The State Council Information Office unveiled the National Human Rights Action Plan (2012-2015) (hereinafter referred to as the Action Plan) on June 11, drawing wide attention, both domestically and internationally. Wang Chen, director of the International Communication Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the State Council Information Office, answered questions concerning China's formulation of the Action Plan in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency. The following is the translated version of the full text of the interview:

Xinhua:

The Chinese government introduced the National Human Rights Action Plan (2009-2010) in 2009, and has now unveiled the National Human Rights Action Plan (2012-2015). Why is the formulation of the second Action Plan important?

Wang Chen:

Ensuring and enjoying human rights in the broadest sense is a lofty ideal and goal that the Chinese government and people have unswervingly pursued. Respecting and safeguarding human rights is one of this country's constitutional principles and an important guideline of governance for the Chinese government.

The first National Human Rights Action Plan that the Chinese government introduced in 2009 has substantially facilitated the development of the cause of human rights in China, and has been widely acclaimed by the Chinese people and widely praised by the international community. The 2012-2015 period is crucial in terms of implementing the 12th Five-Year Plan for the National Economic and Social Development, deepening reform and opening-up, accelerating the transformation of the economic growth pattern and breaking new ground for scientific development; it is also an important period for enhancing human rights protection and realizing the all-round development of the cause of human rights. Building on the past experience gained in formulating and enforcing the first Action Plan, the Chinese government has formulated the second human rights action plan to specify its aims and tasks in terms of promoting and protecting human rights during the 2012-2015 period.

The formulation of the Action Plan is greatly significant in terms of both consolidating the progress and achievements made in the cause of human rights in China and for continuing to solve existing problems and tackle new challenges; it is of great significance for further improving human rights protection measures in legislation, administration and judicial areas. It is also significant for propelling institutional and legislative protection of human rights, for further firming up the constitutional principle of respecting and safeguarding human rights, and for safeguarding citizens' economic, political, social and cultural rights; it also holds great significance for advancing scientific development and promoting social justice and harmony, for endeavoring to ensure that every member of society lives a more dignified and happier life and for striving to realize the goal of building a moderately prosperous society.

The promulgation of the new National Human Rights Action Plan indicates the Chinese government's determination to further the cause of human rights in China in an all-round way, and also signals that the cause of human rights in China has entered a new stage, which is being advanced in a planned, steady and comprehensive fashion.

Xinhua:

The Action Plan covers China's various aspects including economy, politics, society and culture, and is closely related to the work of government departments. It has also attracted the attention of people from all walks of life. Would you please outline how the Action Plan was formulated?

Wang Chen:

The Action Plan involved the joint efforts of the relevant departments of the CPC Central Committee and the central government as well as the broad participation of all social sectors. It covers all aspects of Chinese life, including economy, politics, culture and society. In order to establish a good plan and to ensure the authority and effectiveness of the Action Plan, the Chinese government set up a joint meeting mechanism for the National Human Rights Action Plan. The State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, two members of the "joint meeting mechanism," took the responsibility of convening meetings. The mechanism included a further 54 departments of the CPC Central Committee and the State as well as people's organizations and non-governmental organizations. Members included: the General Office of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee, the General Office of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the Social and Legal Affairs Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Supervision, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Land and Resources, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Health, the National Population and Family Planning Commission, the National Audit Office, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the Sate Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the General Administration of Press and Publication, the General Administration of Sport, the State Administration of Work Safety, the National Bureau of Statistics, the State Forestry Administration, the State Intellectual Property Office, the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, the State Food and Drug Administration, the National Working Committee on Children and Women under the State Council, the State Council Poverty Alleviation Leading Group Office, the National Committee on Ageing, the Food Safety Commission Office of the State Council, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, the All-China Women's Federation, the China Disabled Persons' Federation, and the China Society for Human Rights Studies.

Since last September, 56 members of the "joint meeting mechanism" have contributed and, in addition, the State Council Information Office organized the formation of a panel of experts to participate in the drafting and formulation of the plan. Experts were invited from a range of universities and research institutions including Nankai University, Sichuan University, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, and the Party School of the CPC Central Committee. This year, based on the first draft worked out at the end of last year, we have held numerous joint meetings, seminars and discussions, organized officers in charge, experts and scholars to conduct in-depth investigation and research, and have widely solicited opinions and suggestions from departments, social and non-governmental organizations, universities, research institutions and other social sectors through such means as face-to-face communication and letters. The National Human Rights Action Plan (2012-2015) was finalized after rigorous examination, discussion, revision and improvements. The State Council has approved this Action Plan and authorized the State Council Information Office to promulgate it.

