The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China issued the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2016-2020) on Thursday. Following is the full text of the document.

Contents

Introduction

I. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

(1) Right to work

(2) Right to basic living standards

(3) Right to social security

(4) Right to property

(5) Right to health

(6) Right to education

(7) Cultural rights

(8) Environmental rights

II. Civil and Political Rights

(1) Rights of the person

(2) Right to fair trial

(3) Freedom of religious belief

(4) Rights to know and to participate

(5) Rights of expression and supervision

III. Rights of Specific Groups

(1) Rights of ethnic minorities

(2) Rights of women

(3) Rights of children

(4) Rights of the elderly

(5) Rights of the disabled

IV. Human Rights Education and Research

V. Fulfillment of Obligations to Human Rights Conventions, and International Exchanges and Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights

VI. Implementation and Supervision

Introduction

The period from 2016 to 2020 is a decisive stage for China in the building of a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way as well as a major stage for realizing the orderly, steady and sustainable development of human rights in China.

China has implemented two national human rights action plans since 2009. As the government constantly enhances the protection of human rights, the people's standard of living and quality of life have seen further improvement, their economic, social and cultural rights and interests have been strengthened, their civil rights and political rights have been guaranteed, the public's consciousness of respecting and guaranteeing human rights has enhanced significantly, international human rights exchanges and cooperation have constantly developed, and the cause of socialist human rights with Chinese characteristics has moved up to a new level.

Nevertheless, we are keenly aware that problems, some of them serious, remain. China's economic development pattern is still extensive, unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable. There is still a huge gap between urban and rural development. Difficulties need to be solved in such fields as health care, education, care for the aged, food and drug safety, income distribution and the environment - all of which are closely related to the people's vital interests. The rule of law in safeguarding human rights needs to be further promoted and more efforts are required to realize higher levels of human rights protection.

Based on experience gained in the implementation of the first and second national human rights action plans, the Chinese government has formulated the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2016-2020) (hereinafter referred to as the Action Plan) in accordance with the constitutional principle that the state respects and protects human rights and the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other related international human rights conventions, and in combination with the implementation of the Outline of the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China. The Action Plan defines the objectives and tasks of respecting, protecting and promoting human rights in the period from 2016 to 2020.

The guiding ideology for formulating and implementing the Action Plan is as follows:

Upholding socialism with Chinese characteristics, fully implementing the guiding principles of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the third, fourth and fifth plenary sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee, following the guidance of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of the Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development, implementing the spirit of a series of important speeches made by General Secretary Xi Jinping, following the strategic arrangement of building China into a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, advancing reform in an all-round way, comprehensively promoting law-based government, and running the Party with strict discipline, and sticking to the innovative, coordinated, green, open and sharing development concept. The Chinese government combines human rights with economic, political, cultural and social progress, ecological protection and Party building, adheres to the people-centered development approach, puts the protection of people's rights to subsistence and development in the first place, takes the people's well-being and all-round development as both the starting point and ultimate goal of China's human rights work, safeguards social fairness and justice, and better guarantees the various rights and interests of the entire population in the great cause of realizing the Chinese Dream of rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

The basic principles for formulating and implementing the Action Plan are as follows:

Pushing forward the work in accordance with the law and bringing China's human rights work under the rule of law; pushing forward the work in a coordinated way, and promoting the comprehensive and coordinated development of the people's various rights and interests; pushing forward the work in a pragmatic way, and integrating universal principles on human rights with China's realities; pushing forward the work in a balanced way and making sure that all people enjoy equal human rights; pushing forward the work with joint efforts, with the government, enterprises, public institutions and social organizations working together to promote human rights.

In accordance with the new requirement of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, the objectives of the implementation of the Action Plan are as follows:

·Comprehensively safeguarding citizens' economic, social and cultural rights. The Chinese government will improve the people's standard of living and quality of life; upgrade the public service system and ensure more people have equal access to such services; spare no effort in poverty alleviation to lift the entire population who live under the current poverty line out of poverty; protect intellectual property rights; improve the overall ecological environment; make efforts to give people equal opportunities in development, ensure that all people share the benefits of the nation's development more equally, and increase the people's sense of satisfaction in creating and sharing benefits.

·Protecting citizens' civil and political rights in accordance with the law. China will enforce the law in a strict, procedure-based manner, and protect citizens' personal rights and dignity; promote judicial justice and guarantee litigants' right to a fair trial; improve socialist democracy, clear and expand channels for citizens' participation in political affairs, and ensure people's rights to be informed, to participate, to be heard and to oversee.

·Fully safeguarding the rights and interests of specific groups. The Chinese government will promote the development of ethnic minorities and regions inhabited by ethnic minorities; endeavor to eliminate gender discrimination; strengthen the protection of rights and interests of minors; respond actively to the aging of the population; improve the service system to support and help people with disabilities.

·Conducting extensive education in human rights. China will combine human rights education with national education and nationwide education in spreading knowledge of the law; publicize the importance of human rights as represented in the core socialist values, and foster a culture featuring respect for human rights.

·Actively participating in international human rights work. China will fulfill its obligations to international human rights conventions, get actively involved in the work of the United Nations human rights mechanism; conduct extensive human rights dialogues, exchanges and cooperation, and provide technical aid related to human rights to those developing countries that need it.

Compiled under the leadership of the State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and reviewed and approved by the joint meeting for the National Human Rights Action Plan, the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2016-2020) is hereby released by the State Council Information Office.

I. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The Chinese government is determined to press forward with precision poverty-reduction and poverty-eradication campaigns, improve the public service system, steadily enhance the level of equal access to basic public services, and protect citizens' economic, social and cultural rights.

(1) Right to work

More proactive employment policies shall be implemented, a system of lifelong vocational skills training shall be promoted for workers, and a wage and benefits system shall be further improved, so shall a long-term safety production mechanism. Prevention and treatment of occupational diseases shall be reinforced.

·Ensuring a fuller rate of employment and quality employment. Programs of employment promotion and entrepreneurship shall be introduced for college graduates, and surplus rural labor shall be encouraged to seek employment in other areas, and migrant workers shall get help in starting businesses back in their home villages. People with difficulties in finding jobs shall be registered so that the government can keep track of their employment situation and give them help according to defined categories, with particular attention being paid to families with no one holding a job. Counties and townships in poverty-stricken areas shall be given support in building employment and social security services platforms. It is planned for a minimum of 50 million new jobs to be created in urban areas.

·Pursuing a lifelong vocational skills training system for workers. Free vocational training shall be offered to young people from needy families, people with junior or senior middle-school education, migrant workers, people having lost their jobs, workers with reassigned jobs, ex-service people and people with disabilities. By 2020, it is expected that 40 million migrant workers shall have received such training, and the goal is to equip every worker with relevant occupational skills.

·Further improving the wage and benefits system. Efforts will be made to improve the wage-setting mechanism, the normal wage increase mechanism and payment guarantee mechanism, and the minimum wage adjustment mechanism. The collective wage negotiation mechanism shall be continuously implemented for enterprises; a salary system shall be improved for highly skilled professionals, the salaries of skilled workers be increased, and the paid vacation system be implemented.

·Improving the labor security supervision and law enforcement system and labor dispute settlement mechanism. Employment discrimination of any form shall be strictly prohibited. Measures will be taken to address arrears of wage payment for migrant workers, regulate layoffs by businesses, guarantee the rights and interests of workers informally employed, strictly regularize the application by enterprises of the special working-hour system, and strengthen supervision over labor dispatch pursuant to the law.

