June 2023
Healthcare drive started for orphans in Africa
Peng Liyuan, wife of President Xi Jinping, joined hands with the Organization of African First Ladies for Development to initiate a healthcare campaign for orphans in Africa ahead of International Children’s Day, which fell on June 1.
Under the initiative, representatives from Chinese embassies in African countries and Chinese medical teams sent to African countries will visit local orphanages or allied institutions to facilitate and conduct free physical check-ups. They will also bring the children care packages.
From: CHINA DAILY
Environment in Xizang remains in good health
The Xizang autonomous region continues to rank among the best places in the world for ecological quality, and its ecological and environmental quality are generally in good condition, according to the region’s 2022 Environmental Bulletin, which was released on June 5.
The bulletin, released by the regional department of environment and ecology, noted that the Sanjiangyuan National Park project has been approved by the central government, and the national parks of Changthang and Qomolangma (known as Mount Everest in the West) have been making steady progress.
From: China Daily
China announces 81 pilot regions for integrated medical services
Eighty-one cities and districts have been announced as pilot regions for providing integrated and continuous medical and health services for their residents, according to China’s National Health Commission on June 9.
The pilot regions, including Beijing’s Chaoyang district and the city of Datong in North China’s Shanxi province, will be built into integrated urban medical groups that can provide services such as disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, nutrition, rehabilitation, nursing and health management for residents within the region.
From: Xinhua
Book of Xi’s discourses on work for women, children published
A compilation of excerpts from discourses by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on the work related to women and children as well as the work of women’s federations has been published by the Central Party Literature Press.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has attached great importance to work related to women’s development and has been making vigorous efforts in this regard, according to the publisher’s statement on June 11.
From: Xinhua
Xi sends congratulatory letter to forum on global human rights governance
Chinese President Xi Jinping on June 14 sent a congratulatory letter to the Forum on Global Human Rights Governance.
At a time of severe challenges facing the global human rights governance, China stands for safeguarding human rights with security, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, calling on all countries to follow the path of peaceful development, and putting into action the Global Security Initiative, Xi noted in the letter.
From: Xinhua
Cooperation on human rights urged
Countries should intensify cooperation and stick to their own reality in safeguarding their people’s human rights, including the rights to subsistence and development, officials and experts said at a human rights forum that opened on June 14 in Beijing.
The two-day Forum on Global Human Rights Governance is themed “Equality, Cooperation and Development: The 30th Anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and Global Human Rights Governance.” It is jointly hosted by the Information Office of the State Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the China International Development Cooperation Agency.
From: China Daily
Chinese envoy calls for respect for diversity of civilizations
A Chinese envoy to the United Nations on June 14 called for respecting the diversity of human civilizations, as diversity is a fundamental feature of the world and the source of human progress, he said.
“Believing that one’s own civilization is superior to others and insisting on transforming or even replacing other civilizations is both foolish in understanding and disastrous in practice,” Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the UN, told the UN Security Council during a meeting on “The Values of Human Fraternity in Promoting and Sustaining Peace”.
From: China Daily Global
Experts hail fast growth of Xizang at expo forum
Xizang enjoys a prosperous and harmonious environment, featuring political and social stability, and strong economic development, said a top official of the autonomous region during a forum held in Lhasa on June 17.
It also has ethnic unity, religious harmony, border consolidation and has seen improvement in people’s livelihoods, said Wang Junzheng, Party secretary of the Xizang autonomous region. His views were echoed by foreign experts who attended the forum.
From: China Daily
Afghanistan willing to model after China’s Xinjiang development and dismiss bias, forum hears
Afghanistan is willing to replicate the development of China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and improve people’s living standards, a forum heard, while speakers dismiss Western disinformation on the region.
Afghan Deputy Minister of Economy Abdul Latif Nazari said China has neutralized biased or false Western propaganda against Xinjiang by uplifting education and culture and speeding up economic development of its largest autonomous region.
He was speaking at a webinar titled “International Forum on Xinjiang Modernization Drive from a Global Perspective” on June 21. It was organized by Asian Institute of Ecocivilization Research and Development (AIERD), Schiller Institute and Belt and Road Institute in Sweden (BRIX) and moderated by Shakeel Ahmad Ramay from AIERD.
From: chinadaily.com.cn
Xie Feng: all countries should respect each other’s human rights philosophy
Respecting human rights means respecting other countries’ human rights philosophy, and China advocates safeguarding human rights through security, promoting them through development, and advancing them through cooperation, Beijing’s top envoy in Washington said.
