China plans to train more high-quality teachers for less-developed regions to improve education in central and western parts of the country, said a notice issued by nine central government departments on Aug. 3.

 

It will train about 10,000 students a year to become teachers in underdeveloped counties starting from this year, the notice said.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

President Xi Jinping said on Aug. 5 that China will provide a total of 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the world this year, in the latest effort to honor its commitment to make vaccines a global public good by ensuring vaccine accessibility and affordability.

 

He also said that China will donate $100 million to the COVAX global vaccine initiative for the distribution of vaccines to developing countries.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

The central government and the Tibet autonomous region have been prioritizing efforts to secure college graduates employment in the region, and industries and businesses are encouraged to provide more job opportunities for them, regional authorities said on Aug. 6.

 

Employment, especially of college graduates in the region, has been highlighted by President Xi Jinping on multiple occasions.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China on Aug. 12 issued a white paper to elaborate on how its realization of allround moderate prosperity represents comprehensive progress in ensuring universal human rights in China, and a new contribution to the world’s human rights cause.

 

Titled “Moderate Prosperity in All Respects: Another Milestone Achieved in China’s Human Rights,” the white paper was released by the State Council Information Office.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

The domestic COVID-19 outbreak affecting 18 provincial-level regions in China since late July is complicated but under control, and the risk of seeing widespread outbreaks across the country is low, health officials said on Aug. 13.

 

More than 777 million people in China have completed full COVID-19 vaccinations as of Aug. 12, Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission, said during a news briefing. That accounts for about 55 percent of the nation’s population.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China added 8.22 million new urban jobs from January through July, roughly 74.7 percent of the nation’s annual target, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Aug. 16.

 

The surveyed unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in July, up 0.1 percentage points from a month earlier. The rate was 16.2 percent and 4.2 percent for the 16-24 and 25-59 age groups, respectively, the bureau said.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

A draft law deliberated by China’s top legislature proposes more legal aid resources for the country’s remote regions.

 

The draft legal aid law on Aug. 17 returned to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee for a third reading.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

A draft revision to China’s military service law has proposed strengthening protection of the lawful rights and interests of female military personnel.

 

The draft was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, for a second reading on Aug. 17.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Premier Li Keqiang has pledged greater support to flood-hit areas in Henan province to expedite steps for post-disaster reconstruction, saying that lessons must be drawn from the floods to strengthen weak areas in urban development.

 

Speaking at a conference on post-flood reconstruction in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, on Aug. 19, Li urged local authorities to assume their responsibilities in planning the rebuilding of the flood-hit areas, with steps to repair damaged farmland and to rebuild and reinforce damaged homes.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China has passed a law on protecting the lawful rights and interests of physicians, providing a legal guarantee for the implementation of the Healthy China strategy.

 

The legislation was adopted at the closing meeting of a session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Aug. 20.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

A law on legal aid was adopted by China’s top legislature on Aug. 20 amid the country’s efforts to regulate and promote legal assistance to better safeguard social fairness and justice.

 

The law was adopted after the third reading at the 30th standing committee session of the 13th National People’s Congress, which opened on Aug. 24.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China’s central authorities have demanded effective action to fight the practice of formalities for formalities’ sake, while also reducing the burden on officials and workers at the primary level, according to a meeting on Aug. 20.

 

Recognizing the results of efforts in this regard over the past years, the meeting called for more input in reversing the problem of overburdening primary-level officials and workers.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China’s top legislature on Aug. 20 voted to adopt a new law on personal information protection, which will take effect on Nov. 1.

 

Lawmakers approved the law at the closing meeting of a regular legislative session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), which started on Aug. 24.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

The world’s highest expressway — linking Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, with the region’s northern city of Nagchu — began operation on Aug. 24.