·Strengthening safety in production. By 2020 the death toll caused by industrial accidents of various types shall fall by 10 percent cumulatively, and the death rate from industrial accidents per RMB100 million of GDP shall drop by 30 percent.

·Strengthening the prevention and treatment of occupational diseases. In industries with high risks of occupational diseases, 90 percent and above of relevant workers shall receive special health checkups, and 95 percent and above of persons in charge of businesses and occupational health managerial staff shall receive the required training.

(2) Right to basic living standards

Full efforts shall be made to reduce poverty, and ensure basic housing, clean water, food security, and convenient transportation.

·Ensuring the increase of rural and urban residents' income in step with economic growth. By 2020 China's GDP and the per-capita income of urban and rural residents shall both double that of 2010. Efforts shall be made to increase the income of low-income earners, and enlarge the ranks of middle-income earners.

·Implementing the Decision of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Eradicating Poverty in China, and implementing the strategy of precision poverty-reduction and poverty-eradication. By 2020 some 30 million people shall be lifted out of poverty by way of developing specialty industries, 10 million by way of transfer employment, 10 million by relocation to other areas, and the remaining 20 million, who have partially or completely lost the ability to work, shall be covered by social security. In this way the whole of the impoverished rural population according to the current standards shall be lifted out of poverty and no county will be called a "poverty county" by then.

·Ensuring housing security. A total of 20 million units of housing in rundown urban areas shall be rebuilt, support strengthened to poor areas, and holders of residence permits ensured equal basic housing rights with locally registered residents. Efforts shall be made to press forward with renovation of dilapidated housing in rural areas, carry out anti-earthquake reinforcement projects for rural housing, and basically complete the renovation of registered dilapidated housing.

·Ensuring access to safe water. A total of 27 billion cu m of water supply capacity will be added nationwide on the current basis, and all urban water-supply sources shall meet the required standards. Efforts shall be made to improve drinking water security in rural areas, where 80 percent of the population shall have access to tap water, and 85 percent to centralized water supply.

·Ensuring food safety. The Food Safety Law shall be strictly enforced, and supervisory organs shall be held responsible for food safety in areas under their respective jurisdiction. Food safety supervision shall be strengthened on imported foodstuffs, and through the building of a professional team of food-safety inspectors, the supervision shall be made more effective. The system of food-safety credit shall be improved, so shall the mechanisms of protection of consumers' rights and interests.

·Improving the transportation network. A network of national trunk expressways shall be basically put in place. Where conditions permit, county seats shall have access to highways of Grade II and above, and townships and administrative villages have tarmac or cement roads and complete access to bus services.

(3) Right to social security

The social insurance system shall be improved, establishment of a social relief system covering urban and rural areas shall be promoted, and support shall be given to the development of social welfare and charity undertakings.

·Implementing full coverage of social insurance, and steadily raising the level of social security pooling. A more convenient social insurance transfer and renewal mechanism shall be established, and the system of social security card shall be implemented to ensure that 90 percent of the population enjoys social security coverage.

·Improving the basic old-age insurance system that combines social pooling and personal accounts for urban workers and endeavoring to materialize nationwide pooling for basic old-age pensions for urban workers, and introducing tax-deferred retirement insurance. By 2020 some 95 percent of eligible urban and rural residents shall be covered by the basic old-age insurance.

·Improving the medical insurance system. The coverage of medical insurance in urban and rural areas shall be stabilized at above 95 percent. A critical illness insurance system shall be continuously carried out for urban and rural residents, and mechanisms for steady and sustainable financing of the medical insurance and for adjusting medical care reimbursement rates shall be improved. Steps shall be quickened to promote the establishment of a nationwide network for basic medical insurance and trans-regional settlement of medical insurance accounts, so in-patient and out-patient medical expenses can be settled in the place of treatment if the patients meet the requirements for referral, despite having local coverage. The state shall integrate maternity insurance with basic medical insurance.

·Further expanding the coverage of unemployment insurance, and ensuring that eligible unemployed persons receive unemployment insurance benefits in full and in a timely manner, and that they have access to relevant re-employment services.

·Implementing provincial-level unified pooling of funds for work-related injury insurance, guaranteeing that the insured receive compensation when applicable, formulating regulations on the use and management of funds for prevention of work-related injury, and improving the system of rehabilitation services for work-related injuries. By 2020 work-related injury insurance shall be extended to cover all eligible workers as prescribed by the law.

·Pressing forward in coordinated manner the building of an urban-rural social relief system. All eligible families shall be brought into the coverage of the subsistence allowance system. The relief and support system for people living in dire poverty shall be further improved and the level of relief and support shall be raised. The system of temporary rescue shall be comprehensively implemented to provide timely help to those in urgent needs. Building of service facilities for the protection of minors shall be strengthened, so shall organs for the relief and management of vagrants and beggars, both at the grassroots.

·Improving the natural disaster relief system, and adjusting and improving the relief policies in the wake of natural disasters. A national natural-disaster relief supplies reserve system shall be launched.

·Improving the social welfare system with focus on supporting the elderly, disabled, children, and needy, and strengthening the building of welfare facilities.

·Enacting the Charity Law, and supporting the development of charities.

·Implementing the State Council's reform program of the household registration system, and establishing a unified urban-rural household registration system featuring the removal of difference between agricultural and non-agricultural household registration. The Interim Regulations on Residence Permits shall be implemented, and the system of residence permit shall be extended to cover all permanent urban residents that have not yet had their household registration. Equal development shall be promoted for citizens, making them share the benefits of development equally and have equal access to social security.

(4) Right to property

Establishing and improving a modern property-right system featuring clear ownership, clearly defined rights and obligations, rigorous protection, and easy transfer, and pressing forward with protection of people's property rights in accordance with the law.

·Forging ahead with the compilation of the Civil Law Code in an orderly manner and improving the system of property protection.

·Pressing forward with the amendment of the Land Administration Law and enactment of supporting laws and regulations. Proactive exploration shall be conducted on such systems as expropriation of rural collectively owned land, marketization of collectively owned rural profit-oriented construction land, management of homestead land, and the adjustment and handling of real estate ownership, and studies on legislation be started at the right time.

·Completing the confirmation and registration of rural land contracted for productive use, homesteads, housing and collectively owned construction land. Reform of the land expropriation system shall be implemented continuously, the land-contracting relationship shall be made stable in the rural areas, measures for separating the rights of land ownership, contracting and management shall be improved, and orderly transfer of land-management right shall be introduced pursuant to the law. Methods for confirming membership of collective economic organizations shall be improved, and so shall the forms of expression of collective economic assets ownership. The productive assets of collective economic organizations shall be converted into shares for distribution among their members.

·Defining the property right of enterprises in accordance with laws and regulations, and ensuring enterprises' right of operation.

·Implementing unified system of registration for immovables.

·Taking steps to quicken the enactment of a natural resource assets ownership system, deciding the owners of such assets, and innovating the forms of realizing the ownership. The rights and interests of the owners of natural-resource assets shall be protected, and proceeds from such assets shall be shared fairly. Further reform shall be carried out of the mining right system, and a system and platform shall be established for trading of ecological and environmental rights and interests.

