The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) has initiated 36 rounds of emergency responses, and allocated disaster relief materials and funds to help flood-affected regions, the RCSC said on Aug. 4, 2020.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China’s finance ministry has allocated 30 billion yuan (about 4.3 billion U.S. dollars) to enhance the country’s capacity to ensure emergency supplies.

 

The funds will be used to supplement local supplies of emergency materials and build a sound system that ensures the coordination, reserve and distribution of emergency supplies, the Ministry of Finance said on its website on Aug. 5, 2020.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

With money and resources preferentially reallocated to deal with the pandemic, progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially hard-fought gains for women’s rights, have already come under threat, representatives from 11 countries warned during a virtual meeting hosted by UN Women on Aug. 5. They urged countries to bring the implementation of SDG back on track guided by gender equality priorities.

 

From: CGTN

 

 

In China, there are 83-million small and self-employed business owners, providing jobs for 200-million people. The figures were announced at a news conference on Aug. 7. But a lack of custom due to COVID-19 has made it difficult for many of them to pay their rent. And many have been forced to lay off employees.

 

China has rolled out policies to reverse the negative impact of COVID-19 on the job market. The measures look to promote flexible employment and help rural migrants find work or start businesses.

 

From: CGTN

 

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Aug. 11 signed a presidential order awarding four persons the national medal and honorary title for their outstanding contribution to fighting the COVID-19 epidemic.

 

Xi’s presidential order came after the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress voted at the 21st session to adopt a decision to confer the national medal and honorary title on the four renowned specialists.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

A human rights webinar on how to protect the right to health during the pandemic prevention and control was held on Aug. 11. The teleconference was organized by the Center for Human Rights Studies and the Law School of Fudan University. Around 30 experts and scholars joined the virtual event.

 

From: en.humanrights.cn

 

 

A number of Chinese experts have stressed human rights education for the youth to advance the whole cause of human rights at an online international human rights forum held by the national human rights center of Uzbekistan held on Aug. 12-13.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Chinese authorities have granted the first invention patent to a domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which experts said demonstrates the vaccine’s originality and creativity and would enhance the international market’s trust in Chinese-developed COVID-19 vaccines.

 

The grant of the patent further confirmed the vaccine’s efficacy and safety and convincingly demonstrated the ownership of its intellectual property rights (IPR), CanSino said in a statement on Aug. 16.

 

From: CGTN

 

 

China will make further plans for increased fiscal funds to directly benefit businesses and the people in a bid to enhance the foundation for economic recovery and growth, and ensure the full delivery of financial policies to support the real economy, the State Council’s executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided on Aug. 17, 2020.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China’s Commerce Ministry said on Aug. 20 that China firmly opposes the U.S. decision to once again escalate its suppression of Huawei and will take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights of Chinese enterprises.

 

According to the ministry, the U.S. has used state power under the generalization of the “national security” to continuously abuse export control measures and suppress specific enterprises in other countries.

 

From: CGTN

 

 

China has managed to resolve drinking water safety problems for its entire impoverished population, according to the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) on Aug. 21, 2020.

 

The country has improved water supply services for a total of 256 million people in rural areas as of the end of July, with 17.1 million impoverished people getting access to clean water, Tian Xuebin, vice minister of MWR, told a press conference.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

A Chinese health official on Aug. 22 confirmed the country authorized emergency usage of COVID-19 vaccines developed by some select domestic companies on July 22.

 

“We’ve drawn up a series of plan packages, including medical consent forms, side-effects monitoring plans, rescuing plans, compensation plans, to make sure the emergency use is well regulated and monitored,” said Zheng Zhongwei, head of China’s coronavirus vaccine development task force.

 

From: CGTN

 

 

China has enforced updated regulations on human organ transplants starting from Aug. 24, replacing the previous version introduced in June 2006, said the National Health Commission.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China’s deputy envoy to the United Nations said that while the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have temporarily reduced the risk of terrorist attacks, the socioeconomic fallout from the crisis has the potential to exacerbate conditions conducive to terrorism.

 

“It could feed into a vicious circle of destabilization and violence and increase the midterm to long-term threat, which ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and other terrorist organizations are keen to explore and exploit,” Geng Shuang, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations said on Aug. 24 at a UN Security Council virtual meeting on threats to international peace and security by terrorism.

 

From: China Daily Global

 

 

A Chinese envoy to the United Nations on Aug. 24 dismissed accusations by the United States and the United Kingdom over China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang as “baseless and absurd”.

 

The situation in Xinjiang is totally China’s internal affairs. It is not a religion issue or a human rights issue. Rather, it is about counterterrorism and anti-extremism, Geng Shuang, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, said at a virtual meeting of the council on threats to international peace and security from terrorism.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China’s National Healthcare Security Administration on Aug. 26 started to solicit public opinion on a draft guideline to improve the individual medical insurance for urban employees.