 

With a speed limit of 120 kilometers per hour and sitting at an average altitude of over 4,500 meters, the 295-km Nagchu-Lhasa Expressway is a section of the G6 Beijing-Tibet Expressway. The new expressway, the first between the two cities, will shorten the drive between them to three hours from more than six previously.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has underlined the importance of fully implementing the Party’s theories and policies concerning ethnic groups in order to further promote equality, unity, mutual assistance and harmony among all of them.

 

Xi, who is also China’s president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remark on Aug. 24 during his two-day inspection tour of Chengde in Hebei province.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

Couriers, online food delivery staff and housekeepers in Beijing are eligible for up to 100,000 yuan ($15,430) from the Beijing Federation of Trade Unions, local authorities said on Aug. 24.

 

Special-purpose insurance funds, guaranteed for a year, were designed for the “new workforce”. After joining a trade union, they will benefit from the mutual assistance funds if they or their children are diagnosed with diseases or become disabled in an accident.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

China has hit a host of targets set in 2016 to reduce the occurrence of disabilities, an official said on Aug. 24.

 

The achievements are spread across a wide range of areas, including coverage of prenatal checkups, treatment of chronic diseases, and the number of car accidents and work injuries, said Hu Xiangyang, who oversees rehabilitation affairs at the China Disabled Persons’ Federation.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China’s top court said on Aug. 24 that more than 10 million cases were filed online last year, which made settling legal matters more convenient for litigants and helped improve judicial efficiency.

 

Compared with initiating a lawsuit offline, the online filings helped litigants and their lawyers save about 1.6 billion yuan ($247 million) in commuting costs, and they spent 4.86 million fewer hours in court, according to Xu Jianfeng, director of the information center at the Supreme People’s Court.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

The transport sector will continue to improve service quality to benefit people as it builds on major progress made in the past, Transport Minister Li Xiaopeng told a news conference in Beijing on Aug. 24.

 

The ministry aims to provide more convenient, faster and more comfortable services to benefit more people, he said.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

The State Council’s executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Aug. 25 adopted the Outline for Women’s Development in China (2021-2030) and the Outline for Children’s Development in China (2021-2030), and required improving support measures for the third-child policy.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

Primary and middle school teachers in Beijing’s public school system will be required to take part in rotation programs to further improve education equity and quality in the city.

 

Teachers and principals who have worked at the same school for more than six years will be asked to shift to a school in another district and share their knowledge and experience with new colleagues and students, Beijing Education Commission spokesman Li Yi said at a news conference on Aug. 25.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China’s top health authority is drafting plans to eliminate cervical cancer, with a focus on expanding screening nationwide and increasing the number of girls and women getting vaccinated against the cancer-causing human papillomavirus, officials and experts said on Aug. 27.

 

Xu Xiaochao, an official from the National Health Commission’s maternal and child health department, said that since a major cervical cancer screening program mainly targeting rural areas was launched in 2009, the public’s awareness and willingness to take such examinations have grown significantly.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China’s job market will remain generally stable for the next five years as the country cranks up its proactive job-creation measures to cope with the challenges ahead.

 

Led by the country’s consistent job-first policy, the State Council has released a plan on boosting employment for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), vowing to add over 55 million new urban jobs in the next five years.

 

Li Zhong, vice minister of human resources and social security, told a press conference on Aug. 30 that the plan is an “important guide” for the work related to employment, which faces both opportunities and challenges.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China has built more than 78 million compensatory homes of various types across the country since 2008, benefiting more than 200 million people, the country’s leading housing official said on Aug. 31.

 

In addition to constructing new public rental housing, affordable rental apartments and homes with shared ownership, the country has also rebuilt many areas in shantytowns to meet the housing demands of low-income families, said Wang Menghui, minister of housing and urban-rural development, in a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

China will focus on the development of government-subsidized rental housing in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) to ensure the housing security for the people.

 

The country has built over 80 million sets of government-subsidized and renovation housing, improving the living conditions of more than 200 million people with difficulties, Wang Menghui, minister of housing and urban-rural development, told a press conference Aug. 31.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

 

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region presented an online seminar on Sept. 8 to convey information about its labor and employment situation to the permanent Chinese delegates at the UN office in Geneva, Switzerland.