·Implementing a rigorous intellectual property right (IPR) protection system. The IPR ownership system shall be improved to encourage innovation, and an IPR trading and services platform shall be built.

(5) Right to health

A basic medical and health system covering the entire nation shall be established and improved, and it is expected that the average life expectancy shall increase by one year by 2020.

·Promoting equal access to basic public health services. Improvements shall be endeavored of the basic public health service programs and key public health service programs, the quality and efficiency of health services shall be improved and equal access to them ensured, and adjustments made to the funds for basic public health service programs at the right time while continuing to give preference to primary-level health services when it comes to the allocation of funding. Private capital shall be encouraged to go to health services, and equal treatment be offered to non-profit private hospitals as well as public hospitals.

·Enhancing the capacity of primary-level medical and health services. Focusing on the central and western regions, each county shall be helped to run well at least one to two public hospitals (including hospitals of Traditional Chinese Medicine), and 95 percent of primary-level medical and health institutions shall be expected to reach the required standards. Endeavors shall be made to develop a primary-level medical care sphere that ensures all patients receive help within 30 minutes. A contingent of resident doctors shall be developed and offered standardized training. Two general practitioners shall be ensured for every 10,000 persons and 2.5 practitioners/assistants for every 1,000 persons.

·Strengthening prevention and control of major illnesses. Intensified efforts shall be made to accelerate the building of national - and provincial-level demonstration areas for chronic disease prevention and control, and the rate of premature deaths from major chronic diseases shall be reduced by 10 percent. The incidence of TB shall be reduced to 58/100,000; the infection rates of HBV in all groups be reduced; AIDS be controlled at a low-epidemic level; schistosomiasis be basically eliminated; and malaria and leprosy be eliminated. China shall improve the diagnosis, reporting and follow-up service of serious mental disorders, and register 85 percent of persons with serious mental disorders for health management. Primary attention shall be given to the prevention and control of endemic diseases, improving the capabilities of public health emergency response and the prevention and treatment of acute infectious disease epidemics. Health quarantine capacity of land border crossings and sea ports shall be strengthened to prevent the spread of major infectious diseases from outside China. The supply of medicines for the prevention and control of AIDS and some other diseases shall be increased free of charge, and medical relief shall be provided for all those suffering from severe or major illnesses.

·Ensuring medication safety. The system of basic medicines shall be improved, so shall the mechanism of medicine supply and system of drug inspection and testing, as well as the monitoring of adverse effects of drugs.

·Implementing the National Fitness Program (2016-2020). Fitness facilities shall be made accessible to urban communities within a 15-minute radius, and permanent residents in rural towns and townships shall be ensured access to basic public sports services and farmers in rural administrative villages shall be guaranteed access to sports and fitness facilities. By 2020 some 700 million people shall take part in physical exercises at least once a week, and 435 million people shall do it on a regular basis, with per-capita sports or exercise area being 1.8 sq m or more.

(6) Right to education

The 13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Education (2016-2020) shall be implemented, the quality of education be enhanced comprehensively and equality in education be promoted. By 2020 the average years of schooling for the working-age population shall reach 10.8 years.

·Making three-year pre-school education universal. Pre-school educational resources bringing universal benefits shall be expanded, and 85 percent of eligible children shall be enrolled in kindergartens. The support to the central and western regions and to weak links shall be strengthened, and a well-balanced network of pre-school education public service that covers both urban and rural areas shall be established.

·Promoting balanced and high-quality development of compulsory education. Urban-rural integration of compulsory education shall be accelerated, so shall the standardized construction of public schools of compulsory education. The conditions of disadvantaged schools of compulsory education in poverty-ridden areas shall be improved overall. Greater attention shall be paid to ensure equal access to compulsory education at local schools for the children of migrant workers. The system of education service for children left behind by their migrant-worker parents shall be improved.

·Making senior high school education universal. Diversified development shall be encouraged of general high schools. Support shall be continuously enhanced to the development of senior high school education in poverty-stricken areas of central and western China. Students from families with financial difficulties shall be exempt from tuition and other fees during senior high school. By 2020 some 90 percent of junior high school students shall enter senior high schools.

·Improving the vocational education system. The Vocational Education Law shall be amended. Integrated development of industry and education shall be promoted, and the system of cooperation between schools and enterprises shall be improved. So shall the diversified channels conducive to the development of students receiving vocational education. Support shall be extended to the development of vocational education in less-developed areas. A program shall be implemented gradually and by category to exempt students receiving secondary vocational education from tuition and other fees. A national basic vocational training package shall be implemented.

·Boosting higher education. A program shall be implemented to enhance the innovation capacity of institutions of higher learning. So shall a program for rejuvenation of higher education of central and western regions, and key institutions of higher learning shall be made to enlarge their enrollments in central and western China, and rural areas.

·Making great efforts to develop continuing education. A personal education account and number of credits system shall be established, and the channels for continuing education and lifelong education shall be expanded. Institutions of higher learning, enterprises and public institutions, and various agencies providing educational training are encouraged to engage in continuing education.

·Improving the training of teachers in rural areas. Life subsidies shall be provided to all teachers working in rural areas hit hard by poverty, and differentiated amounts of subsidies shall be implemented on the basis of the location and degree of poverty where the teachers work. Unified standards shall be adopted for faculty and staff of elementary and high schools in both urban and rural areas. So shall the exchange of teachers working in urban and rural areas. Greater efforts shall be made in training of teachers working in rural areas of central and western China.

·Improving state financial aid policies, and ensuring full coverage of financial aid to students with economic difficulties.

(7) Cultural rights

The Outline of the National Plan for Cultural Reform and Development of the 13th Five-Year Plan Period (2016-2020) shall be implemented, and the public cultural services shall be improved, so shall the cultural industry and cultural market, to ensure citizens' basic cultural rights.

·Quickening the pace of enactment of laws on public libraries, the promotion of the cultural industry, the provision of public cultural services, and promotion of the movie industry. The Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics, the Copyright Law and supporting administrative regulations shall be amended.

·Promoting the standardization of and equal access to basic public cultural services. The public cultural facilities network shall keep to be improved, and the building of primary-level cultural service capacity shall be strengthened. Support shall be strengthened for cultural development in former revolutionary base areas, ethnic-minority areas, border areas and impoverished areas. Public digital culture development shall be accelerated. Cultural products and services should suit the public's cultural needs. All social sectors are encouraged to take part in the provision of public cultural services. Free access to public cultural installations shall be further encouraged.

·Promoting the development of emerging cultural industries. Innovation shall be encouraged in the forms of cultural operations, and great efforts shall be made to boost the development of creative culture. The cultural market entry-and-exit mechanism shall be improved, and the cultural resources shall be encouraged to flow nationwide.

·Establishing a dissemination system of China's fine cultural traditions. Protection and development of key state cultural and natural heritage sites, major ruins, key cultural relics protection units, and historic and cultural cities, towns and villages shall be strengthened, and so shall policy support to non-state-owned museums. Efforts shall be made to press forward with the building of facilities for protecting and utilizing state intangible cultural heritages, and implement a research and training program for the inheritors of intangible cultural heritages. Traditional craftsmanship shall be further developed, and the project to collate Chinese classics and records shall be launched.

·Launching a nationwide reading project.