China is committed to a human rights development path that meets the trend of the times and suits its national conditions, China’s Ambassador to the US Xie Feng told the 53rd Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, a three-day event that ended in Washington on June 23.
From: chinadaily.com.cn
China steadfast in fighting drug-related crimes
China’s stance on fighting drug-related crimes, including those connected to fentanyl, remains firm, and the country has also strengthened cooperation and made progress in the global battle against illegal drugs, authorities said.
The country has “zero tolerance” toward illegal drugs and has staunchly supported and implemented the three United Nations drug control conventions, the China National Narcotics Control Commission said.
China always honors its political commitments and calls on all countries to actively work together in addressing the drug problem, the commission said in a statement ahead of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which fell on June 26.
From: China Daily
China mulls accountability system on marine environment protection
Chinese lawmakers are deliberating a draft revision to the Marine Environment Protection Law with new provisions on adopting accountability and assessment mechanisms.
The draft revision was submitted on June 26 to the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, for a second reading. The first reading took place in December 2022.
From: Xinhua
China mulls new legislation to safeguard food safety
Chinese lawmakers June 26 started deliberating a draft food security law to enhance China’s capacity for forestalling and fending off food security risks.
The proposed legislation was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for the first reading during the legislature’s ongoing session, which runs from June 26 to June 28.
From: Xinhua
China makes great progress in combating trafficking in women and children: expert
China has attached great importance to protecting the rights of women and children and has made great progress in combating trafficking in women and children, a Chinese expert told the ongoing 53rd session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council on June 28.
During an interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on human trafficking, Bianba Lamu, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a member of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, said that the number of cases of human trafficking crimes in China dropped by 88.3 percent from 2013 to 2021.
From: Xinhua
NPC passes law on development of barrier-free areas
A law mandating the construction of barrier-free environments was passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress at the closing ceremony of its latest session on June 28.
The law lays out plans for the development of barrier-free facilities and the offering of barrier-free services. It also stipulates the government’s supervisory role and the legal liabilities that could be incurred by those violating the law, which will take effect on Sept. 1.
From: chinadaily.com.cn
CSHRS executive VP Jiang Jianguo meets with Mexican delegation
On the afternoon of June 30, Jiang Jianguo, member of the standing committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), vice-director of the Committee for Ethnic and Religious Affairs of the CPPCC and executive vice-president of the China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHRS), met with a Mexican delegation led by Cristopher Ballinas Valdés, director general for human rights and democracy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, in Beijing. The two sides exchanged views on the two countries’ human rights concepts, human rights development practices, and exchange and cooperation among think tanks in the field of human rights.
Li Xiaojun, deputy secretary-general of the CSHRS, Qi Mingjie, director of the secretariat of the CSHRS, Qiu Congyang, a deputy section director of the International Department of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Jesús Enrique Escamilla Núñez, deputy head of mission of the Embassy of Mexico to China, among others, were present at the meeting.
From: en.humanrights.cn
Envoy emphasizes China’s endeavor to promote international human rights cause
China has always been committed to safeguarding international solidarity, promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and building a better world together, a Chinese envoy said on June 28.
Chen Xu, permanent representative of China to the UN Office at Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, made the remarks at the ongoing 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, emphasizing that unity, rather than division, and cooperation, rather than confrontation, are essential for promoting the healthy development of the international human rights cause.
The session held an interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity on June 28.
From: Xinhua
July 2023
China has 40 national-level medical emergency response teams: NHC
China now has 40 national-level medical emergency response teams and 6,500 medical emergency response teams at the provincial, municipal and county level, the National Health Commission (NHC) said at a press conference on July 3.
The NHC and the National Development and Reform Commission have been jointly promoting the construction of emergency medical aid bases and bases for major infectious disease prevention and treatment, according to the press conference.
In its “Healthy China 2030” outline, China plans to set up a nationwide emergency medical network by 2030, with the country’s capabilities in emergency health response and emergency medical aid reaching the level of developed countries.
From: Xinhua
Zhejiang hopes to bridge urban-rural gap
The recent move by Zhejiang province to ease restrictions for non-locals to obtain permanent residency in most cities of the province will attract more rural people to settle in urban areas and further bridge the urban-rural divide, said experts.
According to an official document published online on July 3 by the provincial government, restrictive policies related to residency applications in all of Zhejiang’s cities — except for the provincial capital, Hangzhou — were to be abolished starting July 22.
In particular, it was announced in the six-part circular that restrictions for rural residents to live permanently in cities had been further relaxed.
From: China Daily
Chinese police bust over 3,300 dens for telecom, online fraud
Chinese police have busted over 3,300 criminal dens for telecom and online fraud in a recent campaign on the issue, according to the Ministry of Public Security on July 4.
