China and a group of countries called for eliminating the gap of inequality when realizing people’s economic, social and cultural rights amid the COVID-19 pandemic on April 1.

 

Introducing a draft resolution on behalf of Bolivia, Egypt, Pakistan, South Africa and China at the 49th session of the Human Rights Council, China’s permanent representative to the UN Office in Geneva Chen Xu said the pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to the economic and social development of all countries, especially developing countries.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Air quality in China is continuing to improve with the country experiencing 21.3 days defined as smoggy last year, 2.9 days fewer than the previous year and 35.9 days fewer than in the peak in 2003.

 

Favorable meteorological factors and pollution reduction measures contributed to the progress, according to the 2021 Atmospheric Environment Meteorological Bulletin issued by the China Meteorological Administration on April 1.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China’s efforts in beefing up sewage management has brought significant improvement to water quality in the country’s longest watercourses and largest enclosed sea, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

 

The ministry has managed to figure out the locations of all sewage outlets that empty into the Yangtze River and the Bohai Sea, after it rolled out campaigns to screen for such outlets in 2019, said Vice-Minister Qiu Qiwen at a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office on April 2.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua on April 7 called for all-out efforts to stabilize and expand employment. 

 

Hu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while chairing a symposium on the employment situation.

 

The stability of employment should be placed in a more prominent position, Hu said, urging relevant departments to solve difficulties faced by enterprises in a timely manner and continue to improve employment services.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

A Chinese envoy on April 13 called on the international community to take comprehensive measures to address conflict-related sexual violence.

 

The UN secretary-general’s report shows that sexual violence continues to be used as a tactic of war and terrorism, causing profound suffering to vulnerable groups such as women and girls, Dai Bing, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said at a UN Security Council open debate on conflict-related sexual violence.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China has fulfilled all eight obligatory targets for environmental protection in 2021, the Minister of Ecology and Environment, Huang Runqiu reported to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on April 18.

 

There has been continuous improvement in air quality, with cities at the prefecture-level and above experiencing fairly good air quality 87.5 percent of the time last year, beating the annual target by 2.3 percentage points.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

Chinese lawmakers are considering a draft law revision to provide tougher rules against trafficking women.

 

The draft revision to the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women was submitted on April 18 to the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee for a second reading.

 

The draft proposes a “mandatory reporting and screening mechanism” to swiftly identify and handle crimes against women.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on April 19 held a video conference jointly with the Chinese Embassy in Oman to share information on the region’s social and economic development with its Omani guests.

 

At the conference held in the regional capital of Urumqi, Nurem Simayhan, deputy chairman of the regional government, said that no terrorism case has been reported for five consecutive years in Xinjiang. He said that the sense of fulfillment, happiness and security of people of all ethnic groups has been continuously enhanced.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Workers of all ethnic groups in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region enjoy the right to choose their own occupation voluntarily, a spokesperson for the regional government said on April 22.

 

“Xinjiang follows the relevant conventions and initiatives of the International Labour Organization, strictly implements national laws, and strives to ensure that workers of all ethnic groups work on the premise of freedom,” said Xu Guixiang at a press conference held in Beijing.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China has advanced judicial reforms and built a more fair, efficient and authoritative socialist judicial system over the past 10 years, benefiting the public in various ways, officials said on April 22.

 

Judicial institutions have followed a people-centered and fact-based approach in carrying out the reforms, which have been underway since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in 2012, said Jing Hanchao, deputy secretary-general of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee. 

 

From: CHINA DAILY

 

 

China will improve sewage treatment in its vast rural areas and the rural life sewage treatment rate will reach 40 percent in 2025 from 28 percent in 2020, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on April 22.

 

Government organs, market entities and villagers will be encouraged to join hands to achieve the goal, the ministry said.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

President Xi Jinping said on April 25 that China stands ready to make greater contributions to the health of humanity by enhancing public health exchanges and cooperation with the international community.

 

Xi made the remarks in a congratulatory message to the International Forum on the 50th Anniversary of the Discovery of Artemisinin and on Building a Global Community of Health for All in Beijing.

 

From: CHINA DAILY

 

 

Public opinion has played a strong role in the lawmaking process over the past 10 years, ensuring laws and regulations embody the people’s common will and interests, a senior legislator said.

 

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, China has expanded channels to listen to people’s voices at every step of the lawmaking process, including drafting, deliberation and adoption of legislative items, Xu Anbiao, deputy head of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, China’s top legislature, said on April 25.

 

From: CHINA DAILY

 

 

The advance team for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights arrived in China on April 25, in preparation for the visit of High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet in May, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on April 25.

 

From: CGTN

 

 

Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua on April 26 called for efforts to rectify all irregularities found in a national evaluation on the consolidation of poverty-alleviation achievements.