·Strengthening the development of the Internet and cyber culture. Fiber-optic networks shall cover all urban areas and provide a connection capacity of 1,000 Mbps, allowing home users of the Internet in medium-sized and large cities to choose from a variety of plans with speeds above 100 Mbps; fiber-optic networks shall cover 98 percent of rural administrative villages, an Internet connection capacity of 100 Mbps shall be available for areas where conditions allow, allowing more than half of rural home users to choose from a variety of plans with speeds above 50 Mbps. An Internet content development project shall be implemented, support shall be extended to the digitalization of traditional publishing resources, the knowledge-services capacity shall be enhanced, and encouragement shall be given to the creation of outstanding original works on the Internet.

(8) Environmental rights

Implementing the strictest possible system of environmental protection, forming an environmental-governance system involving the government, enterprises and the general public, and striving to address such pressing environmental problems as air, water and soil pollution, so as to strive for an overall improvement of the environment.

·Effectively implementing the Law on Environmental Protection and the Law on Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control, and improving environmental public interest litigation and other supporting mechanisms. The pace of legislation for water and soil pollution prevention and control, and nuclear safety shall be promoted in an orderly manner.

·Sparing no effort to curb air pollution. By 2020 the ratio of days with good air quality in cities above the prefecture level shall exceed 80 percent, the density of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in such cities that have not yet met the required standards shall drop by 18 percent, and the total emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitric oxides shall drop by 15 percent.

·Strengthening water pollution prevention and control. Efforts shall be intensified for pollution prevention and control in water-head areas and river basins, and a list of priority pollutants shall be screened and established for the country's seven major river basins. By 2020 bodies of water at or above the Grade-III level shall surpass 70 percent, with bodies of water at the Grade-V level reduced to 5 percent or less, and black and odorous bodies of water in built-up areas of cities above the prefecture level shall be limited to 10 percent or less. The chemical oxygen demand amount and total emission of ammonia nitrogen shall drop by 10 percent, and excessive exploitation of groundwater shall be brought under strict control.

·Formulating and implementing the Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan. By 2020 200 pilot programs shall be completed for the application of soil-pollution control and remedy technologies; six pilot areas of soil-pollution prevention and control shall be built; and area of polluted farmland treated and restored shall reach 10 million mu (less than 700,000 ha), with the area of lightly and moderately polluted farmland treated for safe utilization being 40 million mu (less than 3 million ha).

·Improving hazardous waste pollution prevention and control. Special programs shall be carried out in hazardous waste pollution control, and efforts shall be intensified for the prevention and control of heavy metal pollution in key areas and key industries such as non-ferrous metals. Capacity building shall be strengthened in environment and health risk assessment of toxic and harmful chemicals. Further efforts shall be made to promote the security improvement of nuclear facilities and prevention and control of radioactive contamination, and strengthen the security supervision system and capacity of nuclear and radioactive materials.

·Improving the protection of marine resources and environment. Strict control shall be enforced on the scale of sea reclamation, and protection and restoration of coastal belts, seeing to it that at least 35 percent of the country' s shorelines remain in their natural conditions. A system shall be implemented under which terrigenous pollutants shall be treated and meet required standards before they are discharged into the sea and the total amount of waste discharge shall be capped. An early-warning mechanism shall be established in relation to marine resources and environment carrying capacity. Strict control shall be imposed on fishing intensity; protection of rare marine species shall be enhanced; and a marine supervision mechanism shall be implemented.

·Promoting the improvement and upgrading of the energy structure. By 2020 the energy consumption per unit of GDP shall drop by 15 percent, water usage per RMB10,000 of GDP shall drop by 23 percent, non-fossil energy resources shall make up 15 percent of primary energy consumption, and carbon dioxide emission per unit of GDP shall decrease by 18 percent.

·Promoting ecological conservation. The pace of delimiting the "red lines" for ecological conservation shall be accelerated, and efforts shall be made to forge ahead with the establishment of a negative list of industries that are not allowed in key eco-function zones. By 2020 the country's forest coverage shall be raised to 23 percent of its land; the wetland inventory shall be stabilized at 800 million mu (over 53 million ha); and nature reserves shall remain steady at 17 percent of the country's total land area, in addition to another 10 million ha of improved desert land and another 270,000 sq km of land of which soil erosion control has been completed. In addition, the number of national "forest cities" shall increase to 200, and the ratio of green land shall reach 25 percent in over 80 percent of the administrative villages nationwide. A bio-safety inspection mechanism shall be set up at land and sea ports to prevent the spread of plant and animal epidemics and diseases across borders, as well as invasion by alien species.

·Improving environmental monitoring and supervision mechanisms. A trans-regional governance model shall be enforced for joint environmental prevention and control that covers all river basins and integrates urban and rural efforts. A system for paid use and trading of emission rights shall be established. So shall a system of environmental credit records for enterprises and a blacklist system of illegal waste discharge. The environmental damage compensation system shall be improved.

II. Civil and Political Rights

Law-based governance shall be advanced, judicial protection of human rights strengthened and orderly civil participation in political affairs expanded to effectively protect the people' s civil and political rights.

(1) Rights of the person

Acts of law enforcement and judicature touching on the rights of the person shall be standardized. Measures shall be taken to prevent extorting confessions by torture. Places of surveillance shall be regularized to protect the rights of people whose personal freedom is subject to restriction.

·Improving laws and regulations concerning administrative bodies and procedures. Administrative bodies shall not extend their power beyond the law, and not impose any coercive measure or punishment that restrict personal freedom in the absence of Constitutional basis or legal basis.

·Improving law enforcement procedures. A system of archiving shall be established of the entire law-enforcement process, and the system of judicial supervision shall be improved over coercive administrative measures involving rights of the person.

·Improving judicial oversight over judicial and investigation means that restrict personal freedom. Efforts shall be strengthened to prevent at source interrogation by torture and illegal collection of evidence, and improve the mechanism for preventing and redressing unjust, false and erroneous cases in a timely manner. The system of synchronous video and audio recording shall be implemented for the entire process of questioning criminal suspects, while the scope of its application being gradually expanded. Trial implementation shall be made of the system of transferring major cases together with the relevant synchronous video and audio recordings.

·Improving the mechanism of consulting lawyers at the stage of investigation. Where the defense lawyer entrusted by a criminal suspect provides written opinions, materials and evidence that prove the suspect's acts do not constitute a crime, arrest is unnecessary, detention is unsuitable or investigation is illegal, the procurator shall state clearly in the relevant written report on investigation and arrest the conditions and reasons for whether or not adopting the lawyer's opinions.

·Seriously implementing the system of residential surveillance at designated places. Tight control shall be enforced on the conditions and duration of residential surveillance, as well as the places and means of enforcement, in addition to improvement of the pertinent review and approval system.

·Imposing rigid constraints on law-enforcing and case-handling activities of public security organs. Efforts shall be made to reform and improve the systems of acceptance and hearing of cases, appraisal of law-enforcement effectiveness, and accountability for mistakes in law-enforcement. Management shall be strengthened of the use of case-handling sites and areas for law enforcement, and improvement shall be made of the IT application in law enforcement for public security bodies.

·Making greater efforts to investigate and punish government functionaries abusing power to illegally detain people or commit other crimes that infringe upon the rights of the person.

·Strictly observing the conditions applicable to death penalty. The procedure of checking and verification shall be strengthened for death sentence, and the procedure of oversight over death sentence checking and verification shall be further regularized.

·Formulating the Law on Detention Houses. The level of legislation for protecting the rights of detainees shall be raised, in addition to enacting related supporting laws, regulations, provisions and rules.

