China Releases Human Rights Plan

[Coventina]

Source: New York Times

HONG KONG — China’s cabinet released on Monday what it called the country’s first national human rights action plan, a lengthy document promising a wide range of civil liberties that are often neglected and sometimes systematically violated in China.

The rights China promised to protect under the two-year plan include the right to a fair trial, the right to participate in government decisions and the right to learn about and question government policies. It calls for measures to discourage torture, such as requiring interrogation rooms to have designs that physically separate interrogators from the accused.

There are also specific protections for children, women, senior citizens, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.

Human rights activists applauded Beijing officials for showing an interest in the issue. But they cautioned that any implementation would require many years of work by local, provincial and national government agencies, many of which have shown little interest in initiatives that may limit their power and discretion.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/world/asia/14china.html?ref=global-home

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If they are serious about this, and this isn't just a PR stunt, this is good news.

[cliffordu]

1. Really. It'd be nice to hate someone else for THEIR freedoms.

[DavidDvorkin]

2. ... after keeping it imprisoned for many years

The plan was warned not to abuse its new freedom, which could be revoked at any time.