The Information Office of the State Council on Wednesday published a white paper on China's human rights progress in 2004 in response to criticism from US human rights groups.

The white paper was the eighth of its kind since 1991. Dong Yunhu, vice-chairman and secretary-general of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, told Xinhua that China's frequent issuance of white papers on human rights demonstrated that the Chinese government's earnest wishes of letting the international community learn China's true human rights situation through proper channels and dispelling some misunderstanding toward China from certain overseas human rights groups.

Commenting on the recent criticism from the Human Rights Watch, a US-based human rights group that criticized China for " smothering Islam under the guise of an anti-terror campaign," Dong said China's Constitution protects ethnic groups' right to religious belief. "All normal religious activities are currently carried out in China without barriers," he said.

"The white paper recorded China's ethnic groups' full freedom of religious belief and their improved living standards after the central government investing heavily in the economic and social development of areas inhabited by ethnic minorities.

Dong also said China has never infringed any kinds of human rights under the name of anti-terrorism, but that terrorism is a severe infringement of human rights. The terrorists that the Chinese government fought were blacklisted by the entire international community and all China's anti-terror campaigns were justifiable, he said.

According to the white paper, 2004 saw significant progress in China's human rights: A clause saying "the state respects and safeguards human rights" was enshrined in the Constitution; China's 150 million farmers enjoyed agricultural tax exemption; Chinese courts reduced and exempted expense of litigation for litigants who suffered economic difficulties by 1.09 billion yuan; 4.469 disabled people received a variety of social welfare; and the Administrative Licensing Law was promulgated to confine governmental power.

Chen Weidian, member of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, said the white paper showed that China's human rights cause has ushered into the best period in its history, thanks to the leadership's policy of "putting people first."

Dong said the 41-page white paper only focus on China's own development of human rights cause. China has never pointed its finger at other country's human rights issues in white papers.

The white paper also objectively raised some problems, he said, such as extended detention, which still sporadically occur.