital input to accelerate the development of regions under autonomy by people of ethnic minority groups. This makes regional autonomy by ethnic minority groups even more effective and strengthens the legal protection of their rights and interests. Since 1990, the state formulated two dozen sets of rules and regulations on autonomy of ethnic minority groups, in addition to a batch of statutes on specific ethnic affairs. Moreover, the state has strengthened protection of the rights of ethnic minority people who live in predominantly Han Chinese areas. With approval of the State Council, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission published the Regulations on Townships under Ethnic Autonomy in November 1993 which are in fact a set of detailed rules on protection of the rights of ethnic minority people not living in the autonomous regions.

China's ethnic minority groups have accelerated their economic and social development. The state policy calls for aid and assistance to the autonomous regions to promote their development and improve the living standards of their people. In December 1991, the State Council issued a circular, demanding that governments at various levels increase their financial, material and human input for such areas and calling on relatively developed areas each to assist an autonomous region designated by the central government in its economic and social development. The circular also calls for increased investment in poverty-stricken areas inhabited by people of ethnic minority groups and for extending more loans to them. Thanks to aid and assistance from the government and relatively developed regions, the autonomous regions have achieved an economic growth faster than the average for the nation. In 1999, the state began implementing the strategy of developing the relatively underdeveloped western China, a vast area encompassing all the five autonomous regions and 30 autonomous prefectures. Special arrangements have been made to promote the development of Tibet. These call for 117 construction projects built with funds allocated by the central government and 70 with aid from relatively developed municipalities and provinces, which together involve more than 40 billion yuan in capital investment. The Tibet Autonomous Region has, over the past 13 years, scored an annual average economic growth of 10.4%. The region's GDP for 2001 was 3.98 times as great as for 1990. The local government revenue increased by 34 times. Per capita incomes averaged 1,404 yuan for farmers and herdsmen in Tibet Autonomous Region, a three-fold increase over 1990.

Education in the five autonomous regions, too, has developed rapidly. The state set up in 1990 a fund to subsidize these regions in developing education. During the ninth Five-Year Plan period (1996-2000), some 3.9 billion yuan was earmarked from the central government budget to help underdeveloped areas in their effort to institute the nine-year compulsory education. Of this sum, 2.2 billion yuan went to western China where China's ethnic minority groups concentrate. The central government has, in the most recent two years, allocated from its own budget a fund of 3 billion yuan for having old, dilapidated school buildings repaired or rebuilt. Western regions have again received priority in access to the fund, and also to the 5 billion yuan earmarked by the central government during the 1996-2000 period to promote compulsory education. The past decade has seen the state take a range of effective measures to step up training of teachers from among people of ethnic minority groups. Thanks to this, a stable contingent of teachers has been built in the autonomous regions. Large increases have been registered in the number of educated ethnic minority people. At present, nearly 20 million ethnic minority children and youths are studying at schools of various levels. In 2001, ethnic minority students were 39% more than in 1991. The state has adopted a string of special policies designed to promote training of ethnic minority people with expertise and development of higher education in the autonomous regions. Ethnic minority candidates for college entrance examinations enjoy a range of privileges for enrollment, including priority to their counterparts of the Han ethnic group who have got the same marks. Ethnic minority candidates can also have the minimum marks for admission lowered. In 2001, 560,000 ethnic minority students were studying at universities and colleges, 189% more than in 1991. All the 55 ethnic minority groups, including those with a tiny population, now have their own youths studying at universities and colleges, and some of them even have people taking graduate or even doctoral courses.

Ethnic minority groups have been able to carry forward their cultural traditions. They enjoy full freedom to use and develop their own languages. Of the 55 ethnic minority groups, 53 speak more than 80 languages other than the Han Chinese, or Mandarin. Twenty-five of the ethnic minority groups use 27 written languages of their own, and computer processing has been realized for all these languages. Since 1990, special funds have been allocated from both the central and local government budgets for construction of libraries, cultural centers, ethnic art centers, museums, theaters and cinemas. Radio and TV programs are aired, films dubbed, books, newspapers and magazines published in numerous ethnic minority languages, in addition to Internet websites in the Tibetan and Mongolian languages. The central government has earmarked huge sums for restoration and repairs of sites of ethnic minority cultural heritage. Included are the Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, and the Ta'er (Kumbum) Monastery in Qinghai Province, which is the holiest shrine of the Yellow Sect of the Tibetan School of Buddhism. The three ethnic epics, the King ofGesar, Tsangg'er and Manas have been translated into Chinese and many foreign languages. The state has taken pains to organize the collection, compilation, translation and research of these and other intangible cultural heritages. What merits special mention is that in the most recent years, traditional ethnic cultures have developed even more greatly in step with the implementation of the state strategy for developing the western regions and the development of tourism there. Ethnic arts and crafts and costumes are well received on the market, ethnic arts are enjoying an unprecedented development, and special efforts are being made to protect ethnic cultural sites. Traditional ethnic medicines have experienced a new development. Traditional Tibetan, Mongolian and Uygur medical colleges have been found separately in Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Uygur autonomous regions. Production of traditional Tibetan, Mongolian and Uygur drugs has been increasing year after year, and many drugs have become name-brand products.

