White Paper on Human Rights Progress in China

Issued by the Information Office of the State Council in November 1991. It includes ten parts, 17 articles. The “White Paper” provides a comprehensive and concise account of China's basic stance and practice on human rights.

Proceeding from their own history and national conditions and based on long-term practical experience, the Chinese people have formed their own views on human rights issues and formulated corresponding laws and policies. The “White Paper” pointed out that for a country and a nation, human rights are first and foremost the people's right to existence, without which all other rights are out of the question. The right to existence is the primary human right that the Chinese people have long been fighting for. With the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the safety of the Chinese people's lives has since been fundamentally guaranteed.

The “White Paper” pointed out:

The Chinese people have fought for their democratic rights. In the semi-feudal, semi-colonial Old China, the people had no democratic rights to speak of, but after the founding of New China, the people of the whole country gained real democratic rights. In order to guarantee that the people are truly the masters of the country and that they exercise their right to manage the country's economic and social affairs, China has, in accordance with its own national conditions, adopted the people's congresses as the fundamental political system of the country and implemented such basic political systems as the system of multi-Party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party, the system of regional autonomy for ethnic minorities and the system of grass-roots mass autonomy, so as to guarantee that citizens can directly exercise their civil and political rights.

The human rights that China advocates are not only the right to existence and civil and political rights, but also include economic, cultural and social rights. The Chinese Government attaches importance to the preservation and realisation of the economic, cultural, social and political development rights of the country, the nation and the individual.

China attaches great importance to the protection of human rights in the judicial procedures. The purpose and task of China's judicial work is to protect the basic rights and freedoms of all citizens and other legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the law, and also protect public property and legitimate property acquired and owned by citizens and private property owners, maintain social order, ensure the smooth progress of China's modernization drive, and aims to punish a few unlawful people in accordance with laws.

The right to work of citizens is a necessary condition for the right to existence. Without the right to work, the right to existence is not guaranteed. Under China's Constitution and laws, citizens have the right to work, the right to rest, the right to vocational training, the right to be paid for their work, the right to labour protection and the right to social security.

Citizens’ right to work is a necessary condition for obtaining the right to existence. Without the right to work, the right to existence cannot be guaranteed. According to China's Constitution and laws, citizens have the right to employment, selection of profession, remuneration, rest and vacation, labor security and health protection, professional skill training and social insurance.

Chinese citizens have freedom of religious belief. The State protects normal religious activities and the legitimate rights and interests of religious communities, and there are government departments responsible for the implementation of the policy on freedom of religious belief. Religions in China respect each other and live in harmony with each other, as well as with each other and with non-believers.

China safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of all ethnic minorities and maintains and develops relations of equality, unity and mutual assistance among them. Discrimination and oppression against any ethnic group is prohibited, as are acts that undermine ethnic unity and create ethnic divisions.

The Chinese government promotes family planning in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution in order to promote economic and social development, improve the standard of living of the people, raise the quality of the population and safeguard the right of the people to enjoy a better life.

The Chinese government attaches great importance to the rights of the disabled and gives them special assistance and protection in order to alleviate or eliminate the negative effect of disability effects and the external obstacles hindering the disabled individuals and guarantee their rights.

The Chinese government attaches great importance to the rights of disabled people and provides special assistance and protection to them in order to reduce or eliminate the effects of their disabilities and external barriers, and to guarantee the realisation of their rights.

China recognizes and respects the purposes and principles of “United Nations Charter” for the protection and promotion of human rights, appreciates and supports the efforts of the United Nations for the universal promotion of human rights and basic freedoms, and actively participates in the activities of the United Nations in the field of human rights.

In today's world, where the old and new patterns are in transition, hegemonism and power politics continue, endangering world peace and development. The use of human rights to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and the pursuit of power diplomacy hinders the realization of human rights and basic freedoms. China is willing to work with the international community to continue to make unremitting efforts to establish a new, just and reasonable order in international relations and to realize the United Nations' purpose of safeguarding and promoting human rights and basic freedoms.