 

At least 50 percent of the expenses of outpatient services for all insurance participants will be covered by the medical insurance after the reform, according to the guideline.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Aug. 26 stressed efforts in flood control and disaster relief as well as post-disaster recovery to support production restoration in disaster-stricken areas and ensure people’s livelihood.

 

Li made the remarks while presiding over an executive meeting of the State Council.

 

A total of 100 billion yuan (about 14.48 billion U.S. dollars) will be allocated from central and local fiscal for post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, while a mechanism will be established to ensure the funds go straight to the disaster-stricken areas, according to the meeting.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Premier Li Keqiang has underlined the country’s social assistance work to ensure the well-being of those in need.

 

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in an instruction to a meeting held in Beijing on Aug. 27 about improving the country’s social assistance system.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Authorities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region are urging the U.S. to revoke the latest sanctions on Chinese officials and a prominent government organization in the region. Washington has imposed sanctions alleging human rights abuses. But Xinjiang officials dismissed the claims at a regular briefing on Aug. 27.

 

From: CGTN

 

 

China will launch nationwide pro-consumption projects in September to boost sales of products from poor areas in an effort to promote poverty alleviation, the country’s poverty relief authority said on Aug. 28, 2020.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Xinjiang’s Uygur population has increased under the law-based implementation of the family planning policy, with all rights of ethnic minorities including those of Uygurs protected, a Xinjiang official told a news conference on Aug. 29.

 

The remarks came after a German scholar Adrian Zenz recently published a report which claimed that Xinjiang was using forced sterilization and coercive family planning against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang in a attempt to limit their population.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

The Uygur population in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has increased under the law-based implementation of the family planning policy, with all rights of ethnic minorities protected, a Xinjiang official told a news conference over the weekend (August 29-30).

 

The remarks came after German scholar Adrian Zenz recently published a report that claimed Xinjiang was using forced sterilization and coercive family planning against Uygurs and other minorities in Xinjiang in an attempt to limit their populations.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

 

The documentary, Lies and Truth-Vocational Education and Training in Xinjiang, produced by the Xinjiang Development Research Center, a local think tank, has been on air since late August.

 

As the documentary’s first part, Source of Violence and Terror, shows, there were mounting calls to protect people’s lives and properties from the increasing attacks by separatists, religious extremists and terrorists in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. When life is in danger, protecting human rights and people’s right to development is not possible.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

Local health authorities and medical institutions are required to raise incomes and improve practicing environments for nurses to increase their incentives and retain such workers, the National Health Commission said on Sept. 2.

 

Front-line nurses will be given preference for performance bonuses, promotions or training, according to a notice released by the commission on Sept. 2.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China held a meeting on Sept. 8 in Beijing to commend role models in the country’s fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, presented medals to recipients of the Medal of the Republic and the national honorary title at the Great Hall of the People. Xi also delivered a speech at the meeting.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Safeguarding millions of lives in the COVID-19 epidemic is the biggest proof of human rights in China, the country’s top epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan said on a TV program for students around the country on Sept. 8.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sept. 14 said that there is no universal path to human rights development in the world. In terms of human rights protection, there is no best way, only the better one.

 

Xi made the remarks when co-hosting a China-Germany-EU leaders’ meeting in Beijing via video link with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

President of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Tijjani Muhammad-Bande on Sept. 14 lauded China’s great achievements in eradicating poverty and urged the global community to defend multilateralism.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Governments at all levels should implement the strictest arable land protection policies and clamp down on activities that encroach on arable land, according to a circular posted on Sept. 15 on the website of the central government.

 

To feed the 1.4 billion people in China, governments across the country must take effective measures to protect arable land, said the circular issued by the General Office of the State Council.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva Chen Xu on Sept. 15 urged the international community to uphold multilateralism, strengthen unity and address global challenges together.

 

In a statement delivered on behalf of a group of like-minded countries on the second day of the 45th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Chen also called upon the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to treat all human rights on an equal footing.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China’s National Health Commission on Sept. 15 released the latest (seventh) version of COVID-19 prevention and control guidelines, making revisions contents such as COVID-19 etiological and epidemiological features, as well as epidemic monitoring and handling.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

A Chinese institute on Sept. 16 issued an analysis of Adrian Zenz’s Xinjiang report, accusing the latter of being “a hodgepodge of random patchwork and subjective speculation.”

 

The article by the Human Rights Institute, Southwest University of Political Science & Law, said Zenz’s report “is extremely imprecise, fictionalized the relationship between pictures and texts, maliciously interpreted the cases, and the conclusion has no factual basis.”

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China has provided direction on advancing human rights with its action on poverty elimination, Guo Weimin, vice-minister of the State Council Information Office, said on Sept. 16.

