UN Official Praises China's Poverty Reduction
A United Nations (UN) official on Oct. 17, 2013 praised China's progress in eliminating hunger and reducing poverty, as the world marked the 21st International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
"We have witnessed remarkable progress in China's hunger and poverty alleviation efforts during the past 34 years, from one-third of Chinese people suffering hunger to less than one-tenth," said Brett Rierson, Representative of the World Food Programme (WFP) in China.
From: Xinhua
State Council Releases Guidelines to Boost Healthcare Sector
China's state council released guidelines on Oct. 14, 2013 outlining measures to improve services in the medical and healthcare industries. The newest reforms include liberalizing the pricing of private hospitals, and providing financial assistance to healthcare related businesses.
The move is expected to improve efficiency in China's vast healthcare market, which is estimated to be worth some 8 trillion yuan or 1.3 trillion US dollars in 2013.
From: CNTV.cn
China Aims for Universal Education
A UNICEF official on Oct. 24, 2013 praised China's "remarkable achievements" toward universal education, saying they "are proud to cooperate with China and share its experience."
Tim Sutton, deputy-representative of the China office of UNICEF, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the Eighth Conference on Education For All (EFA) in Beijing, attended by experts from more than 20 countries.
EFA was initiated by the landmark World Conference on Education in Dakar in 2000, with the governments of 164 countries, including China, pledging to achieve six EFA goals by 2015.
From: Xinhua[page]
China Issues White Paper on Tibet's Development
The Chinese government on Oct. 22, 2013 issued a white paper on west China's Tibet Autonomous Region, detailing its comprehensive development and rapid progress over the past 60-plus years.
"The development and progress in modern Tibet results from the innate logic of its social and historical environment, and has its roots in China's progress in a larger context," says the white paper, released by the Information Office of the State Council under the title "Development and Progress of Tibet."
From: Xinhua
Xi Stresses Gender Equality
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Oct. 31, 2013 underlined the importance of gender equality, calling for full play to be given to the role of women in order to help achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Xi made the remarks while meeting with the newly elected leadership of the All-China Women's Federation.
The president also expressed his congratulations and greetings to the new leadership following the 11th National Women's Congress, which concluded in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Oct. 31, 2013.
From: Xinhua[page]
Human Rights Council Adopts Periodic Review on China
The report of the second round of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on China was adopted on Oct. 25, 2013 by the Working Group on the UPR of the Human Rights Council (HRC).
Wu Haitao, deputy head of the Chinese delegation, said in his statement that the Chinese delegation appreciates the spirit of independence, impartiality, transparency and dedication that has been demonstrated in the preparation of the report.
He added that the report is in general an objective and balanced reflection of the review of China by the working group.
From: Xinhua
Equal Modernization Fruits for Urban, Rural Residents: Xi
The Communist Party of China (CPC) will promote the urban-rural integration drive so as to ensure that rural residents equally share the benefits of modernization, said Xi Jinping when explaining a key document on reform.
Policies should be improved to ensure urban development facilitate rural progress, and agriculture and industry benefit each other, according to a decision on major issues concerning comprehensively deepening reforms, approved by the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee on Nov. 12, 2013.
From: Xinhua
China Elected to UN Human Rights Council
China on Nov. 12, 2013 was elected to the UN Human Rights Council for a three-year term.
China was one of the 14 elected members to the 47-member UN human rights body at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly ( UNGA). It got 176 favorable votes from the 192 UN member states present in one round of secret ballot on Nov. 12, 2013, winning a three-year term in the Council from 2014 to 2016.
The UN Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, Switzerland, and a major United Nations body working to promote and protect human rights worldwide, was set up by the UNGA on March 15, 2006, to replace and build upon the achievements of the 60-year-old Commission on Human Rights.
From: Xinhua[page]
China Focus: China's "Laojiao" Site to Change Role After Abolishment
Institutions for reeducation through labor are seeking new roles after the decision to abolish them.
In Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture of southwest China's Yunnan Province, the former center of reeducation through labor will be transformed into a drug rehab center.
The key policy document of the Communist Party of China (CPC) published on Nov. 15, 2013 said that China will abolish the "reeducation through labor" system as part of a major effort to protect human rights.
The controversial correction system, commonly known as "Laojiao," began in the 1950s. The program usually takes in minor offenders whose offences are not severe enough to take them to court.
From: Xinhua
President Xi Stresses Fight against HIV/AIDS
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for legal and scientific prevention and control of HIV/AIDS as well as various social support for carriers and patients.
Xi made the remarks in a recent written instruction on the country's anti-HIV/AIDS work before the World AIDS Day, which falls on Dec. 1.
According to Xi, the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS concerns people's life and health and social harmony and stability and is the obligatory responsibility of the Party and the government.
From: Xinhua
China Achieves Extreme Poverty Reduction Goal
China is among the 62 countries that have achieved the first Millennium Development Goal, namely halving extreme poverty rates by 2015, chief of the Rome-based UN food agency has told Xinhua in an exclusive interview recently.
"This is an outstanding achievement," Director General of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Jose Graziano da Silva said, adding that "The numbers of China, on the whole, are very impressive: the country feeds around 20 percent of the world's population with only 9 percent of arable land and 6 percent of freshwater. This is a very good example."
"I can really say that it was basically due to China's achievements if we were able to push down the total number of undernourished people in the world from 1 billion to 840 million over the last years," he said.
From: Xinhua[page]
Ministry Calls for Reports on Graduate Employment
The Ministry of Education asked all higher educational institutions to release reports on the "quality" of employment found by graduates, starting 2014.
Experts urged the introduction of independent reports from a third party and continuous tracking to better reflect the nature of graduate employment.
From: China Daily
