China has since 1978 promulgated more than 440 laws and regulations and more than 40 of them contain clear-cut provisions on human rights. Political right

Political right is the most important human rights. China’s Constitution provides that the Chinese citizens enjoy freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, procession and demonstration.

1. Democratic rights

The Constitution provides: All power in the People’s Republic of China belongs to the people. The National People’s Congress and the local people’s congresses at various levels are the organs through which the people exercise state power. The people administer state affairs and manage economic, cultural and social affairs through various channels and in various ways in accordance with the law. The Organic Law of the Villagers’ Committees provides that the villagers’ committee is a grassroots organization for self-government, self-education and self-service and exercises democratic election, democratic policy decision making, democratic management and democratic supervision.
　　　　　
Voters are casting their votes on the Election Day.

2. Right to vote and stand for election
The Constitution provides: All citizens of the People’s Republic of China who have reached the age of 18 have the right to vote and stand for election, regardless of ethnic origin, race, sex, occupation, family background, religious belief, education, property status or length of residence, except persons deprived of political rights according to law.

In order to expand to the maximum the people who have the right to vote and stand for election, the regulations on direct election below the county level provide that such people will include those who have served prison sentences, done forced labor or subject to freedom restriction but are not deprived of political rights; those who have not been ruled to stop the right to vote by the people’s procuratorates or the people’s court; those who are on probation or under house arrest; those who have been forced to do labor and those who have detained for punishment. To ensure the truthfulness of the right to vote and stand for election, the Electoral Law provides that secret voting shall be adopted and people may vote for or against candidates and vote for others or opt for absenteeism. The number of candidates should be one third more or even double the number of seats; if the candidates are nominated by the people’s congress at the next higher level, the number of candidates should be one fifth to one half more than the number of seats. Sabotaging the election and preventing the people from freely exercising their right by violence, threat, bribes or other illegal means are law-violating acts and shall receive administrative or even criminal punishments. Forging election documents, false reporting of the number of votes or other law-violating acts shall be subject to administrative or even criminal punishments.

3. Right to criticize, propose, complain or accuse

The Constitution provides: Citizens of the People’s Republic of China have the right to criticize and make suggestions regarding any state organ or functionary. Citizens have the right to make to relevant state organs complaints or charges against, or exposures of, any state organ or functionary for violation of the law or dereliction of duty, but fabrication or distortion of facts for purposes of libel or false incrimination is prohibited.

The Administrative Procedure Law is a law that protects the people who file complaints or charges against officials and the provisions have made such right of the citizens specified and proceed according to established procedures.

In order to prevent and correct law violations or improper administrative behaviors and protect the lawful rights and interests of citizens, legal person and other organizations and ensure and supervise administrative organs to exercise their rights, the State has issued the Administrative Reconsideration Law, making specific provisions on the scope of administrative review, application for administrative review, acceptance of administrative review applications and decisions of administrative review and legal responsibilities.

The Criminal Law provides: Workers of state organs who abuse their authority by retaliating against or framing accusers, petitioners, criticizers, or informants, in the name of conducting official business, are to be sentenced up to two years in prison or put under criminal detention. If the case is serious, they are to be sentenced to two to seven years in prison.

The Administrative Punishment Law provides: Citizens, legal persons or other organizations to which administrative organs have given administrative punishments enjoy the rights of statement and defense. If they do not agree with the administrative punishments, they have the right to apply for administrative reconsideration or to initiate administrative proceedings.

The State Compensation Law provides: Where an organization in exercising the administrative powers conferred on it by law, rules and regulations infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of a citizen or a legal person or other organizations, thereby causing damage to them, the empowered organization shall be the organization liable for compensation.

The Judges Law and the Public Procurators Law have stringent stipulations on punishment on judges or prosecutors for taking bribes, bending the law for personal gains, resorting to extorting confessions by corporal punishments, abusing their powers, infringing upon the lawful rights and interests of citizens, corporate persons or other organizations.

The Lawyers Law provides that lawyers can act as proxy for all litigation cases.
3. Freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, procession, demonstration

The Constitution provides that the Chinese citizens enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration.

With regard to freedom of the press, the State has the Copyright Law, which provides that Chinese citizens enjoy the right to copyright, that is, the right to publish, signature, revision and protecting the integrity of works, the right to use and the right to obtain remuneration.

In order to ensure that citizens exercise the right of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration, the State promulgated the Law on Assemblies, Processions and Demonstrations in accordance with the Constitution.

Right of person

Right of person is the elementary human rights commonly recognized by the international community. Chinese laws cover a full range of the right of person, including inviolability of the freedom of person, inviolability of personal dignity, inviolability of residence, legal protection of the freedom of communications and secrets of communications.

