E/1990/5/Add.59

page 1

UNITED
NATIONS / E
/ Economic and Social
Council / Distr.
GENERAL
E/1990/5/Add.59
4 March 2004
Original: ENGLISH

Substantive session of 2004

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ONECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

Initial reports submitted by States parties underarticles 16 and 17 of the Covenant

Addendum

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA*

[27 June 2003]

* The information submitted by the People’s Republic of China in accordance with the guidelines concerning the initial part of reports of States parties is contained in the core document (HRI/CORE/1/Add.21/Rev.2).

GE.0440656 (E) 300304

CONTENTS

ParagraphsPage

Part One: CHINA

Introduction ...... 1 5 5

Article 1.Selfdetermination ...... 6 8 5

Article 2.Measures taken to guarantee the full realization
of rights ...... 9 16 6

Article 3.Gender equality ...... 17 22 9

Article 6.The right to work ...... 23 45 11

Article 7.The right to favourable working conditions ...... 46 68 21

Article 8.The right to join a trade union ...... 69 82 28

Article 9.The right to social security ...... 83 95 33

Article 10.Protection of the family ...... 96 107 37

Article 11.The right to an adequate standard of living ...... 108 144 40

Article 12.The right to good health ...... 145 209 51

Articles 13
and 14.The right to education ...... 210 232 71

Article 15.The right to cultural life and the benefits of science .... 233 283 78

Tables ...... 95

Charts ...... 109

Part Two: HONGKONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION[*]

Introduction ...... 284 287 112

I.LAND AND PEOPLE ...... 288 113

CONTENTS (continued)

ParagraphsPage

II.GENERAL POLITICAL STRUCTURE ...... 289 315 118

III.GENERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH
HUMAN RIGHTS ARE PROTECTED ...... 316 338 123

IV.INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY ...... 339 342 130

V.IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLES 116 OF THE
COVENANT ...... 343 779 131

A.Article 1. Progress and development of democracy .... 343 346 131

B.Article 2. Progressive realization of the rights
recognized in the Covenant and the exercise of those
rights without discrimination ...... 347 368 131

C.Article 3. Equal rights of men and women ...... 369 379 136

D.Article 4. Permissible limitation of Covenant rights ... 380 138

E.Article 5. Prohibition on destruction of any rights
and freedoms recognized in the Covenant ...... 381 139

F.Article 6. Choice of occupation and labour rights ..... 382 404 139

G.Article 7. Right to enjoy just and favourable
conditions of work ...... 405 426 144

H.Article 8. Right to trade union membership ...... 427 441 148

I.Article 9. Right to social security ...... 442 468 152

J.Article 10. Protection of the family ...... 469 558 156

K.Article 11. Right to an adequate standard of living .... 559 599 173

L.Article 12. Right to health ...... 600 681 181

M. Articles 13 and 14. Right to education ...... 682 750 197

CONTENTS (continued)

ParagraphsPage

N. Article 15. Right to cultural life, scientific progress and
its application ...... 751 775 211

O.Article 16. Submission of report ...... 776 779 216

Annexes[*]

Part Three: MACAO SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

Introduction ...... 780 789 217

Article 1.The MSAR autonomy ...... 790 795 218

Article 2.Recognition and application of Covenant rights ...... 796 815 219

Article 3.Equal rights of men and women ...... 816 822 221

Article 4.Permissible limitation of Covenant rights ...... 823 826 222

Article 5.Restrictions on the rights recognized in the Covenant .. 827 828 223

Article 6.Right to work ...... 829 873 223

Article 7.Right to enjoy just and favourable conditions of work .. 874 895 230

Article 8.Right to trade union membership ...... 896 903 233

Article 9.Right to social security ...... 904 920 234

Article 10.Protection of the family ...... 921 965 239

Article 11.Right to an adequate standard of living ...... 966 1019 244

Article 12.Right to health ...... 1020 1092 250

Articles 13
and 14.Right to education ...... 1093 1146 259

Article 15.Right to cultural life and scientific progress ...... 1146 1218 266

Annexes*

Part One

CHINA

Introduction

  1. The People’s Republic of China has consistently attached great importance to the question of human rights and considers it a duty to promote and protect all the human rights and fundamental freedoms of its people. The Government of China is committed to the promotion and protection of its people’s economic, social and cultural rights and has made great achievements in this regard.
  2. On 27 October 1997, China signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (hereunder referred to as “the Covenant”). On 28 February 2001, the Standing Committee of the 9th National People’s Congress ratified China’s accession to the Covenant. On 27 March 2001, the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the UnitedNations presented the instrument of accession to the SecretaryGeneral of the UnitedNations. On 27 June 2001, the Covenant formally entered into force in China.
  3. In accordance with articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant and the regulations of the Economic and Social Council, China is supposed to submit to the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations for transmittal to the Economic and Social Council an initial report on the status of implementation of the Covenant. In keeping with the general standards and suggestions of the Economic and Social Council pertaining to the submission of such reports by States parties, China has written this initial report on the status of implementation of the Covenant.
  4. With an emphasis on achievements in the legislative and judicial fields, and including areas of difficulty and problems that exist, this report presents the general status of implementation of the Covenant. It is composed of three parts. Part One covers the current situation and progress in the implementation of the Covenant in China. Part Two covers the current situation of the implementation of the Covenant in the Special Administrative Region of HongKong, and hasbeen written by the Government of the Special Administrative Region of HongKong. PartThree covers the current situation of the implementation of the Covenant in the Special Administrative Region of Macao, and has been written by the Government of the Special Administrative Region of Macao.
  5. It is important to make clear that all relevant departments of the Government of China participated in the writing of this report and supplied large amounts of data. Chinese nongovernmental organizations, and academics and experts in relevant areas also contributed to the writing of this report.

