Full Text: Progress in China's Human Rights in 2013 (6)

V. Rights of the Person

The effectiveness of a country's protection of its citizens' rights of life and health, of personal liberty, of personal dignity and other rights of the person is one important gauge of examining that nation's human rights protection effort. In 2013 China abolished the reeducation through labor system, waged special campaigns against human trafficking, searched for and rescued abducted and trafficked women and children, punished serious violations of its citizens' rights of the person in accordance with the law, improved the mechanism for preventing and rectifying unjust, false and erroneous charges, took various measures in ensuring the rights of suspects, defendants and detainees, and strengthened law-enforcement in key areas such as workplace safety, and food and drug production, effectively safeguarding the Chinese citizens' rights of the person.

With over 50 years of operation in China, the system of reeducation through labor played a positive role in protecting public security, maintaining social order, ensuring social stability, and educating and rescuing lawbreakers in certain historical circumstances. But over time its functions were gradually replaced with the implementation of laws such as the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security and the Law on Narcotics Control, and also with the improvements in the Criminal Law. Also, as the relevant laws became increasingly applicable in cases of reeducation through labor, the correction system played a lesser role over the years. Since March 2013 the system has been basically suspended in China. On December 28, 2013 the Standing Committee of the NPC passed a decision on abolishing legal provisions pertaining to reeducation through labor, putting an end to the system. It was also decided that persons who were receiving reeducation through labor as prescribed by law should be released and exempted from their remaining terms.

The rights of the person of women and children have been effectively protected. The state has implemented China's Action Plan Against Human Trafficking (2013-2020). In 2013 China cracked 5,126 and 2,765 cases of abducted and trafficked women and children, respectively, and united 631 abducted children with their biological parents through the DNA database network of public security organs. The state has issued opinions on punishing crimes of sexually assaulting minors, in accordance with the law, and rigorously cracks down upon such crimes as sexually assaulting girls under the age of 14 and teachers sexually assaulting students. In 2013 criminal charges were pressed against 2,395 persons suspected of abducting and trafficking women and children.

Special emphasis has been given to the protection of the rights of the person of people with mental disorders. The Law on Mental Health came into effect May 1, 2013, and applies the principles of free will and restriction on involuntary hospitalization for patients with mental disorders. It is prohibited to use constraints and isolation and other protective measures as means for punishing mentally disturbed patients, and medical institutions are not allowed to force their patients with mental disorders to engage in production or other kinds of labor.

The state punishes crimes seriously undermining the people' s sense of security and infringing upon the citizens' rights of the person. In 2013 China's procuratorial organs at all levels issued arrest warrants for 500,055 persons suspected of severe violent crimes, gang crimes, repeated crimes against property, and drug dealing. A total of 580,485 persons were indicted for criminal acts. People's courts at all levels concluded 250,000 cases of homicide, robbery, kidnapping, explosion, rape, trafficking of children and women, and gang-related organized crime, convicting 325,000 persons. (more)