1. Inviolability of freedom of person

The Constitution provides: Freedom of the person of citizens of the People’s Republic of China is inviolable. No citizens may be arrested except with the approval or by decision of a people’s procuratorate or by decision of a people’s court, and arrests must be made by a public security organ. Unlawful detention or deprivation or restriction of citizens’ freedom of the person by other means is prohibited, and unlawful search of the person of citizens is prohibited.

The state has also made specific provisions concerning detention, arrest and search in the Criminal Law, the Criminal Procedure Law, the Regulations on the Control and Punishment Concerning Public Security Cases and the Regulations on Arrests and Detention, delimiting the functions and powers of the public security and judicial organs.

2. Inviolability of personal dignity

The Constitution clearly provides: The personal dignity of citizens of the People’s Republic of China is inviolable. Insult, libel, false accusation or false incrimination directed against citizens by any means is prohibited.

The General Provisions of the Civil Law provides: If a citizen’s right of personal name, portrait, reputation or honor is infringed upon, he shall have the right to demand that the infringement be stopped, his reputation be rehabilitated, the ill effects be eliminated and an apology be made; he may also demand compensation for losses.

The Criminal Law provides: Those openly insulting others using force or other methods or those fabricating stories to slander others, if the case is serious, are to be sentenced to three years or fewer in prison, put under criminal detention or surveillance, or deprived of their political rights.

The Regulations on the Control and Punishment Concerning Public Security Cases provides: Those who openly insult others using force or other methods or those who fabricate stories to slander others shall be subject to 15 days of detention, a fine of up to 200 yuan or a warning if the case does not constitute a case for criminal punishment.

3. Inviolability of residence

The Constitution provides: The residences of citizens of the People’s Republic of China are inviolable. Unlawful search of, or intrusion into, a citizen’s residence is prohibited.

The Criminal Procedure Law also provides that only public security organs or procuratortate organs can search a residence that might hide criminals or criminal evidence in order to obtain or collect evidence, but the search must proceed according to the legal procedure, that is, except in emergency cases, the search must have warrants produced by the public security organs; that during a search, the person to be searched or his family members, neighbors or other eyewitnesses shall be on the scene; a record shall be made of the circumstances of a search, and it shall be signed or sealed by the investigators and the person searched or his family members, neighbors or other eyewitnesses.

The Criminal Law provides: Those illegally physically searching others or illegally searching others’ residences, or those illegally intruding into others’ residences, are to be sentenced to three years or fewer in prison, or put under criminal detention.

The Regulations on the Control and Punishment Concerning Public Security Cases provides that if the illegal intrusion into other’s residence does not deserve criminal punishment, detention, a fine or warning shall be given.

4. Inviolability of freedom of communications and secrecy of communications

The Constitution provides: Freedom and privacy of correspondence of citizens of the People’s Republic of China are protected by law. No organization or individual may, on any ground, infringe on citizens’ freedom of privacy of correspondence, except in cases where to meet the needs of state security or of criminal investigation, public security or procuratorial organs are permitted to censor correspondence in accordance with procedures prescribed by law.

The Criminal Law provides: Those infringing upon the citizen’s right of communication freedom by hiding, destroying, or illegally opening others’ letters, if the case is serious, are to be sentenced to up to one year in prison or put under criminal detention.

Economic rights

Economic rights are the bases for enjoying the other rights. To ensure the economic rights of the citizens is central to other rights. The Constitution and other laws and regulations all have specific provisions concerning legal possession of property, inheritance of private property and other economic rights of the Chinese citizens. 1. Eliminating exploitation and introducing income distribution principle of “to each according to work done”

The Constitution provides: The basis of the socialist economic system of the People’s Republic of China is socialist public ownership of the means of production, namely, ownership by the whole people and collective ownership by the working people. The public ownership has eliminated the system of exploitation of man by man and introduces the principle of distribution of “from each according to one’s ability and to each according to work done;” the state will ensure the consolidation and development to the state-owned economy. The state protects the lawful rights and interests of the urban and rural economic collectives and encourages, guides and helps the growth of the collective economy.

2. Protecting ownership of legal property

The Constitution provides: The state protects the right of citizens to own lawfully earned income, savings, houses and other lawful property. The individual economy of urban and rural working people, operating within the limits prescribed by law, is a complement to the socialist public economy. The state protects the lawful rights and interests of the individual economy.

The General Provisions of the Civil Law provides: “Property ownership” means the owner’s rights to lawfully possess, utilize, profit from and dispose of his property. A citizen’s personal property shall include his lawfully earned income, housing, savings, articles for daily use, objects d’art, books, reference materials, trees, livestock, as well as means of production the law permits a citizen to possess and other lawful property. A citizen’s lawful property shall be protected by law, and no organization or individual may appropriate, encroach upon, destroy or illegally seal up, detain, freeze or confiscate it.