Article 1

Selfdetermination

  1. China is one of the oldest nations on earth. Together, the country’s various nationalities have built a bright and glorious history. As of 1840, China was gradually transformed from a great feudal nation into a semicolonial and semifeudal State. The national authority fell into decline and the people’s human rights lost their basic guarantees. In order to achieve national independence and selfdetermination, the people of China began a heroic struggle characterized by martyrdom and sacrifice. On 1 October 1949, at the end of a long and arduous struggle, the people of China established the People’s Republic of China. Since that time, they have realized complete national independence, taking firm and genuine control of the powers of the State and becoming masters of their own country.
  2. Since its establishment, the People’s Republic of China has spared no effort to institute and perfect a people’s democratic political system that safeguards the democratic rights of the people as sovereign. In September 1954, the first plenary session of the First National People’sCongress, on the basis of the full realization of people’s democracy, passed into law the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. This Constitution stipulated the nature of the country and the functions of the national institutions and defined the rights and responsibilities of citizens, thus establishing the foundation for Chinese democracy and the creation of its legal institutions. In 1982, the fifth session of the Fifth National People’s Congress passed the Constitution currently in force. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China clearly stipulates that: “Allpower in the People’s Republic of China belongs to the people. The organs through which the people exercise State power are the National People’s Congress and the local people’s congresses at different levels.” The system of people’s congresses constitutes the essence of China’s political system. In keeping with the conditions peculiar to their country, this was the inevitable choice of the Chinese people, the fruit of a long and difficult struggle for independence and liberation.
  3. With the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, there began a series of land reforms and other democratic reforms on a national scale that resulted in 300 million landless or landpoor farmers being granted 700 million mu (one mu = 0.0667 hectares) of land and much of the means of production, thus significantly improving the economic status and living conditions of the greater part of the farming population. China further transformed the farming, handicraft, industrial and commercial sectors, introduced democratic reforms in the production and management systems of the Statesector mining and manufacturing industries and, through factory management committees and employees’ representative assemblies, realized the democratization of enterprise management. The old systems of remuneration were revised and employee benefits increased. In this way, the Chinese people became masters of the means of production and the beneficiaries of the wealth of society.

