China releases 1st human rights action plan

[April 13, 2009]  BEIJING (AP) -- China released its first human rights action plan Monday, pledging to improve the treatment of minorities and do more to prevent the torture of detainees but said that raising living standards would remain a central goal.

China has been criticized by other governments, the United Nations and activists for aggressively promoting economic reform over the past few decades while falling short on basic human rights such as freedom of speech, religion and the right to a fair trial.

The government responds to such criticism by pointing to its accomplishments in improving the lot of hundreds of millions of people.

"While respecting the universal principles of human rights, the Chinese government, in the light of the basic realities of China, gives priority to the protection of the people's rights to subsistence and development," said an introduction to the document released by the official Xinhua News Agency.

The two-year plan promises the communist government will do more to prevent illegal detention and torture, and to boost the overall living standard of minorities, women, the unemployed and the disabled.

But it says a central tenet of its policy remains ensuring Chinese people have the right to make money.

China drew up the plan as part of preparations for its first examination before the U.N. Human Rights Council earlier this year.

Joshua Rosenzweig, research manager for the Dui Hua Foundation, a U.S.-based human rights group, said the plan was notable because it seemed to have more input from academics, activists and other elements of civil society than the government's previous human rights reports.

He also said issuing a plan with benchmarks, instead of a report summing up past progress, was also an "important step."

On preventing prisoner abuse, the plan promises that detainees, their families and the community will be informed of detainees' rights as well as law-enforcement standards and procedures.

It calls for a physical barrier between detainees and interrogators and mandatory physical examinations for detainees before and after they are questioned to prevent abuse.

Prisoners should be allowed to meet with a dedicated prison staffer to complain if they have suffered abuse, it said.

A recent string of inmate deaths in China that have sparked public concern. Since Feb. 8, at least five prisoners have reportedly died while in detention awaiting trial, the youngest just 18 years old, state media reported earlier.

Such accusations are widespread, with rights groups and Chinese media frequently reporting cases of prisoners being beaten or tortured. Authorities have prosecuted some of the worst offenders, but the charges persist.

The section on the death penalty is brief, stating simply that the use of the penalty will be "strictly controlled and prudently applied."

China is believed to execute more people annually than any other country, but the actual figure remains a state secret for reasons that remain obscure.

Chinese convictions are swift, with trials for capital cases routinely taking just a day or two. Executions are meted out within a few months of conviction, despite a 2007 policy change that mandates all capital cases be reviewed by the Supreme Court.

Rosenzweig criticized the government for setting modest goals and not including more specifics.

"They have set some pretty soft targets for themselves," he said.

[Associated Press]

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