 

Hu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while addressing a video conference in Beijing.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China’s top political advisory body convened a biweekly consultation session on April 26 at which attendees contributed their suggestions on promoting healthcare in rural areas.

 

Presiding over the session was Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and 

chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China will provide greater policy support to keep payrolls stable and boost job creation, in a bid to ensure steady economic performance, according to a decision made at a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on April 27.

 

“Now we need to place greater importance on stabilizing employment. The new round of COVID flare-ups has hit employment quite hard. More forceful measures 

will be taken to enable the early resumption of full-capacity production of enterprises on the basis of sound COVID-19 control,” Li said.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China has made resolute efforts to strengthen environmental protection over the past 50 years following the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972, Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu said on April 29.

 

Huang made the remarks while addressing the Stockholm+50 stakeholder consultation in China via video. The ongoing event, co-organized by the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme, takes place from April 27 to 29 in Beijing.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

About 215 million people aged 60 and above, or 81.44 percent of the age group, have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 on the Chinese mainland, a health official said on April 29.

 

Nearly 160 million of them also got a booster shot, said Wu Liangyou, deputy head of the disease control and prevention division of the National Health Commission (NHC), at a press conference, noting that the vaccination speed for the age group is accelerating.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

 

All 2,895 counties across China have passed the national assessment of balanced development in compulsory education by the end of last year, thanks to unrelenting efforts from central and local authorities, the Ministry of Education said on May 5.

 

A total of 94 counties in six provincial-level regions passed the assessment by the Office of National Education Inspection of the State Council last year, becoming the last batch of counties in the country to pass the evaluation, the ministry said.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

Large-scale water supply projects are expected to cover 54 percent of China’s rural population by the end of this year, the Ministry of Water Resources said on May 5.

 

The coverage of the projects, which aim to integrate urban and rural water supply and standardize water services, stood at 52 percent in rural areas by end-2021.

 

In the first quarter of this year, China’s investment in the construction of rural water supply projects amounted to 15.4 billion yuan (about 2.34 billion U.S. dollars), which helped to improve the water supply for 4.29 million rural residents.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

The Marrakesh Treaty, which allows for copyright exceptions so that visually impaired people can access copyrighted books and other works, took effect in China on May 5.

 

The treaty, which substantially enriches the cultural lives and educational quality for visually impaired people, was approved by the World Intellectual Property Organization at a diplomatic conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, on June 27, 2013, and officially came into effect on Sept. 30, 2016.

 

From: China Daily Global

 

 

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has urged efforts to help as many market entities as possible to stabilize their posts and expand job opportunities.

 

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks in his instructions to a national video and telephone conference on stabilizing employment held in Beijing on May 7.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Experts attending an international human rights seminar on May 10 spoke highly of China’s human rights development and highlighted China’s efforts in promoting international dialogue and cooperation on human rights issues.

 

The 2022 China-Europe Seminar on Human Rights was held both online and offline on May 10, with separate venues in the Austrian capital of Vienna and the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

 

More than 100 human rights scholars, officials and representatives from international organizations attended the seminar, themed “Science and Technology and Human Rights.”

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Muslim residents and religious figures in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region shared their personal experiences in a video during the recently concluded Islamic holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.

 

From April 3 to May 2, Muslims of various ethnic groups in the region observed Ramadan. They celebrated Eid al-Fitr, which fell on May 3, while enjoying a one-day holiday, said Xu Guixiang, spokesperson for the regional government, during a video conference on May 10.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

Beijing saw all its six major ambient air pollutants in 2021 reach the level-II national standard for the city’s first time, said the Beijing municipal ecology and environment bureau on May 11.

 

The bureau released a report on the city’s ecological environment situation in 2021 on May 11. According to the report, the city’s average concentration of hazardous airborne particles PM2.5 last year was 33 micrograms per cubic meter, while the average concentration of PM10 was 55 micrograms per cubic meter.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China has been stepping up comprehensive efforts to improve the lives of people with disabilities and create more job opportunities for them to prosper.

 

On May 15, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the China Disabled Persons’ Federation began the nationwide operation of online services for the application for living allowances and subsidies for nursing care. China marked its 32nd National Disability Day on May 15.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

According to the Tibet Disabled Person’s Federation, the Tibet autonomous region has provided jobs for more than 17,700 people with disabilities, Xinhua News Agency reported.

 

On May 15, China’s 32nd National Disability Day, the federation carried out activities in Lhasa to show support and to promote development of people with disabilities.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

A total of 240 million Chinese people have received higher education as a result of the country’s historic strides in tertiary education development over the past decade, a senior education official said on May 17.

 

Wu Yan, director of the Ministry of Education’s department of higher education, said 44.3 million students are attending colleges and universities in China, making it home to the largest higher education system in the world.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

China was hailed as “a green hydrogen powerhouse” for its strides in developing clean hydrogen at the first-ever Green Hydrogen Global Assembly, which was concluded on May 18.