Article 2

Measures taken to guarantee the full realization of rights

  1. For many years, China has striven to establish legislation that protects and promotes the economic, social and cultural rights of its citizens, and to ensure that their related rights and interests are legally protected. On the basis of the country’s particular conditions and after consulting the legislation of many countries around the world and the relevant international documents, China has enacted a great number of laws and statutes around the core document thatis the nation’s Constitution. These include the General Principles of Civil Law, theInheritance Act, the Consumer Protection Act, the Mineral Resources Act, the Land Administration Act, the Water Act, the Water and Soil (Maintenance) Act, the Coal Act, theEnvironmental Protection Act, the Labour Act, the Trade Union Act, the Mine Safety Act, the Regulations on Minimum Livelihood Security for City Residents, the State Council Regulations on the Establishment by Enterprises of OldAge Pension Insurance, theEducationAct, the Compulsory Education Act, the Higher Education Act, the Cultural Objects (Protection) Act, the Progress in Science and Technology Act, the Law on the National Language and its Writing, the Protection of MinorsAct, the Women’s Rights and Interests Act, the Rights and Interests of the Elderly Act and the Protection of the Handicapped Act. Together, these constitute a legal system that provides important legal safeguards for the promotion and protection of citizens’ economic, social and cultural rights.
  2. In spirit and in content, China’s laws and policies are consistent with the Covenant. In the Constitution alone, articles 42 through 48 make thorough provision for citizens’ right to work, right to rest, right to education, rights to scientific research and cultural activities, rights to material assistance from the State and society when aged, ill or having lost the ability to work, right to the ownership of lawful property, right to inherit private property and equality of rights between men and women. In March 1999, the second session of the Ninth National People’s Congress passed amendments to the Constitution that also bear upon citizens’ economic, social and cultural rights, to wit: “The nonpublic sector of the economy comprising the selfemployed and private businesses, operating within the limits stipulated by law, is an important component of the socialist market economy”, and “The State protects the legitimate rights and interests of the selfemployed and private businesses.” (art. 11).
  3. In the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights, China has for the most part relied upon its own efforts and has achieved remarkable results. At the same time, as a developing country, it has been willing to draw on cooperative ventures in economic and technical development and to learn from the prior experience and successes of other countries, in order to advance together. Since the beginning of the era of liberal reforms, China’s economic and technical joint ventures with the outside world have advanced by leaps and bounds and with outstanding results. In 2002, China’s gross overall trade with the rest of the world exceeded US$600 billion, and the number of areas open to foreign trade grew rapidly, expanding inland from the coastal areas. Trade relations in all areas and at many levels developed with countries around the world. China’s progress towards integration into a globalized world economy and a unified regional economy has accelerated, and the development of foreign joint ventures now plays an ever more significant role in the national economy. These have become an indispensable force in driving economic growth, increasing State revenues, boosting employment and ensuring a favourable balance of trade, as well as stimulating development in China’s economic, social and cultural domains.
  4. China has intensified its consultation and study of international law and conventional practices, and has acceded to such international agreements as the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States and the Convention Establishing the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. It has technical cooperation relations with 135countries and territories, andeducational and cultural exchange and cooperation relations with 154 countries and territories. It has signed 95 intergovernmental agreements bearing on technical cooperation, 145 intergovernmental agreements bearing on cultural cooperation, and joined some 75 international academic organizations. By the end of 2002, it had sent some 580,000 students for study abroad in morethan 100 countries and territories, and had hosted almost 540,000 students from a total of170 countries and territories. China’s promotion of cooperation with foreign countries in the economic, technical, educational and scientific arenas plays an important role in enhancing citizens’ enjoyment of their economic, social and cultural rights.
  5. China is still a developing country. In view of constraints relating to the level of the country’s economic and social development, even though the Covenant has come into force in China, not all its articles have been fully realized. The degree of enjoyment of certain rights does not yet reach the requirements of the Covenant. China still has a duty to reduce poverty and the gap between the wealthy and the poor, while it also faces such pressures as population growth and resource depletion. On the foundation of 50 years of development, and in particular the recent 20 years of liberal reforms, however, the Government and people of China are fully capable of overcoming all problems encountered on the road to development, and will continue to enhance the level of enjoyment of human rights and basic freedoms.
  6. At the same time as it protects its citizens’ rights, China also unfailingly upholds the principle of nondiscrimination. Article 33 of the Constitution stipulates that “All citizens of the People’s Republic of China are equal before the law.” This article protects the equal enjoyment of their rights by all citizens as stipulated by law, without regard to their ethnicity, race, sex, occupation, family origin, religious beliefs, level of education, financial situation, etc. On this basis, China has also passed such laws as the General Principles of Civil Law, the Marriage Act, the Inheritance Act, the Education Act, the Compulsory Education Act and the Labour Act specifically to regulate practices in these areas where the principle of nondiscrimination applies. In addition, it has enacted such laws as the Women’s Rights and Interests Act, the Protection of Minors Act, the Protection of the Handicapped Act, and the Rights and Interests of the ElderlyAct to enhance protection of the rights of members of particular groups within society.
  7. To ensure the implementation of the principle of nondiscrimination in all areas and to fully realize the stipulations and requirements of article 2 of the Covenant, China is careful to protect the rights of foreign nationals on its soil. Article 32 of the Constitution states that: “ThePeople’s Republic of China protects the lawful rights and interests of foreigners within Chinese territory; foreigners on Chinese territory must abide by the laws of the People’s Republic of China.” This stipulation provides a basic legal guarantee of protection of the rights and interests of foreign nationals in China, and all other laws and regulations pertaining to the status of foreign nationals in China are based upon it. Such laws and regulations belong to twomajor categories:

(a)Those pertaining to the rights and obligations of foreign entities, as stipulated in article 18 of the Constitution:

“The People’s Republic of China permits foreign enterprises, other foreign economic organizations and individual foreigners to invest in China and to enter into various forms of economic cooperation with Chinese enterprises and other Chinese economic organizations in accordance with the law of the People’s Republic of China. All foreign enterprises, other foreign economic organizations and Chineseforeign joint ventures within Chinese territory shall abide by the law of the People’s Republic of China. Their lawful rights and interests are protected by the law of the People’s Republic of China.”

In addition, the General Principles of Civil Law, the Copyright Act, the Trademark Act, the Patent Act and other laws describe in concrete terms the principles and practices governing the protection of the rights of foreign nationals in China;

(b)Legislation prescribing the rights of foreign nationals in civil litigation. Article 5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, for example, stipulates that in the course of civil litigation, foreign nationals should be treated in the same way as citizens, and the principle of reciprocity of treatment should be observed.

  1. In addition to domestic legislation, China has also concluded a number of bilateral treaties and international covenants with relevant countries that contain stipulations on the treatment of foreign nationals while in China. These include agreements governing trade, the protection of investments and the avoidance of double taxation.

Article 3

Gender equality

  1. The realization of equal rights for men and women is an important yardstick in the assessment of a society’s degree of civilization. China makes of the promotion and realization of gender equality a basic policy in the furtherance of national development, and is unfailingly committed to the progress and development of women.
  2. China has enacted sound laws and regulations providing for the protection of women and children.