3. Protecting right to inherit private property

The Constitution provides: The state protects according to law the right of citizens to inherit private property.

The Inheritance Law has specific provisions not only in the range of property to be inherited but also in the time, form, the loss of inheritance right, legal inheritance and will inheritance.

Right to life and health

The right to life and health is part of human rights. The Constitution has specific provisions on these rights.

The Constitution provides: The state develops medical and health services, promotes modern medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, encourages and supports the setting up of various medical and health facilities by the rural economic collectives, state enterprises and institutions and neighborhood organizations, and promotes health and sanitation activities of a mass character, all for the protection of the people’s health.
　　　　　
Free medical checkup for residents.

The state protects and improves the environment in which people live and the ecological environment. It prevents and controls pollution and other public hazards.

In order to protect and improve the living environment and ecological environment, prevent pollution and other hazards, the state has promulgated laws on environmental and oceanic environmental protection, and on the prevention and control of water pollution, air pollution, environmental pollution by solid wastes, noise pollution and sandstorms.

In order to ensure the hygiene of food, safety in the use of medicine and prevent, control and eliminate infectious diseases to ensure the health of the people, the state promulgated such laws on food hygiene, management of drugs, health quarantine on the borders and on the prevention and control of infectious diseases.

In order to prevent, control and eliminate occupational diseases and hazards and prevent and treat occupational diseases, the state promulgated the law on the prevention and treatment of occupational diseases. The law has specific provisions on the protection and management during work, diagnosis of occupational diseases and the protection, supervision , examination and legal liabilities concerning occupational diseases.

In order to strengthen the ranks of medical personnel and improve their professional ethics and qualities and ensure their legitimate rights and interest and protect the health of the people, the state promulgated the law on medical practitioners.

The state has also promulgated the blood donation law in order to protect the health of blood donors and users.

Right to work

The right to work is an elementary right of the Chinese citizen and the necessary condition for obtaining the right of subsistence. In order to protect the right to work, the Constitution and other laws have made many specific provisions, covering employment, labor disputes, labor protection, working conditions, remuneration and welfare and benefits.

The Constitution provides: Citizens of the People’s Republic of China have the right as well as the duty to work. Through various channels, the state creates conditions for employment, enhances occupational safety and health, improves working conditions and, on the basis of expanded production, increases remuneration for work and welfare benefits.

The Labor Law lays down detailed rules concerning the employment, labor contract, work hours and vocation, wage, labor safety and health, special protection for women workers and juvenile labor, job training and labor disputes.

The Law on Safety in Mines has detailed regulations concerning the safety of miners and the handling of accidents.

Right to education

The right to education is an important prerequisite for developing freedom in all areas. The Constitution and other laws have clear-cut provisions concerning the right of citizens to receive education.
　　　　　
Children of ethnic minorities are reading.

The Constitution provides: Citizens of the People’s Republic of China have the right as well as the duty to receive education. The state promotes the all-round development of children and young people, morally, intellectually and physically.

The state has promulgated the Law on Compulsory Education, the Law on Education, the Law on Vocational Education and the Law on Tertiary Education.

The Law on Compulsory Education provides that the state introduce the nine-year compulsory education and the state shall not collect tuition from students receiving compulsory education. The state is responsible for raising the money for building basic facilities of compulsory education and overhead fees of such schools. No organization or individual is allowed to appropriate, deduct or use for other purposes the money earmarked for compulsory education and it is not allowed to disrupt teaching order, to occupy and sabotage the school ground, houses and equipment.

Right of women, minors and aged

Women, juveniles and the aged are different from men, adults and young people in gender and age, which demand different rights. Confirmation and protection of the rights of women, the underaged and the aged is an important feature of China’s legislation concerning human rights. The Constitution provides: Women in the People’s Republic of China enjoy equal rights with men in all spheres of life, in political, economic, cultural, social and family life. The state protects the rights and interests of women, applies the principle of equal pay for equal work to men and women alike and trains and selects cadres from among women. Marriage, the family and mother and child are protected by the state.
　　　　　
Women of all walks of life cited.

Both husband and wife have the duty to practice family planning.

Parents have the duty to rear and educate their children who are minors, and children who have come of age have the duty to support and assist their parents.

Violation of the freedom of marriage is prohibited. Maltreatment of old people, women and children is prohibited.

Citizens of the People’s Republic of China have the right to material assistance from the state and society when they are old, ill or disabled. The state develops social insurance, social relief and medical and health services that are required for citizens to enjoy this right.

The Marriage Law has specific provisions on the equality between men and women and freedom of marriage.

The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women has specific provisions on the rights of women in political activities, culture and education, work, property, person and marriage and family and the legal responsibilities for violating the law.