Theoretical Research & International Exchanges

Theoretical research on human rights undertaken in China over the past 13 years has experienced the fastest development in the Chinese history and been the most fruitful. These years have also witnessed production of the most significant results through dialogue between China and foreign countries on human rights.

The China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHRS) and a number of related national academic organizations have been set up since 1991, and so have been research centers and departments for human rights studies at some schools of higher learning. There are also institutions specializing in research of the rights for women, children and the disabled. To sum up, China now boasts a multi-discipline contingent of researchers and professors engaging in human rights studies. Human rights studies have had widespread support from the government and society at large. The State Social Sciences Fund, the China Social Sciences Fund, the Social Sciences Fund for Youths, the State Education Commission, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and local governments have each sponsored a number of research projects every year. Hundreds of monographs have been produced, along with thousands of research papers. These highlight efforts of Chinese researchers to study human rights in all aspects by basing themselves on the country's specific conditions while closely following developments in human rights the world over. Moreover, several thousand human rights symposiums and seminars have been held. The CSHRS provides a national forum on human rights by publishing the Human Rights magazine and running the China Human Rights website (www.humanrights-china.org). Large numbers of works on human rights published abroad have been translated into Chinese and published in China. A complete human rights data pool has been built up. Through work over the past decade, Chinese researchers have built up a theoretical system on human rights, which is complete in nature and has distinct Chinese characteristics.

Academic exchanges and exchange of visits are frequent occurrences between China's human rights research institutions and experts on one hand and their foreign counterparts on the other. Chinese experts have attended numerous international human rights symposiums. To be more specific, teams of Chinese experts are out for academic exchanges every year. Besides, many foreign human rights experts have been invited to China for the same purpose. In November 1998, China played host to the International Symposium on World Human Rights Toward the 21st Century to mark the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Symposium gathered nearly 100 experts from 26 countries and regions on all the five continents. This was, in fact, the very first of its kind ever held in the country. The Vice-Premier of the State Council Qian Qichen was invited to speak at the symposium. In November 2002, more than 80 human rights experts and government officials from 27 countries came for the International Symposium on Oriental Culture and Human Rights Development. Academic exchanges have not only promoted China's own research but also helped establish it in international human rights studies.

China has always respected the purposes and principles laid down in the United Nations Charter for protection of human rights, and has worked positively to participate in and support international human rights activities. By the end of 2001, it had ratified or acceded to 18 international human rights conventions including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In October 1998, the country signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. China works in real earnest to fulfill the obligations laid down in all the international conventions it has ratified or acceded to, and it submits reports on its work in this regard that should be submitted.

A permanent member of the UN Security Council, China is concurrently on the UN Commission on Human Rights. As such, it works in real earnest to perform its duty of upholding world peace and protecting human rights, and has never missed the regular meetings the council holds every year. Chinese delegations have been present at numerous human rights meetings held under the UN auspices, working honestly in all discussions and deliberations on the agendas. China attended the 1993 UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna. It was in fact involved in the entire process of the preparations for the conference and thus made an important contribution to its success. Through active participation at the preparatory meetings for the Asian region, the country contributed to the adoption of the Bangkok Declaration. In September 1995, China played host to the UN Fourth World Conference on Women and the parallel NGO Forum on Women, and won appraise from the international community for the success of both events. Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, came to China in September 1998 on invitation of the Chinese government. She had extensive discussions on human rights issues with Chinese officials during her stay, and signed a memorandum on intent of cooperation for some technical projects. In the following year, a delegation of experts from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights visited China on invitation, and they had extensive discussions with the Chinese officials and experts on human rights-related consulting services and technical cooperation. In March 2000, the Chinese government and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights jointly held the Fourth Forum on Human Rights in the Asia-Pacific Region, which gathered representatives from more than 40 countries and regions. In November 2000, Mary Robinson visited China again on invitation. During her stay in China , President Jiang Zemin and Vice-Premier Qian Qichen met with her, respectively, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry signed with her the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Numerous UN special rapporteurs for human rights have also come to China for discussions and exchange of views. The Chinese government handles letters sent to it via the UN Human Rights Center and rapporteurs with great care, and replies to all of them. Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, the Chinese government has taken a clear-cut stand of opposing terrorism. At the UN General Assembly sessions and sessions of the UN Commission on Human Rights, China has taken an active part in discussions and examinations of the anti-terrorist documents and has stressed the importance of upholding the role of the United Nations in the international fight against terrorism.

For better understanding and greater cooperation, Chinese leaders have on numerous occasions discussed human rights issues with leaders and other VIPs from foreign countries. Since 1999, dialogues on human rights, either bilateral or multilateral, have been conducted, either on governmental or non-governmental basis, by China with countries including Britain, France, Australia, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Brazil, Japan and the United States, the European Union, and some international organizations. Positive results were achieved through such dialogues. China initiated the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and has contributed to the strengthening of cooperation between the member countries in fighting against terrorism and protecting human rights.