The Beijing News
November 5, 2008

Several of today's newspapers, including The Beijing News, report that China is going to release a "human rights action plan", which is a two year plan to improve human rights in China.

Dong Yunhu (董云虎), general secretary of an organization called China Society for Human Rights Studies, and director of the seventh bureau of State Council Information Office, a governmental publicity agency, said yesterday that the "human rights action plan" is to be released by the end of this year. Dong also promised that the plan will be matched by substantial measures.

The plan, which was initiated by China's Foreign Ministry and the State Council Information Office, will focus on improving the functionality of the government, strengthening the legal system, protecting special rights of women, children, and ethnic minorities, and promoting human rights awareness among citizens. The drafting of the plan has also involved separate government organs, NGOs, and human rights experts.

On a sidebar, the newspaper reflects on the progress that China has made in recent years:

China has been releasing annual human right reports since 1991. In the 2004 the the words "human rights" (人权) were added to a new edition of China's constitution. In 2007, the Communist Party adopted the phrase "respect, protect human rights, promote the development of human rights course" into the Party constitution.

Dong was also reported as commenting that the "human rights action plan" is in accordance with the United Nations' requirements and that there have been 23 countries that have already made similar plans.