 

It also pursues a people-centered development philosophy, Guo said at the Vision China event broadcast online to a global audience. “While trying to reduce poverty, China puts people first and foremost, upholding social fairness and justice, and promoting people’s overall development,” Guo said.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China is willing to step up cooperation with other countries in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior official of the Communist Party of China said.

 

It is part of a broader effort to curb global poverty and fight other challenges facing developing countries, said Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the committee’s publicity department.

 

He made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the Forum on 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and China’s Poverty Reduction Experience, a three-day online event held by China Global Television Network Think Tank that began being aired by the State broadcaster on Sept. 16.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

The experience of Chinese social organizations in poverty elimination has not only helped improve the wellbeing of Chinese people, but also benefited people in other countries, experts at an international event said.

 

A webinar, on the theme Contribution of Social Organizations to International Development, was a parallel event to the ongoing 45th session of United Nations Human Rights Council. The video conference was held on Sept. 16.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China issued a white paper on employment and labor rights in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Sept. 17.

 

The white paper, published by the State Council Information Office, says Xinjiang takes the facilitation of employment as the most fundamental project for ensuring and improving people’s wellbeing.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Twelve representatives from social organizations in China, Cambodia, Mongolia, Ethiopia, and relevant international organizations on Sept. 17 discussed poverty alleviation through video links.

 

They exchanged views on topics including China’s poverty reduction achievements, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and global poverty reduction experiences, at a seminar hosted by the China NGO Network for International Exchanges (CNIE).

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China on Sept. 17 published a white paper on the employment and labor rights in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The white paper, titled Employment and Labor Rights in Xinjiang, comprehensively showcases that the autonomous region takes the facilitation of employment as the most fundamental project for ensuring and improving people’s wellbeing, records the fact that the proactive polices to ensure employment and job security adopted by the local government of Xinjiang have effectively protected all ethnic groups’ basic labor rights, and demonstrates China’s commitment to the people-centered philosophy of development and its protection of citizens’ right to work in accordance with the law.

 

From: People’s Daily

 

 

China is to introduce new measures to improve the management of nursing homes and standardize the services on offer, with the aim of promoting the sound growth of the elderly care service industry, an official said on Sept. 17.

 

The new measures, contained in a revised regulation on nursing homes that will take effect on Nov. 1, include provisions on the registration, supervision, operation and legal liabilities of nursing homes, Xiao Dengfeng, an official with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, told a press conference.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

The global community should work together to promote multilateralism and international cooperation, and enhance the ability to respond to terrorism and extremism as well as to protect human rights, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Sept.17.

 

Chen Xu, head of the Chinese Mission to the United Nations at Geneva, urged the pursuit of a community with a shared future for mankind and called on the global community to actively implement the UN global counterterrorism strategy during an online seminar on counterterrorism, deradicalization, and human rights protection.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

The 75-year-old United Nations is in dire need of more wisdom and tangible efforts, and China has played a powerful role in this regard in helping to bolster the organization against the lingering headwinds of unilateralism, officials and experts said.

 

They made the observation when they highlighted and welcomed the four-point proposal raised by President Xi Jinping during a video speech at a high-level meeting held by UN member states on Sept. 21 to commemorate the UN’s 75th anniversary.

 

From: China Daily Global

 

 

Unilateral coercive measures could impact nearly all human rights, notably in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a UN expert said on Sept. 22 at the on-going 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

 

Alena Douhan, UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, said at the session that the role of the United Nations must not be undermined by unilateral coercive measures.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

A Chinese envoy on Sept. 22 called for the effective reduction and eradication of poverty so as to better facilitate the promotion and protection of human rights, when delivering a statement on behalf of a cross-regional group of states at the ongoing 45th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sept. 24 called for post-COVID global governance that features solidarity and multilateralism.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic is a full-blown crisis in itself, unfolding against a backdrop of high geopolitical tensions and other global threats in unpredictable and dangerous ways, he told a summit-level Security Council debate on “global governance after COVID-19.”

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

A Chinese diplomat on Sept. 25 deplored and rejected the accusations of a British official made earlier at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council session, saying that the Hong Kong and Xinjiang related issues are not human rights issues in any definition.

 

Liu Yuyin, spokesperson for the Chinese Mission to UN at Geneva, said that the essence of the issues is China’s determination to safeguard its sovereignty, security and unity, uphold rule of law, and ensure that people live in peace and contentment.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

President Xi Jinping has underlined the importance of upholding lasting peace and stability in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, saying development is the crucial foundation for the region’s long-term social stability.’

 

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remark at a two-day central symposium on work related to Xinjiang, which concluded on Sept. 26 in Beijing. It was the third such symposium since 2010, with the previous one taking place in 2014.

 

From: China Daily