Xinhua:

What are the guidelines and basic principles for formulating and implementing the Action Plan?

Wang Chen:

The Action Plan was formulated in accordance with the following guidelines: Holding high the flag of socialism with Chinese characteristics, taking Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of "Three Represents" as guidance and thoroughly applying the Scientific Outlook on Development. In combination with the implementation of The Outline of the 12th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese government combines its human rights endeavors with economic, political, cultural, social and ecological construction. To satisfy the aspirations of its people of all ethnic groups for living a better life, it continuously prioritizes people's rights to subsistence and development, vigorously safeguards and improves people's livelihood, spares no efforts to solve the problems of the utmost and immediate concern to the people, practically safeguards the citizens' economic, political, social and cultural rights and promotes social equity and harmony, so as to ensure that every member of society live a happier and more dignified life.

The Action Plan was formulated in line with the following three basic principles: First, the principle of pushing forward the work according to law. In line with the constitutional principle that "the state respects and preserves human rights" and the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant international conventions on human rights, the Action Plan sets out the goal of improving the laws and regulations and their implementation mechanisms for respecting and safeguarding human rights in legislation, administration and law enforcement, so as to promote the cause of human rights in China according to law. Second, the principle of comprehensive advances. Taking all types of human rights as interdependent and inseparable, the Chinese government determines to promote the coordinated development of economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights, and the balanced development of individual and collective human rights. Third, the principle of pursuing practicality. The Chinese government respects the principle of universality of human rights, but also upholds proceeding from China's national conditions and new realities to advance the development of its human rights cause on a practical basis.

Xinhua:

The Action Plan covers a wide range of topics on human rights. Could you briefly tell us about its main points and objectives?

Wang Chen:

The major points of the Action Plan are as follows: Providing protection for citizens' economic, social and cultural rights; providing protection for the citizens' civil and political rights; providing protection for the rights of ethnic minorities, women, children, senior citizens and the disabled; conducting education on human rights; fulfilling the obligations to international human rights conventions; and participating in international exchanges and cooperation on human rights.

The objectives in the implementation of the Action Plan are as follows:

Providing comprehensive protection to citizens' economic, social and cultural rights. The Chinese government will take proactive measures to protect more effectively the rights of all members of society to employment, basic living standard, social security, health care, education, culture and environment, striving to ensure that all the people enjoy their rights to education, employment, medical and old-age care, and housing, and ensuring that all people share the benefits of the nation's development.

Providing effective protection to the citizens' civil and political rights according to law. Efforts will be made to improve relevant laws and regulations to protect the citizens' basic rights; work will be done to strengthen judicial protection of human rights to promote judicial justice; and endeavors will be made to develop socialist democratic politics to expand citizens' orderly participation in political affairs, and to ensure people's rights to be informed, to participate, to be heard and to oversee.

Providing full protection to the lawful rights of ethnic minorities, women, children, senior citizens and the disabled. Further efforts will be made to ensure ethnic minorities enjoy equal economic, political, social and cultural rights; efforts will be made to promote gender equality and eliminate gender discrimination; practical work will be done to safeguard children's rights to subsistence and development, to be protected and to participate; the social security system for elderly people will be improved to speed up the building of an old-age service system; and efforts will be made to develop the cause of the disabled to promote their equal participation in social life.

Conducting extensive education in human rights. Education in human rights will be consistently carried out among civil servants; human rights education in various forms will be held in all types of schools and at all levels; and human rights knowledge will be publicized throughout the society to enhance the citizens' awareness in this respect.

Actively participating in international exchanges and cooperation on human rights. China will conscientiously fulfill its obligations to international human rights conventions, take an active part in the work of the United Nations human rights mechanisms, and continuously conduct human rights dialogue, cooperation and exchanges with other countries on the basis of equality and mutual respect.