Measures for preventing and rectifying unjust, false and erroneous charges have been further strengthened. In 2013 the Ministry of Public Security issued the Notice on Further Strengthening and Improving the Criminal Enforcement and Case Handling, and Effectively Preventing Unjust, False and Erroneous Charges and other related documents, in an effort to improve the system for preventing erroneous charges, reinforce supervision over law enforcement and case handling in an all-around, real-time manner that covers the whole procedure, and prevent unjust, false and erroneous charges at the source. The Supreme People's Procuratorate issued the Opinions on Diligently Performing Procuratorial Duties and Preventing and Rectifying Unjust, False and Erroneous Charges, and strives to improve the mechanism for identifying, correcting and preventing erroneous charges during the procuratorial phase and also the accountability system. It exercises strict supervision over case handling, to ensure that the facts are accurate, evidence genuine, procedures correct and laws applicable. In 2013 the Procuratorate supervised the withdrawal of 25,211 ineligible charges filed by organs of investigation; and rectified 72,370 occasions of misuse of coercive measures, collection of evidence by illegal means and extortion of confession by torture; decided against arrest on 100,157 occasions and against prosecution on 16,427 persons for lack of evidence and for cases that did not constitute crimes. The Procuratorate protects the right of action of suspects and the right of practice of lawyers. In 2013 it supervised the correction of 606 cases of improper surveillance of suspects who were confined to designated residences, and 2,153 cases of obstructing the exercise of the right of action by defenders; strengthened the examination of necessity for detention, and advised the release of or change of coercive measures for 23,894 suspects. The Procuratorate attaches importance to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of detainees. In 2013 it supervised the correction of violations of law during the execution of penalties and supervision activities on 42,873 occasions, urged the closing of long-pending cases with suspects in prolonged detention, and supervised the correction of extended custody on 432 occasions. In 2013 the Supreme People's Court issued 548 judicial interpretations on the application of the Criminal Procedure Law-the most judicial interpretations to a law since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The exclusion of illegal evidence, the principle of no additional penalty for making appeals and other principles that protect the litigation right of defendants have been implemented with detailed measures. On October 9, 2013 the Supreme People's Court issued the Opinions on Establishing and Improving the Working Mechanism for Preventing Unjust, False and Erroneous Criminal Charges. Adhering to the principle of assuming innocence until proven guilty, the Opinions stipulate that the defendants should be acquitted in accordance with the law in case of insufficient incriminating evidence; confession extorted by torture or other illegal means should be excluded, as should confession obtained from interrogation sessions conducted at undesignated sites, from interrogation sessions the whole procedure of which is not videotaped, and from interrogation sessions in which the possibility of the use of illegal means cannot be ruled out. The Court ensures that innocent persons are not held criminally liable. In 2013 the people's courts at all levels acquitted a total of 825 defendants in accordance with the law, and ran retrials of unjust, false and erroneous charges discovered during appeal and quashed the original judgments in these cases.

Protection of the rights of the person of criminal suspects, defendants and detainees has been enhanced. In 2013 the Ministry of Public Security issued the Regulations on the Use and Administration of Areas and Sites for Law Enforcement and Case Handling by Public Security Organs, which stipulates the use and administration of areas for case handling, with a strict code for audio- and video-recording interrogation and inquiry sessions. The Ministry adopted a new version of the Standards for Building Detention Centers, vigorously promoted the use of social resources for detainees' medical care, and required all detention centers to be made open to the public to ensure a higher level of transparency of law enforcement. The people's procuratorates further improved synchronized audio- and video-recording system, effectively protecting the legitimate rights of suspects.

The state strengthened its efforts to defuse threats to people's security and health in their work and life. The legislature improved relevant laws for dealing with key problems related to personal safety, and the Standing Committee of the NPC enacted the Law on Special Equipment Safety, strengthening supervision and control over the whole process of the manufacturing and installation, operation and utilization, maintenance and care, and examination and testing of special equipment. The Law established an identity management system, an accountability system of product quality, and a recall and scrap system for special equipment, strengthening supervision of special equipment safety in accordance with the law so as to protect the people's rights of life and property. Departments of law enforcement continued to strengthen their troubleshooting effort in focus industries and areas, defusing hidden dangers on 6.815 million occasions with a correction rate of 97.9 percent in 2013. More effort was put into the investigation of accidents and a time limit was set for the cracking of related cases under the supervision of relevant authorities, and 44 cases of serious and major accidents were investigated and handled. The average period for closing a case was 109 days shorter on a year-on-year basis, and investigation reports of accidents were made public in a timely manner. Procuratorial organs conducted immediate intervention in the case of serious and major accidents, and investigated cases of dereliction of duty, malfeasance, bribery and other power-abuse crimes behind fires and mining accidents, with a total of 1,066 persons investigated. The state attaches great importance to food and drug safety, and has issued relevant judicial interpretations for punishing crimes that harm food and drug safety in accordance with the law. In 2013 procuratorial organs at all levels pressed charges against 10,540 persons suspected of manufacturing and selling poisonous or hazardous food, adulterant drugs or drugs of inferior quality, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate set time limit to urge the handling of 785 cases of crimes that menaced food and drug safety. The people's courts at all levels concluded 2,082 relevant cases, with 2,647 persons convicted.