The campaign, with joint efforts of public security authorities in Shandong, Henan, Hubei, and Hunan provinces, has seen a number of criminal suspects arrested.
Around 104,000 sets of fraud equipment, including mobile phones and computers, and over 58 million yuan (around 8.05 million U.S. dollars) worth of cash and virtual currency were confiscated in the campaign.
From: Xinhua
China dispatches 3,600 medical workers abroad in 5 years
China dispatched nearly 3,600 medical workers abroad via international medical aid teams between 2018 and 2022, serving 9.56 million patients, according to a work meeting held on July 4 in Changsha, Central China’s Hunan province.
The meeting was held to commemorate the 60th anniversary of China sending the first international medical aid team. China has dispatched about 30,000 medical workers to 76 countries and regions across the world over the past 60 years, providing medical services to 290 million patients, according to the meeting.
From: Xinhua
China provides employment, education guidance to 580,000 community-correction subjects
Since China enacted its community correction law three years ago, the country’s judicial administrative agencies have provided employment or education guidance for 580,000 community correction subjects, according to a press conference on July 5.
Community correction targets criminals who are sentenced to public surveillance, given a reprieve, released on parole, or permitted to temporarily serve their sentences outside prison per the law.
From: Xinhua
Beijing authorities conduct checks for worker heat wave protections
Beijing governmental authorities have conducted supervisory visits to key industries, including construction and environmental sanitation, to ensure the health of workers in high temperatures on July 5.
The checks started in June and will last for three months, according to the Beijing Institute of Health Supervision under the Beijing Health Commission.
From: chinadaily.com.cn
Online platform aids overseas litigants
A one-stop online platform aimed at serving overseas residents engaged in family disputes was opened by Longhua District People’s Court in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on July 6.
The platform was set up to mark the one-year anniversary of the Shenzhen Family Trial Center Involving Hong Kong-Macao-Taiwan and Foreign Factors, a division of the court established on July 6, 2022.
As a division of the court, the center is responsible for handling first-instance cross-border family disputes, including those related to divorce, child custody, inheritance and property allocation.
From: chinadaily.com.cn
China fosters health crisis management with new medical emergency panel
The National Health Commission, China’s top health authority, announced on July 6 that it has established a national-level medical emergency expert panel. This move is part of the efforts to improve the country’s overall capability in handling health emergencies.
In a notice released on its official website, the commission detailed the roles of the panel. It will provide policy suggestions and technical support on building the national medical emergency response system. Furthermore, it will participate in on-site response and treatment missions to handle acute health events. Additionally, the panel will help formulate related management and technical protocols.
From: chinadaily.com.cn
China mulls new rules to address cyber violence, bullying
China is mulling a new regulation to address cyber violence and bullying content, which requires online service providers to monitor relevant content and take timely steps to deal with it.
The Cyberspace Administration of China published a draft of the regulation on July 6 to solicit opinions from the public.
From: Xinhua
Ministry of Education advises to make the most of safety education this summer
The Ministry of Education has asked local education authorities and schools to make the most efforts to prevent safety accidents of students during summer vacation.
In a notice issued on July 7, the ministry said schools should conduct a safety education and warning event on all students before the summer vacation, focusing on drowning, fire, traffic accident, food poison, natural disaster, fraud, online addiction, bullying and sexual assault, the notice said.
From: chinadaily.com.cn
Medical experts boost Xizang cardiac health
A total of 453 medical experts and more than 100 volunteers gathered in Chamdo, Xizang autonomous region, on July 8, kicking off the 2023 edition of the China Hearts program.
The program, first launched in 2008, is a public welfare service that brings doctors from hospitals in major cities and also donates medical supplies to remote regions of China.
This year, the program will last a week, during which time the doctors and volunteers are going to 11 districts or counties in Chamdo, offering free medical support including diagnosis, treatment and health checkup.
From: chinadaily.com.cn
Jiang Jianguo meets with head of Taiwan’s human rights association
On the morning of July 10, Jiang Jianguo, member of the standing committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), vice-director of the Committee for Ethnic and Religious Affairs of the CPPCC and executive vice-president of the China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHRS), met with Gao Sibo, director-general of Taiwan’s Chinese Association for Human Rights in Beijing. The two sides exchanged views on cross-Strait academic exchange and cooperation in the field of human rights.
Tang Xianwen, secretary-general of the CSHRS, also attended the meeting.
