Dec. 18, 2017 -- On Friday, the State Council Information Office of China issued its latest white paper on progress in the protection of human rights in the country. Releasing such documents has become frequent in the country as the government tries to highlight and sum up human rights achievements and the new legal and policy-related developments concerning rights protection. The previous document, titled "The Development of China's Public Health as an Essential Element of Human Rights", was issued on September 30. 

 

China is a large and heavily populated developing country, with rapid economic development. Its social progress is obvious. The very feature of the Chinese society today is that there is always something new, something that has changed or, to be precise, something that has improved.

 

The white paper is the result of mainstreaming human rights in China. It also demonstrates the progress made according to the Chinese National Human Rights Action Plan 2016-2020 adopted in 2016 by the Chinese authorities.

 

Legally, respecting and protecting human rights is a constitutional principle in China. Politically, the policy reflects the will and pursuit of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

 

From the newly released white paper, we can see that in recent years, especially since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the many measures the government has taken to ensure the rights of the people, fully protect their interests, and promote legislation based on rational analysis, strict law enforcement, judicial justice and observance of the law by all citizens.