 

The two-day event was co-organized by the Green Hydrogen Organisation (GH2), a Swiss non-profit foundation, and the Spanish government, aiming to promote green hydrogen as a clean alternative to fossil fuels.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

The seminar, “W.E. Talk Think Tank — China’s Road of Human Rights Development,” was held by the China News Service on May 19. Experts from home and abroad have shared their views on China’s human rights development and how to promote exchanges on human rights to uphold the common values of humanity.

 

Within a few decades, China has lifted nearly 800 million people out of poverty, resolved the issue of absolute poverty, and built a moderately prosperous society in all respects, said Lu Guangjin, secretary-general of the China Society for Human Rights Studies.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China’s people-centered human rights protection has proven suitable for the country’s development and people’s interests and the country won’t follow a path set by the West, human rights experts said on May 19.

 

Approaches to human rights protection can be diverse, and China has developed its own which sees people’s well-being as the primary human right, Zhang Yonghe, executive dean of the Human Rights Research Institute of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, said at an online forum held by China News Service and W.E. Talk Think Tank.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

A Chinese-English bilingual version of extracts from Xi Jinping’s discourses on respecting and protecting human rights has been published by the Central Compilation and Translation Press on May 18, 2022.

 

The bilingual version, featuring nine themes, is aimed at helping readers at home and abroad develop a deep understanding of the rich implications of Xi’s important statements, as well as the country’s endeavors on respecting and protecting human rights.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China has unveiled its first five-year blueprint to improve the health of its residents through 2025, pledging to lift the average life expectancy by another year and make the public health network better able to respond to major outbreaks and other public health emergencies.

 

The plan, published by the General Office of the State Council, China’s Cabinet, on May 20, highlighted the importance of significantly ramping up national public health service capacities and improving the quality of medical services, including steps to control a number of major diseases.

 

From: China Daily

 

 

Migrant workers from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region have improved their financial situations and expanded their horizons by working in developed areas, experts said at an online seminar on the employment of the region’s ethnic groups on May 22.

 

Organized by the Institute for Communication and Borderland Governance and the School of Journalism and Communication of the Guangzhou-based Ji’nan University, the event drew about 50 experts and students from human rights research institutions in China.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

China on May 23 published an action plan on rural construction to improve people’s livelihoods in rural areas and facilitate the country’s rural revitalization drive.

 

By 2025, tangible progress should be made on rural construction, and continuous improvement should be seen in the rural living environment, according to the document jointly issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council General Office.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China has expanded medical facilities in rural areas in the past decade to ensure its 509.8 million rural residents have access to basic medical services.

 

By the end of 2021, China had set up 23,000 county-level medical and healthcare institutions, 35,000 township health facilities and 599,000 village clinics across the country, the National Health Commission told a press conference May 24.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

China has lifted 10 million families impoverished due to illness or disease out of poverty over the past decade, the National Health Commission said May 24.

 

He Jinguo, director of the commission’s Department of Finance and head of its Rural Vitalization Office, said during a news conference that the shortage of rural medical facilities and healthcare workers have been addressed, and rural residents are now able to access treatment for most common and chronic illnesses.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting with United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet via video link on May 25.

 

Welcoming Bachelet to China, Xi elaborated on major issues related to the development of China’s human rights cause and made it clear that the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government are committed to the comprehensive protection and safeguarding of human rights.

 

From: Xinhua

 

 

President Xi Jinping has met with representatives attending the two-day national conference on work related to the handling of people’s complaints and proposals, which concluded on May 26, and extended his sincere greetings to those involved in addressing the public’s complaints and proposals nationwide.

 

From: CHINA DAILY

 

 

The Tibet autonomous region spent more than 68.4 billion yuan ($10.2 billion) on water conservancy over the past decade, so that rural residents no longer fetch drinking water and carry it on their backs, or break ice to get water in winter, an official said at a news conference on May 26.

 

Between 2012 and 2021, through scientific water conservancy projects, the region has basically built a water conservancy infrastructure system with flood control, farm irrigation and water supplies in urban and rural areas.

 

From: chinadaily.com.cn

 

 

Top judiciary bodies in China have issued new measures for sealing up the criminal records of minors to strengthen the special protections for the group and focus more on rehabilitation.

 

The measures came into effect on May 30. They will strictly implement the minor criminal records sealing system mentioned in the Criminal Procedure Law, and the provisions of protecting minors’ privacy and information mentioned in the Law on the Protection of Minors, and Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency.

 

From: China Daily Global

 

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 31 stressed efforts to promote the healthy and all-round development of children and extended festive greetings to children across the country ahead of the International Children’s Day which falls on June 1.

 

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a congratulatory letter to the China National Children’s Center over the 40th anniversary of its founding.

 

From: Xinhua