From: en.humanrights.cn
Unleashing the power of gender equality in China
The United Nations Population Fund in China, China Population and Development Research Center and China Population Association organized a seminar in Beijing on July 11 to mark the 34th World Population Day.
Themed “Unleashing the power of women amid the new normal of population dynamics in China,” the seminar brought together over 100 experts. Drawing on international experience, it shared findings on gender equality and women’s development in China, and called for the government, public and private sectors to join hands to invest in gender equality and empower women to exert their rights freely in the context of low fertility and rapid population ageing in China.
From: chinadaily.com.cn
China launches 3-year campaign to create jobs and boost consumption
China has launched a three-year campaign to create jobs and boost consumption, with thirteen departments collectively issuing an action plan on July 12 to encourage local business cultivation.
Specifically, the plan includes providing shopping, dining, and household services within a 5-10 minutes’ walk from residents’ homes.
From: CGTN
China’s public health subsidy rises from 2022 levels
China’s top health authority said on July 12 the per-capita subsidy standard for basic public health services this year will rise to 89 yuan ($12.4), up five yuan from 2022.
The National Health Commission said in a notice on its official website the increased amount will be mainly invested into strengthening public health services for the elderly and children.
From: chinadaily.com.cn
China’s social organizations provide 73,000 graduate jobs in H1
Social organizations across China have employed over 73,000 graduates from January to June this year, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on July 12.
During the first half of this year, 25,000 activities in the service of employment were carried out by social organizations, which promoted the provision of 680,000 job positions for university graduates by their member units, said the ministry.
From: Xinhua
China’s Inner Mongolia reports progress in sand control
North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has made substantial progress in sand control over the past 10 years, according to a seminar held on July 14.
During the 10-year period, Inner Mongolia has planted 131 million mu (about 8.7 million hectares) of trees, grown 318 million mu of grass, and treated 138 million mu of desertified and sandy land, said Wang Zhaosheng, director of the regional forestry and grassland bureau.
From: Xinhua
Countries should unite in their pursuit of human rights
The 53rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution titled “The contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights” on July 14. In his introductory statement on the draft, Chen Xu, head of the Chinese mission to the UN in Geneva, stressed that development and human rights are interdependent and mutually reinforcing.
China has long upheld the basic human rights to existence and development. The Communist Party of China has always been dedicated to upholding, defending and expanding human rights, as well as enhancing a sense of fulfillment, security and happiness among its citizens.
From: China Daily Global
China advocates for developing countries’ interests at UN Human Rights Council
China focused its attention on defending developing countries’ interests and advocating for multilateralism at the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, which concluded on July 14.
Chinese delegations actively put forward proposals and expounded their positions on issues concerning the common interests of developing countries at the meetings, according to Ambassador Chen Xu, China’s permanent representative to the UN office in Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland. He added that their work defended global fairness and justice, and won widespread support from the international community, especially from developing countries.
The 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council kicked off on June 19 in Geneva, Switzerland.
From: CGTN
Foreign delegates hail Xinjiang’s employment, development environment
Foreign delegates attending an international seminar in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region hailed the sound employment and development environment of the region, where they say the rights of workers of various ethnic groups are fully protected.
Organized by the regional federation of trade unions, the international seminar on labor relations and workers’ rights and interests in Xinjiang was held from July 17 to July 19 in the regional capital Urumqi.
From: Xinhua
Healthy China Initiative meeting goals
Screening, early diagnosis and treatment programs will be stepped up, together with the promotion of healthy lifestyles, as part of efforts to tackle the rising incidence of chronic disease, a health official said on July 18.
Guo Yanhong, head of the National Health Commission’s medical emergency response department, said that China will continue to push for the integration of treatment and prevention efforts against chronic illnesses.
From: chinadaily.com.cn
China contributes to global carbon emissions reduction in the past ten years: Report
China has made progress in achieving carbon neutrality, with its carbon emissions showing a downward trend in the past 10 years, according to a report published on July 26 in Beijing.
The report also mentions that in the past 10 years, global greenhouse gas emissions have not been effectively controlled, and the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide has continued to increase at an average annual rate of about six parts per thousand.
From: CGTN
Telemedicine services cover all Chinese cities
China has made significant progress in improving medical services and healthcare accessibility, according to statistics presented at a national conference on health development held in Jinan, East China’s Shandong Province, on July 29.
Notably, all residents in Chinese prefecture-level cities now have access to remote medical services.
Furthermore, China has established a total of 15,000 medical consortiums nationwide and approved 125 regional medical center projects that cover all under-resourced provinces, underscoring the nation’s commitment to bridging healthcare gaps.
From: Xinhua