Xinhua:

The formulation, implementation and assessment of the first Action Plan would have provided experiences for the formulation of the second Action Plan. What characteristics does the second Action Plan possess?

Wang Chen:

Both Action Plans adhere to the Scientific Outlook on Development which puts people first, and takes realization, preservation and advancement of people's fundamental interests as the starting point and goal of the formulation of the Action Plan. The new Action Plan has the following characteristics:

First, China's stance and view on human rights are further clarified. The Introduction of the Action Plan illustrates China's view of human rights by specifying three basic principles for formulating and implementing the Action Plan. These are: the principle of pushing forward the work according to law, the principle of comprehensive advances and the principle of pursuing practicality. To advance the development of human rights, China must adhere to the constitutional principle that "the state respects and preserves human rights." We must also adhere to the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant international conventions on human rights. We must promote the coordinated development of economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights, and promote the balanced development of individual and collective human rights. We must also respect the principle of the universality of human rights, while ensuring cohesion with China's national conditions and new realities. These principles represent China's dialectic understanding of the various internal relations of human rights from the perspective of traditional Chinese culture, which emphasizes harmony and balance. They combine to serve as the central principles for advancing the development of the cause of human rights in China.

Second, the comprehensive development of human rights is closely integrated with China's 12th Five-Year Plan. In combination with the implementation of the 12th Five-Year Plan, the Action Plan integrates China's human rights endeavors with economic, political, cultural, social and ecological construction, as well as the work plans of various departments in all sectors for the coming four years. In essence, it serves as China's plan for human rights development during the 12th Five-Year period.

Third, the Action Plan is more feasible and workable. Summing up the experiences from the formulation, implementation and evaluation of the previous plan, the new Action Plan ensures that all objectives are described in detail and that all tasks can be evaluated by clearly-defined standards, so that objectives and tasks can be implemented, examined and evaluated.

Fourth, the Action Plan attaches greater importance to the role of NGOs and mass media in promoting the development of human rights. According to the Action Plan, China will "improve the social management mechanism and promote the constructive role of NGOs in human rights protection" and "encourage the mass media to play a positive role in the publicizing, implementation and supervision of the Action Plan."

Fifth, the Action Plan requests that efforts be made to publicize the concept of human rights and spread relevant knowledge, so as to promote public awareness of human rights. The Action Plan prioritizes the education and training of civil servants, and requires the training programs to cover topics related to human rights. Human rights education in various forms will be held in all types of schools and at all levels. For the first time, the Action Plan states that China would "encourage and promote the publicity of human rights knowledge in enterprises and public institutions, and develop a corporate culture that honors and protects human rights." It also states that "China will give full play to the role of national human rights education and training bases," and that "by 2015, at least five new bases will be opened," and "China will make the Action Plan an important part of human rights education and training."

Xinhua:

The key to the success of the Action Plan is effective implementation. We have noticed that compared with the previous plan, this plan has a new chapter titled "Implementation and Supervision." What are you planning to do to ensure effective implementation?

Wang Chen:

Action and implementation are essential to the Action Plan. We have worked hard to make sure the implementation is effective and we wrote a new chapter especially on implementation and supervision to ensure the success of the plan.

According to the Action Plan: First, relevant departments at the central level, and local governments at all levels, will attach the importance to the Action Plan. While taking into consideration the specific responsibilities of each department and regional characteristics, they will take effective measures to achieve the aims and complete the tasks of the Action Plan. The joint meeting mechanism for the Action Plan will conduct research and examinations at different phases, have a final evaluation and publish the evaluation report.

Second, the Action Plan will be taken as an important part of human rights education and training, and the mass media will be encouraged to play a positive role in the publicizing, implementation and supervision of the Action Plan.

Third, in the process of implementing the Action Plan, China will respect and give full play to the public's initiative, enthusiasm and creativity. It will improve the social management mechanism and promote the constructive role of NGOs in human rights protection. Active efforts will be made to probe and improve the social mechanism for protecting human rights in line with the specific conditions of the country as a whole and its different regions and promote the effective implementation of the Action Plan.

We believe that through the vigorous promotion and effective implementation of the Action Plan, the socialist value of respecting and protecting human rights will become more widespread and China will make further progress in its development and enhancement of human rights.

(China Daily 06/13/2012 page9)