China's policies promote family, development: official

A senior Chinese official said in Sanya, south China¡¯s Hainan Province on December 8 that China will earnestly implement commitments made in the Sanya Declaration, respect family rights and promote the healthy development of the families and every family member.

Zhang Weiqing, minister in charge of State Population and Family Planning Commission, made the remark when addressing the closing ceremony of the World Family Summit held in Sanya, a scenic city of south China's Hainan Province.

The declaration, which incorporates the principles of the UN millennium development goals, was approved by more than 300 deputies from home and abroad after three-day discussion at the summit. The declaration reaffirms the importance of family in social development and looks into the achievements made in the past decade and future challenges.

The family's importance in Chinese society can be seen in the policies China has made recently, Zhang said.

In 2000, China achieved, as scheduled, the objectives of providing universal access to nine-year compulsory education and basically eliminating illiteracy among the young and middle-aged population.

China has also been actively introducing the concept of "reproductive health" around the country and protecting women's rights by issuing and amending a series of laws and regulations.

But more efforts should be made to ensure a sustainable social development and cope with problems such as poverty reduction, resource preservation, environment protection, population increase and HIV/AIDS control.

"All these issues have affected family member's lawful rights and the healthy development of the family and the society," Zhang said.

The Chinese government will mobilize all families and citizens to help resolve these issues, he said.

In addition, China will keep on improving its legal system to protect the rights of women, children, the elderly and the disabled while prioritizing education development, poor and migrating population.

The Chinese government will also promote traditional family values of harmonious marriage, respect for the elderly and caring for the youth to develop China's own family culture. It will also step up the building of public health system and disease control system to improve the public awareness of AIDS and other diseases, he said.

Source: Xinhua