 

Erkin Tuniyaz, vice-chairman of the Xinjiang government, said the region attaches great importance to the promotion of employment. The average annual income of employees in Xinjiang reached about 30,000 yuan ($4,650).

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

Authorities have launched a program on Sept. 8 in Shijiazhuang in Hebei province, to help disabled graduates find jobs, according to the China Disabled Persons’ Federation.

 

Organized in conjunction with the Education and Human Resources ministries, the program signals the start of a nationwide initiative to help disabled graduates secure employment as record numbers will enter the job market this year, the federation said in a media release.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

China will roll out pilot programs on the business environment in several selected cities in support of local reform effort in better benefitting firms and individuals, the State Council’s executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided on Sept.8.

 

The improvement of the business environment is a fulcrum in unleashing market vitality and social creativity, and promoting high-quality development. The implementation of the Regulation on Improving the Business Environment will be advanced and a market-oriented, world-class business environment governed by a sound legal framework will be nurtured across the nation.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China on Sept. 9 published the latest human rights action plan, setting the objectives and tasks of respecting, protecting and promoting human rights in the period from 2021 to 2025.

 

Titled “Human Rights Action Plan of China (2021-2025),” the document was released by the State Council Information Office.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Ten leading companies in China’s thriving platform-based economy, including food delivery giant Meituan and ride-hailing company Didi, have been urged to “play an exemplary role” in protecting the rights of their flexibly employed workers, authorities said on Sept. 10.

 

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said during a meeting that it will give administrative guidance to 10 major companies involved in the new form of employment in order to address prominent problems in the protection of workers’ lawful rights and interests.

 

From: CHINA DAILY

 

 

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has stressed efforts to safeguard people’s health as a significant step to boost public well-being, elevate medical expertise, and continue raising the quality of medical and healthcare services.

 

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during his inspection to Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) on Sept. 13.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

A senior official on Sept. 14 urged the United States and some of its wealthy allies to roll out human rights plans and “genuinely” protect the rights of their people.

 

Li Xiaojun of the State Council Information Office’s human rights affairs bureau said 60 countries worldwide have made their own action plans on promoting human rights.

 

Only China, Indonesia and Mexico have rolled out four such documents consecutively, whereas the US, Canada, France, Germany and Japan have not made any such plans so far, he said at a news conference in Beijing.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

A Chinese envoy on Sept. 14 highlighted that wars, conflicts and regional turmoil are the main causes of large-scale human rights violations, saying that without peace and security, all human rights cannot be realized.

 

Delivering a joint statement on behalf of a group of countries at the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Chen Xu, China’s permanent representative to the UN Office at Geneva, highlighted that international peace and security currently face unprecedented challenges.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China will continue to fulfill its international human rights obligations, constructively participate in international human rights governance and help build a fair and efficient international human rights system, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Sept. 15, calling on countries worldwide to jointly build a world with sustainable peace and guaranteed human rights.

 

On Sept. 14, at the ongoing 48th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, China delivered a joint statement on behalf of over 40 countries, appealing for global efforts on building sustainable peace and protecting and promoting human rights.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

On September 15th, the 48th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council held a dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation.

 

The representative of China made a speech and pointed out that the disposal of polluted water from the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan is related to global ecological and environmental safety and people’s lives and health in all countries.

 

From: CGTN

 

 

The right to development is a universal and inalienable human right, however, at present, the global realization of the right to development is far below expectation, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Sept. 16.

 

Delivering a joint statement on behalf of over 50 countries at the 48th Session of the Human Rights Council on Sept. 16, Chen Xu, China’s Permanent Representative to the UN Office at Geneva, also called upon the UN human rights bodies to prioritize the right to development and mainstream in the UN system.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Nearly 44.3 million people were covered by China’s urban and rural subsistence allowances by the end of last year, a senior civil affairs official said on Sept. 17.