·Improving the system of examining and approving the necessity of criminal custody. Where custody is deemed unnecessary or unsuitable due to severe illness, the criminal suspects or defendants shall be released or the coercive measures be changed.

·Enhancing supervision over the duration of criminal custody. Efforts shall be made to prevent and settle prolonged detention of suspects without concluding the case, and strictly implement the systems of changing custody, reporting overdue custody and accountability for detention beyond the legally prescribed time limit.

·Strictly implementing the rules and regulations on places of surveillance. The mechanism to handle detainees' complaints shall be improved, and channels of right relief be unblocked for them. IT application in relation to procuratorial work shall be strengthened for places of surveillance, and dynamic oversight be realized in such places.

·Promoting procedure-based enforcement, medical care, management and supervision of compulsory medical treatment, and protecting the rights of those receiving compulsory medical treatment.

·Implementing the Anti-Drug Law and the Regulations on Drug Rehabilitation. Standard rules shall be implemented for decision-making on compulsory isolation for drug rehabilitation, early termination or extension of the terms of such drug rehabilitation. The effectiveness of medical treatment and rehabilitation in relation to drug addiction shall be improved, and the lawful rights of drug addicts undergoing rehabilitation shall be protected.

(2) Right to fair trial

Following the rule of judicial operation, an adjudication-centered litigation system shall be established, and judicial credibility shall be enhanced.

·Ensuring the people's courts exercise adjudicative power independently and in accordance with the law. The system that archives leading officials' intervention in judicial activities and in the handling of particular cases shall be improved, making them known to the public, and holding them accountable. The limits of authority at all levels within the judicial bodies shall be clearly defined. The mechanism of internal checks and oversight shall be improved, so shall the recording and accountability systems regarding judicial personnel who intervene in case handling.

·Standardizing judicial interpretation and case guidance, and unifying the criteria for the application of the law.

·Implementing the principle of evidentiary adjudication. The principles of testimony and trial in court shall be implemented, so shall the system of court appearance of witnesses and authenticators.

·Implementing the principle of presumption of innocence, and the rule of exclusion of illegally obtained evidence, and specifying the scope and exclusion procedures of illegal evidence.

·Enhancing institutional guarantee for lawyers' rights to know, apply and appeal throughout the course of litigation, ensuring their access to criminal suspects or defendants, and rights to review files, collect evidence, raise questions, conduct cross-examinations and debate, and ensuring lawyers exercise their rights of defense and procuration in accordance with the law. The mechanism of valuing lawyers' defense and procuration opinions in investigation, prosecution and trial shall be improved, and the system of listening to their opinions shall be observed. Discriminatory security checks of lawyers are prohibited, in order to provide convenience for them to perform their duties in accordance with the law.

·Enhancing institutional guarantee for the rights of litigants and other parties involved in the lawsuit to know, present views, debate and defense, apply and appeal, and implementing regulations on legal aid prescribed in the Criminal Procedure Law and related rules and regulations.

·Improving the practice of leniency to those who confess their crimes and submit to punishment in criminal proceedings. The judicial proceedings, penalty standards and handling means shall be clarified for cases where defendants plead guilty, accept punishment, surrender ill-gotten gains or pay compensation, all of their own accord.

·Pressing further forward with standardization in meting out punishment, regularizing the judges' sentencing discretion, improving sentencing procedures, and enhancing openness and impartiality in sentencing.

·Prohibiting defendants who are held in custody or appellants from appearing in court wearing clothing that bear the logo of their organs of custody.

·Improving the mechanism for fast-track handling of minor criminal cases, and reforming fast-track trial procedures for criminal cases in an orderly manner.

·Formulating the Law on Assistance for Victims of Crime, and establishing a unified, procedure-based relief system for victims of crime.

(3) Freedom of religious belief

Rule of law shall be enhanced in addressing religious affairs, and the stipulation in the Constitution concerning freedom of religious belief shall be implemented.

·Amending the Regulations on Religious Affairs, regularizing in accordance with the law the conduct of the government in managing religious affairs, and protecting the lawful rights and interests of religious believers.

·Supporting the efforts of the religious circles for self-improvement to enhance their capabilities for self-regulation, self-discipline and self-management. Necessary support and assistance shall be provided for religious groups to hold activities.

·Encouraging religious circles to organize charity activities in accordance with the law.

·Making efforts to run the religious institutes well, improving the training of religious professionals, and improving the qualities of faculty and staff of the religious institutes.

·Halting investments in and commercial use of venues for religious activities, and prohibiting the "contracting" of Buddhist monasteries and Taoist temples.

·Improving organization and services for the Islamic Hajj.

·Actively engaging in religious exchanges with the outside world.

(4) Rights to know and to participate

Expanding the citizens' right to know through various channels and in various fields, and increasing the means and forms of their orderly participation in social governance.

·Further pressing forward with making public the lists of powers and responsibilities for easier supervision by the public. The people's governments at all levels and their subordinate departments shall make public their functions, responsibilities, powers, administrative procedures and means of accepting public supervision.

·Introducing the system of publicity for administrative law enforcement.

·Improving the construction of online administrative information data platform and public service platform, and promoting IT application to make governmental affairs more open and easier to access.

·Improving the information disclosure system for emergencies.

·Disclosing information about police, prison, adjudicative and procuratorial affairs. Information shall be released in time about the basis, procedures, processes and results of judicature and law enforcement in accordance with the law, and a system of unified online announcement and open inquiry shall be established for effective legal documents.

·Enlarging public involvement in legislation. Exploration shall be made for the establishment of a mechanism in which the state organs, social groups, specialists and scholars provide argument and consultation for the adjustment of major interests in the process of legislation, thus expanding the channels for the public's orderly participation in legislation, and improving the mechanisms of soliciting public opinion for the drafting of laws, regulations and provisions, and giving feedbacks to the public.

·Implementing the plan of doubling the number of people's jurors, expanding the channels and scope of their selection and appointment, and specifying their functions and powers.

·Improving the mechanism of having specially-invited procurators, and taking effective measures to ensure they perform their duties in accordance with the law and involve in the deliberation of procuratorial affairs.

·Improving the people's supervisor system. The selection, appointment and management of people's supervisors shall be improved, their rights be fully protected, and the channels be expanded for the public's orderly participation in judicial affairs.

·Ensuring public participation in judicial mediation and hearing, and addressing petition letters and visits in relation to legal proceedings.

·Bringing into play the positive role of citizens' code of conduct, village regulations and folk conventions, and statutes of trades and social groups in social governance, and advancing self-governance of society.

·Supporting social organizations to participate in the provision of social services. Efforts shall be made to develop social work service agencies and voluntary service associations, promote the separation of trade associations from administrative bodies, facilitate the orderly development of charity organizations, and improve the systems of registration and management of social organizations and of government buying services from them.

·Revising the Organic Law on Urban Residents' Committees, and accelerating the pace of formulating or amending supporting laws and regulations of the Organic Law on Villagers' Committees. Efforts shall be made to forge ahead with transparency of the work of urban residents' and villagers' committees, and encourage democratic participation by urban and rural residents.

·Improving the system of democratic management of enterprises and public institutions in the form of employees' congresses. Efforts shall be made to press forward with institutionalization and normalization of information disclosure in enterprises and public institutions, and ensure employees' right to know and to participate in democratic management.

