April 9, 2000--The Chinese government attaches great importance to
          the promotion and protection of civil and  political rights while
          working to realize the economic, social and cultural rights and  
          improve  the people's livelihood, a Chinese delegate said in Geneva
          on April 6.
         
          Alternate Representative of the Chinese delegation Li Baodong  told
          the 56th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights of
          China's achievements by illustrating them with examples  in the
          following four aspects:
         
          --To administer the state affairs according to law. In March  1999,
          the concept of running the country in accordance with law was
          formally incorporated into the Constitution. The key  essence is to
          ensure that the government functions as the law sees it,
          law-enforcement and judicial bodies operate within the bound of law
          and  citizens exercise their rights and fulfill their obligations  
          according to law.
         
          The Chinese society is now in the process of transition from  too
          much emphasis on the rule of person and insufficient emphasis on the
          rule of law to establishing concept of the rule of law,  from
          supremacy of the power to supremacy of the law, from too much
          emphasis on duties and insufficient emphasis on rights to
          establishing a correct notion about rights and obligations.
         
          --Strengthening legislation, popularizing legal education and
          increasing supervision on law-enforcement. In recent years, a  
          series of important laws, including the Law on Prison, the Law on  
          Judges and the Law on Lawyers, have been adopted. In particular,  
          the revision of and amendments to the Criminal Law and the  Criminal
          Procedure Law have considerably improved human rights protection
          during criminal proceedings.
         
          Lately, the National People's Congress and its Standing  Committee
          have also passed the Law on Administrative Review and  the Law on
          Legislation. They are now drafting the Law on  Supervision.
         
          The nationwide education on legal provisions is developing in  
          depth. Citizens are quickly increasing the awareness of  
          safeguarding their rights and interests by making use of law. The  
          Chinese judicial bodies have moved ahead with comprehensive reform
          to further enhance the fair administration of justice and to upgrade
          the level of law enforcement.
         
          --Effective guarantee of freedom of religion and belief.  The
          Chinese constitution provides that the citizens enjoy the freedom  
          of religious belief.
         
          At present, there are more than 85,000 sites for religious
          activities in China, more than 300,000 clergy, over 3,000  religious
          organizations and 74 religious schools and colleges.  Various
          religions have witnessed the increase of followers in  recent years.
          For example, the number of Protestant believers  has grown to over
          10 million from 700,000 in 1949.
         
          --Prohibition of and opposition to torture. Through its legislation,
          China explicitly prohibits torture and metes out  severe punishment
          against the use of torture. In judicial practice, China has
          installed a variety of vigorous mechanisms of  supervision,
          including legislative, administrative and social  supervision, and
          stresses the training of law enforcement  personnel in order to
          effectively prevent occurrence of torture.  In 1988, China acceded
          to the UN Convention Against Torture. China is serious about
          fulfilling its obligations under the Convention and has  thus far
          submitted three reports on its implementation.
         
          "China has made great efforts to strengthen the legal system  and
          develop democracy," said Li. "Remarkable achievements have been
          scored in promoting and protecting all civil and  political rights.
          These achievements are acknowledged by any one  free of bias and
          certainly cannot be negated by the misinformation against China by
          the United States,  and some other Western countries or a handful of
          NGOs."