 

The average subsistence allowances standard increased by 105.3 percent for urban residents and 188.3 percent for rural residents respectively, compared to the end of 2012, said Li Jiheng, minister of civil affairs, at a press conference.

 

From: CGTN

 

 

China and like-minded countries on Sept. 17 called on the UN Human Rights Council and relevant UN human rights mechanism to attend to issues of human trafficking and forced labor in the United States and take necessary actions.

 

Speaking on behalf of a group of countries at the 48th session of the Council, Jiang Duan, minister of the Chinese mission to the UN in Geneva, stressed that human trafficking and forced labor are serious human rights violations, which in particular harm women and children.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China and a group of like-minded countries on Sept. 22 called on the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner for human rights and relevant UN Special Procedures to pay close attention to the harm of illegal military interventions on human rights and take necessary action to seek justice for the people of victimized countries.

 

Speaking on behalf of the group of countries at the ongoing 48th session of the Human Rights Council, Jiang Duan, Minister of the Chinese Mission to UN at Geneva, said that “certain countries” flagrantly conducted illegal military interventions in and prolonged occupation of sovereign states, which severely violates international law and undermines the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the victimized countries.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

A total of 8,491 criminal defendants across China were declared not guilty between 2013 and the end of June this year because evidence in their cases was not sufficient to convict them.

 

The Supreme People’s Court, the country’s top court, released the number at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office on Sept. 23, highlighting the importance of protecting human rights in the process of handling criminal cases.

 

From: CHINA DAILY

 

 

The Tibet autonomous region has made all-around progress and remarkable achievements in the human rights cause over the past 70 years, experts said on Sept. 24 during an online meeting.

 

The meeting, organized by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and the Research Center for Human Rights at Northwest University of Political Science and Law, focused on the development of human rights in Tibet since its peaceful liberation 70 years ago.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

Chinese and foreign experts have called for strengthened regulations on the application of digital technologies to improve the protection of personal information at a seminar in Beijing.

 

The seminar on scientific and technological development and human rights protection, also a side event of the 48th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, was hosted by the China Society for Human Rights Studies on Sept. 26.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China’s State Council Information Office Sept. 26 issued a white paper detailing the demographic development in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

 

The white paper, titled “Xinjiang Population Dynamics and Data,” said over the past 70 years, Xinjiang has seen rapid and steady population growth, improving population quality, higher life expectancy, and faster urbanization and modernization.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Countries should seek more shared ground on human rights through multilateral communications conducted on the basis of respect and inclusiveness, experts said at a human rights meeting in Beijing on Sept. 28.

 

The meeting was a side event at the 48th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. It was organized by the China Foundation for Human Rights Development and the Minzu Unity and Progress Association of China.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China’s top political advisor Wang Yang has called for solid efforts to boost development in border regions to benefit the people living there.

 

Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee, made the remarks on Sept. 28 while visiting an exhibition on achievements in helping border areas and their residents to achieve prosperity.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China’s State Council Information Office on Sept. 28 issued a white paper to document the country’s journey to moderate prosperity in all respects, or Xiaokang.

 

The white paper, titled “China’s Epic Journey from Poverty to Prosperity,” said the realization of moderate prosperity in all respects, as declared in July, marks a critical step towards national rejuvenation for the country.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

A virtual event held on Sept. 29 at the United Nations introduced the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region’s natural beauty and development achievements to the outside world.

 

The event “Xinjiang is a Wonderful Land” was jointly held by China’s Permanent Mission to the UN and the government of the Xinjiang region, and moderated by Dai Bing, deputy permanent representative to the UN. It provided a glimpse of real life in Xinjiang, located in Northwest China.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

The National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2016-2020), released by the Chinese government in September 2016, has been fully implemented, according to an evaluation by third-party experts.

 

All of the 168 objectives and tasks have been completed, many of which have been completed ahead of time or over the goals set in the Action Plan, said an evaluation report on the Action Plan implementation unveiled on Sept. 29.