(5) Rights of expression and supervision

Giving more space to public opinion, increasing the means and channels of expression, improving the check and supervision system for the operation of power, and protecting in accordance with the law the citizens' rights of free expression and democratic supervision.

·Protecting the citizens' freedom of speech on the internet in accordance with the law. Services shall be further improved for netizens to express their opinions, and great store shall be set on social sentiments and public opinions as expressed on the internet.

·Establishing a registration system for complaints about and reports of unlawful acts by state organs at all levels, smoothing out such supervisory channels as informants' letter box, complaint email and hotline, so as to give full play to public supervision.

·Improving the regulations regarding the people's complaints and promoting law-based handling of such complaints. Mechanisms shall be improved to separate litigations from complaints, and bring to conclusion all petitions relating to legal proceedings lodged by way of letters or personal visits to relevant government departments. A platform integrating accusation, offense reporting, appeal, complaint, consultation and search shall be built, online processing of complaints shall be encouraged, and complaints shall be classified and handled in accordance with the law. Citizens' rational and lawful appeals shall be resolved in accordance with legal provisions and procedures.

·Amending the Administrative Reconsideration Law, and protecting citizens' and social organizations' rights to supervise administrative bodies by applying for administrative reconsideration. Oversight shall be strengthened on civil servants' violations of law and discipline.

·Giving full play to supervision by newspapers, magazines, radio, television and other types of traditional media, increasing the interaction between traditional media and new media like the internet, and highlighting law-based online supervision. Protection in accordance with the law shall be extended to the rights of news agencies and their staff to information, interview, publication, criticism and supervision.

·Improving the system of constitutional supervision by the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee, and the mechanism of procedures for the interpretation of the Constitution. The legislative recording and review system and capability building shall be improved, and all normative documents shall be brought into the scope of such recording and review. All normative documents that violate the Constitution or laws shall be abrogated or corrected. Systems shall be improved by which the people's congresses discuss and decide on major issues, and governments at all levels report to the people's congresses at the same level before making major policy decisions.

·Building a platform of consultation for the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and enriching the contents and forms of consultation. Targeting issues bearing on overall social and economic development and the people's immediate interests, CPPCC will conduct extensive consultation. The mechanisms of organizing democratic supervision, safeguarding related rights and interests, providing feedbacks, and facilitating communication and coordination shall be improved.

·Improving auditing supervision. The auditing management system conducive to exercising the right of auditing supervision independently and in accordance with the law shall be improved, and an auditing personnel management system with distinctive professional features shall be established, so as to form a system of auditing supervision commensurate to the modernization of a national governance system and capacity. Full coverage of auditing shall be endeavored over public funds, state-owned assets and resources, as well as leading officials' performance of economic duties.

III. Rights of Specific Groups

Targeted measures shall be taken to satisfy the special needs of various groups and to protect the lawful rights and interests of ethnic minorities, women, children, elderly people and the disabled.

(1) Rights of ethnic minorities

The state will prioritize the development of ethnic minorities and ethnic-minority areas, respecting and protecting the rights of ethnic minorities.

·The right of ethnic minorities to participate in the management of State and social affairs on an equal footing shall be guaranteed by the State. Their ability to participate in the deliberation and administration of State affairs shall be improved. The state will make sure that minority groups have a proportionate number of representatives in organs of State power and administrative, judicial and procuratorate organs at both the central and local levels. It will improve the work to build up the ranks of ethnic-minority civil servants, and ethnic-minority citizens shall enjoy favorable treatment in accordance with the law when they take the national civil service examination.

·The right of ethnic minorities to economic development shall be guaranteed. The state will continue to help boost the economy of ethnic-minority areas by increasing budgetary input and financial aid, improving infrastructure and supporting competitive industries and economic endeavors with distinctive features of minority areas, to see to it that absolute poverty in these areas shall be basically eliminated by 2020 and that the major indicators of economic development of these areas shall be higher than the national average.

·The right of ethnic minorities to enjoy equal access to public services shall be guaranteed. Efforts shall be made to channel public service resources to the ethnic autonomous areas, and strengthen trans-provincial/regional pair-up assistance to further narrow the gaps in the incomes of urban and rural residents, as well as in compulsory education, medical care, and social security between ethnic autonomous areas and the national average.

·The right of ethnic minorities to education shall be guaranteed. Efforts shall be made continuously to transfer more public education resources to ethnic-minority areas and strengthen pair-up assistance in education; to support ethnic-minority areas in standardized construction of compulsory-education schools, so as to realize the balanced development of compulsory education in each county by 2020; and to help ethnic-minority areas train teachers who will go and work in the rural areas. The proportion of students enrolled from ethnic-minority areas to vocational schools in central and eastern provinces and cities shall be raised appropriately. Renewed efforts shall be made to run well special classes for ethnic-minority students in hinterland areas. Importance shall be attached to the training and utilization of skilled people of ethnic minority origin in all professions.

·The right of ethnic minorities to learn, use and develop their own spoken and written languages shall be respected and guaranteed. The language education level of ethnic minorities is constantly being raised and bilingual teaching increased in ethnic-minority areas. Their right to litigate in their own languages is protected.

·The cultural rights of ethnic minorities shall be guaranteed. The State shall protect and pass on the traditional culture of ethnic minorities, and step up efforts to protect, rescue, sort out, publish and research ancient books of ethnic minorities. It shall encourage the creation of literary works of ethnic minorities, and support innovative realistic works featuring integration of ethnic cultures. It shall increase support for the ethnic-culture industry with distinctive features.

·Urban work regulations concerning ethnic minorities shall be revised to protect the legitimate rights and interests of ethnic minorities in urban areas.

(2) Rights of women

The basic state policy of equality of men and women shall be implemented. Objectives set in the National Program for Women's Development (2011-20) shall be realized to eliminate gender discrimination, improve the environment for women's development and protect the legitimate rights and interests of women.

·Efforts shall be carried on to promote equal participation of women in the management of State and social affairs. The proportion of women delegates to the people's congresses and CPPCC committees at all levels shall be gradually increased, so shall the proportion of women in the leadership of the people's congresses, governments and CPPCC committees at all levels. By 2020, women members shall make up over 30 percent of total members of villagers' committees, over 10 percent of the villagers' committee chairpersons, and about 50 percent of the members of urban residents' committees.

·Efforts shall be made to eliminate gender discrimination in employment, payment and career development. Special labor protection for women workers shall be made an important content in labor security and safety supervision. Annual assessment shall be conducted in this regard.

·Women's right to health shall be protected. Efforts shall be made to improve the maternity service system in urban and rural areas, and provide basic medical and health services for pregnant and lying-in women. By 2020, the mortality rate of pregnant and lying-in women shall drop to 18 per 100,000; an additional 89,000 obstetric tables and 140,000 obstetricians and midwives be added. The screening of common gynecological diseases shall be raised, and the scope of free checkups for cervical and breast cancers be expanded for rural women. Healthcare services for migrant women shall be improved.

·Women's rights of marriage and the family shall be protected. A system of paid maternity leave for male workers to accompany and attend to puerperal wives shall be introduced. Great efforts shall be made to develop nurseries for kids under three years old to help women balance work and family duties. Women's property rights and interests in marriage and the family shall be protected.