The Law on the Protection of Minors has detailed provisions on the protection of the special rights of the underaged in family, schools, society, judicial activities and the legal responsibilities for violating the law.

In order to ensure the physical and mental health of the underaged and cultivate their good morality and prevent crimes, the state formulated the law on the prevention of juvenile crimes, specifying measures of crime and misbehavior prevention, and correction of serious misbehaviors.

The Decisions on Severe Punishment of Criminals Abducting and Trafficking Women and Children made detailed provision on seriously dealing with these crimes.

The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly has specific provision on the protection of the rights and interests of the old people.

The state has also promulgated the Law on Maternal and Infant Health Care to protect the health of mother and child.

Freedom of religion

Chinese citizens enjoy the full freedom of religious beliefs. In this regard, the Constitution, the Law on Regional Autonomy of Ethnic Minorities, the Criminal Law, the General Provisions of the Civil Law, the Electoral Law, the Servicemen Law and the Compulsory Education Law all have specific provisions on the freedom of religious beliefs.

The Constitution provides: Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief.
　　　　　
The sunning the Buddha Festival in Tibet.

No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion.

The state protects normal religious activities.

The Criminal Law provides: Workers of state organs who illegally deprive citizens’ right to religious beliefs or who encroach on ethnic minorities’ customs or habits, if the case is serious, are to be sentenced to up to two years in prison or put under criminal detention.

Rights of people of ethnic minorities

China is a multinational state, with 55 ethnic minorities in addition to the majority Hans, who account for 92% of the population. The rights of minorities are important part of collective human rights.

The Constitution provides clearly in its General Principles: All ethnic groups in the People’s Republic of China are equal. The state protects the lawful rights and interests of the ethnic minorities and upholds and develops a relationship of equality, unity and mutual assistance among all of China’s ethnic groups. Discrimination against and oppression of any ethnic group are prohibited; any act which undermines the unity of the ethnic groups or instigates division is prohibited.

The state assists areas inhabited by ethnic minorities so as to accelerate their economic and cultural development according to the characteristics and needs of the various ethnic minorities.

Regional autonomy is practiced in areas where people of ethnic minorities live in concentrated communities; in these areas organs of self-government are established to exercise the power of autonomy. All ethnic minority autonomous areas are integral parts of the People’s Republic of China.

All ethnic groups have the freedom to use and develop their own spoken and written languages and to preserve or reform their own folkways and customs.

It provides that the chairman of an autonomous region, the prefect of an autonomous prefecture or the head of an autonomous county shall be a citizen of the ethnic minority exercising regional autonomy in the area concerned. The people’s congresses of the ethnic minority autonomous areas have the power to enact regulations on the exercise of autonomy and other separate regulations in the light of the political, economic and cultural characteristics of the ethnic minority or minorities in the areas concerned. The organs of self-government of the ethnic minority autonomous areas have the power of autonomy in administering the finances of their areas. All revenues accruing to the autonomous areas under the financial system of the state shall be managed and used by the organs of self-government of those areas on their own. The organs of self-government of the autonomous areas independently arrange for and administer local economic development under the guidance of the state plans. The organs of self-government of the autonomous areas independently administer educational, scientific, cultural, public health and physical culture affairs in their respective areas, protect and sift through the cultural heritage of the ethnic minorities and work for a vigorous development of their cultures. All these constitute the fundamental guarantee for ensuring the rights of the people of ethnic minorities in the country.

The Law on Ethnic Regional Autonomy has more specific provisions on the composition, autonomous power and functions of the autonomous organs in areas exercising regional autonomy.

The Electoral Law provides that there should be one people’s deputy among the ethnic groups with the least population among the deputies to the National People’s Congress.

Rights of persons with disabilities

There are about 60 million disabled people on the Chinese mainland, accounting for about 5% of the total population. To ensure their rights is an important part of human rights protection in China. The Constitution and other laws all contain special provision on protecting their human rights.

The Constitution provides: The State ensures that the handicapped people enjoy the same rights as able-bodied people. The state and society help make arrangements for the work, livelihood and education of the blind, deaf-mutes and other handicapped citizens.


The Criminal Law, the Criminal Procedure Law, the General Provisions of the Civil Law, the Civil Procedure Law, the Marriage Law, the Inheritance Law, the Electoral Law, the Servicemen Law, the Compulsory Education Law and other major laws of the state all contain special provisions concerning the rights and interests of the handicapped people.

In order to ensure that the handicapped people to enjoy the basic political rights and the rights of person endowed by the Constitution, the Electoral Law has specific provisions concerning the participation of people with physiological malfunctions, saying that if they are unable to cast the vote, they may entrust others to do so on their behalf.

The Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons has made very detailed provisions on the recuperation, education, employment, cultural life, welfare, environment concerning the mobility of the disabled people and the legal responsibilities for violating the law.