·The Anti-Domestic Violence Law shall be enforced. The multi-departmental cooperative mechanism for the prevention and prohibition of domestic violence shall be improved, so shall an integrated working mechanism that combines prevention, prohibition and assistance. Social organizations shall be encouraged and helped to take part in the work against domestic violence.

·China's Action Plan Against Human Abduction and Trafficking (2013-20) shall be implemented and effective efforts shall be made to prevent and crack down on such crimes in accordance with the law.

·Steps shall be taken to prevent and stop sexual harassment of women.

(3) Rights of children

The principle of "putting children first" shall be upheld, the responsibility of the government and the whole of society for the protection of children's rights and interests shall be highlighted, and the goals set in the National Program for Children's Development in China (2011-20) shall be fully realized.

·The Law on the Protection of Minors shall be amended.

·The children guardianship system shall be improved, and a social network for the care of minors shall be established. A guardianship system, which is based on family guardianship, guaranteed by supervision of relevant institutions and persons such as the neighborhood and school, and supplemented by state guardianship, shall be established in due course. The legal system shall be improved to remove the guardianship status of parents or other custodians who fail to perform their responsibilities or seriously infringe upon the rights and interests of children under their guardianship.

·Children's right to health shall be effectively protected. The state shall establish a service system to prevent and treat birth defects, covering the pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and neonatal stages, and accessible to both urban and rural residents. The State shall also enhance the prevention and treatment of childhood diseases and injuries. By 2020 the mortality rate of infants and kids under the age of five shall be no higher than 7.5 per 1,000 and 9.5 per 1,000, respectively. The vaccination rate under the national immunization program, calculated by taking the rural township as the basic unit, shall be kept above 95 percent. The nutrition-enhancement program for students receiving compulsory education in rural areas shall be carried on. Physical education in schools shall be given great priority in order to constantly improve the students' physical health. More guidance shall be given to improve the mental health of minors.

·Protection of children's rights and interests in property shall be improved. Protection shall be extended, in accordance with the law, to the children's rights to proceeds generated by property, bequests, intellectual property right, right of inheritance, and independent right of property dominion within certain limits.

·Comprehensive maintenance of public security on and around school premises shall be strengthened, school bus safety management shall be enhanced, and violence on campus shall be prevented and stopped.

·A social environment conducive to the involvement of children shall be created. Encouragement and support shall be given to children to participate in family, school and social affairs, and channels shall be opened up for children to get involved and express themselves.

·Children's right to leisure and recreation shall be guaranteed. Efforts shall be enhanced in the construction of facilities for children's activities and services in communities. By 2020 there will be "children's homes" in over 90 percent of urban and rural communities. At least one full-time or part-time social worker in relation to children shall be employed in each urban subdistrict and rural township. The schoolwork load shall be lessened by addressing both the root cause and symptoms.

·Deprived children shall be taken care of. Children's welfare and service systems at city, county, township (subdistrict) and community levels shall be established, in addition to the implementation of a plan for the construction of children's welfare institutions and institutions for the protection of minors at the county level. The system of welfare for deprived children shall be improved. The security system for orphans shall be perfected. The level of guarantee for the rights to life, education, healthcare and other rights of AIDS-affected children and prisoners' children under 18 years old shall be improved. Greater protection and care shall be extended to children of migrant workers left behind in the countryside.

·A working mechanism against violence to children shall be in place, which will prevent, monitor, report, investigate, evaluate, and handle cases of violence to children and provide necessary assistance. Great store shall be set on punishing the abduction, maltreatment and abandonment of children, forcing children into begging and other illegal criminal activities, including all forms of sexual abuse of children. Severe punishments shall be meted out to criminal activities, such as employment of child labor and exploitation of children.

·Every attention shall be paid to reducing the number of arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of juvenile suspects. Reform shall be made of the working mechanism in relation to the trial of minors and children-related family cases, and a mechanism shall be established to link up judicial and administrative protection of children. Efforts shall be made to do well in community-based correction of juvenile delinquents.

(4) Rights of the elderly

The social value to respect, provide for and help the elderly shall be carried forward, and mutual care projects for the elderly shall be undertaken. A mechanism to address population aging shall be developed to effectively protect the legal rights and interests of elderly people.

·An old-age service system, which is based on individual families, backed by the communities, supplemented by different institutions, boasts a more complete range of functions, is of an appropriate scale, covers both urban and rural areas and combines medical treatment with endowment care, shall be established. The old-age service market shall be open fully, and various market players shall be encouraged to increase the provision of old-age services and products by multiple means such as buying services and equity cooperation. By 2020 the old-age service facilities shall appear in over 90 percent of urban communities and 60 percent of rural communities.

·A system of old-age medical care service combining prevention with treatment and boasting diversified development shall be improved. The accessibility of healthcare services to the elderly and their health management rate shall be improved.

·A guardianship system for the elderly shall be set up and improved.

·Preferential treatment for the elderly shall be strengthened, and the social welfare system and assistance system geared toward the elderly shall be improved. A subsidy system for the elderly advanced in age, in straitened circumstances, and incapacitated shall be put in full shape.

·Policies, regulations and normative standards in relation to livable environment for elderly people shall be established and improved. Continuous efforts shall be made to increase the barrier-free rate in newly-built public facilities and facilities geared toward elderly people, and press forward with the development of an environment friendly to the elderly people.

·Efforts shall be made to forge ahead with the construction of public cultural facilities for the elderly, and encourage public cultural institutions to make more free programs available to elderly people and to increase the supply of public cultural products to this group.

·Efforts shall be made to integrate the functions of community old-age service facilities with those of sports facilities, encouraging communities to organize physical activities appropriate for the elderly by using public service facilities and other venues.

·Greater encouragement shall be given to the development of social organizations for elderly people, the coverage of grassroots elderly people's associations shall be further expanded in urban and rural communities, and their will and level of participation in social development shall be enhanced.

(5) Rights of the disabled

The system of the protection of the rights and interests of the disabled shall be improved, the level of social security and basic public services for the disabled shall be raised, and efforts shall be made to bring them more opportunities to participate in social life on an equal footing and protect their human rights.

·A system shall be fully implemented to provide living allowances to financially-challenged disabled people and nursing allowances to the severely disabled population. Families with disabled members that meet certain requirements, and the jobless and severely disabled adults who rely on their families for support are eligible for subsistence allowances. More medical rehabilitation services shall be brought into the scope of basic medical insurance. A system shall be established to provide rehabilitation and assistance to disabled children. Places where the conditions permit shall subsidize the financially-challenged and severely disabled people in their purchase of basic assistance devices. The basic housing needs of the disabled shall be first guaranteed. Break-even security shall be offered for the basic livelihood of the disabled.

·The State shall carry out rehabilitation services for the disabled. It shall promulgate and put into force the Regulations on Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation. Basic and targeted rehabilitation services shall be provided to the disabled, with the focus on disabled children and the identified disabled population. The development of professional rehabilitation institutions at provincial, city and county levels shall be improved. The State shall support second-grade general hospitals in their efforts to transform themselves into general hospitals mainly focusing on rehabilitation treatment or specialized rehabilitation hospitals. A two-way referral system shall be set up between medical institutions and specialized rehabilitation institutions for the disabled. Community-based rehabilitation services for the disabled shall be extensively carried out. The State shall build rehabilitation colleges to train professional rehabilitation personnel.

·Community-based rehabilitation services shall be promoted for mental patients. By 2020 there will be one mental health social welfare center at each prefecture-level city, over 70 percent of counties (cities and districts) will have a community-based rehabilitation institution for mental disorders or entrust social organizations to carry out rehabilitation services through services purchased by the government.

·The education level of the disabled shall be raised. Improvement shall be made of the planning and distribution of special education schools, as well as the support system that enables children with disabilities to study in regular classes, so as to provide inclusive education for them, i.e., 12-year free education covering nine-year compulsory education and three-year high-school education. A system shall be established in which home teaching is offered to severely disabled children.

·Policies to support the disabled to find jobs and startup businesses shall be improved, so shall the system of providing jobs for the disabled by public institutions. Policy support shall be strengthened to the disabled in starting up their own businesses, or getting jobs in flexible ways, getting supported employment or getting Internet-based employment. Efforts shall be intensified to strengthen employment training and services for the disabled, providing practical technical training to 500,000 impoverished disabled people in the rural areas of central and western China, and ensuring that an additional 500,000 disabled people get employed in the urban areas.

·Protection of cultural rights and interests of the disabled shall be strengthened. Efforts shall be made to beef up investment in cultural and entertainment equipment appropriate for the disabled in the public cultural centers. Public libraries where conditions permit shall all have reading areas or reading rooms for the disabled. The publication of reading materials for the visually handicapped and books about the disabled people shall be encouraged. The National Sign Language and Braille Standardization Action Plan (2015-20) shall be implemented.

·All-around endeavor shall be made in the building of barrier-free environments for the disabled. Barrier-free facilities shall be constructed on newly-built (renovated or expanded) roads, and in buildings and residential districts, or be added to exiting facilities. Renovation shall be carried out to make barrier-free facilities available in the websites of government and public service agencies, make food and drug information identifiable without obstruction, add subtitles or sign language to movies and TV programs, and urge telecommunication service operators and e-commerce enterprises to provide barrier-free information to the disabled. Measures shall be taken to improve the driving experience of the disabled. In addition, efforts shall be stepped up to carry out renovation of barrier-free facilities for impoverished families with members suffering from severe disabilities.

·The system by which the disabled get legal aid and services and judicial relief shall be improved. Illegal or criminal activities encroaching upon their legitimate rights and interests shall be seriously dealt with. Channels through which the disabled make their voices heard about their rights and interests shall be smoothed out.

IV. Human Rights Education and Research

China shall intensify its efforts to promote human rights education and training, and to enhance the public's awareness of the importance of human rights. It shall set up a human rights research platform to provide intellectual support for the cause of human rights.

·China shall implement the Opinions on Improving the System of Study and Use of the Law of State Functionaries, and make human rights education a key part of the work of enhancing the performance of State functionaries in this regard. The State shall include human rights knowledge in the education of Party committees (leading Party groups). It shall make human rights part of the curricula of Party schools, cadre colleges and administration institutes at all levels, and a required course for government employees, including judges, prosecutors and police officers, at the beginning of their careers or during training.

·China shall include human rights knowledge in the content of national education. The State shall make sure that human rights knowledge is integrated into the teaching activities of elementary and middle schools in flexible and diverse ways. It shall also provide human rights training for preschool, and elementary and secondary school teachers.

·China shall continue to support education in human rights in institutions of higher learning. The State shall further strengthen the development of human rights-related disciplines, and postgraduate enrollment and training. It shall improve the abilities of institutions of higher learning and research institutes to carry out studies on important theories and practical problems concerning human rights, and establish a national scientific research project on human rights theories.

·China shall support and encourage the enhancement of human rights education and training in enterprises and public institutions. The state shall develop a human rights culture, and take respecting and guaranteeing human rights as an important factor in decisions concerning both domestic and foreign investment.

·China shall standardize the work of national human rights education and training bases. It plans to add five bases to the current ones by 2020. The State shall standardize management and make innovations in the operation mode of these bases. It shall train more personnel and invest more money in building a new-type and high-end human rights think tank with Chinese characteristics.

·China shall study the necessity and feasibility of establishing a national human rights institution.

·China shall support the opening of special channels or columns on human rights by news media to publicize human rights knowledge and raise awareness.

V. Fulfillment of Obligations to Human Rights

Conventions, and International Exchanges and Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights:

·China shall continue to earnestly fulfill its obligations to the international human rights conventions to which it has acceded, and actively conduct international exchanges and cooperation in the field of human rights.

·China shall complete the third report on implementing the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and submit it to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for consideration.

·China shall complete the seventh report on implementing the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and submit it to the United Nations Committee Against Torture for consideration.

·China shall complete the 14th-17th combined report on implementing the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and submit it to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination for consideration.

·China shall complete the ninth report on implementing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and submit it to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women for consideration.

·China shall complete the fifth report on implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, and submit it to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child for consideration.

·China shall complete the second report on implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and submit it to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for consideration.

·China shall continue to advance related legal preparations and pave the way for ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

·China shall fully participate in the work of the UN' s human rights mechanisms, and promote the United Nations Human Rights Council and other mechanisms to attach equal importance to economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights, and function in a fair, objective and nonselective manner.

·China shall implement the related proposals offered during the HRC's first- and second-round Universal Periodic Review for China, and is actively participating in the third round.

·China shall cooperate with the Special Procedures of the HRC, answer letters from it, and invite representatives of that body to visit China, as appropriate. China will continue to recommend Chinese experts for the posts in the Special Procedures.

·China shall conduct exchanges and cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

·China shall hold dialogues on human rights with relevant countries on the basis of equality and mutual respect. It shall also increase consultation and cooperation on human rights with the other four BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa), developing countries and the G77 (group of developing nations), and provide technical assistance in human rights field demanded by other developing countries.

·China shall participate in the Informal Asia-Europe Meeting Seminar on Human Rights and other regional and subregional activities on human rights. In 2016 China will host the 16th Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights. It shall make due contribution to the holding of Beijing Forum on Human Rights, Sino-European Forum on Human Rights, Sino-German Human Rights Dialogue and Sino-American Dialogue on Rule of Law and Human Rights.

·China shall urge its overseas enterprises to abide by the laws of the countries in which they are stationed, and fulfill their social responsibilities in the process of conducting foreign economic and trade cooperation, providing assistance and making investment.

·China shall support and promote the participation of nongovernmental organizations in international exchanges and cooperation in the field of human rights to make their contributions to the healthy development of human rights around the world.

VI. Implementation and Supervision

China shall improve the joint meeting mechanism for the National Human Rights Action Plan, and improve supervision and assessment of the implementation of the Action Plan, so as to ensure its implementation in various fields and at different levels.

·The local governments at all levels and related departments of the State organs shall work out detailed measures for the implementation of the Action Plan in accordance with their respective functions and regional characteristics, so as to ensure the successful fulfillment of all its objectives and tasks.

·The joint meeting mechanism for the National Human Rights Action Plan shall conduct phased research, inspection and assessment, introduce a third-party assessment mechanism, and release the assessment report in a timely fashion.

·We shall respect the people's dominant role, make innovations in social governance mechanisms, and give full play to the constructive role of social organizations in implementing the Action Plan.

·We shall take the Action Plan as a major component of our human rights training, so that Party and government cadres at all levels fully comprehend the importance of implementing the Action Plan.

·We shall encourage the news media to cover the contents of the Action Plan in an extensive way, and act as supervisors for its implementation.

(China Daily USA 09/30/2016 page16)