April 12, 2001

By CNN's Patricia Lai

HONG KONG, China -- Human rights activists say China's self-assessment on its human rights record paints too rosy a picture.

Human Rights in China says the white paper released this week is lengthy, but says little. "(The Chinese Government) never mind the quality but just work on the quantity."

Human Rights Watch and the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy expressed a similar sentiment, saying the paper is a routine publication that boasts about China's human rights and economic development records.

The paper released by China's State Council this week is similar in format to previous reports.

It is divided into seven sections: people's rights to subsistence and development; citizens' political rights; judicial guarantee; economic, social and cultural rights; women and children's rights; equal rights and protection for ethnic minorities; and international cooperation. But Sophia Woodman of the Human Rights in China group says the paper has been very selective with the facts and only paints a rosy picture.

The paper quotes volumes of data highlighting China's economic development: "At present, for every 100 urban households there are 116.6 color TV sets, 90.5 washing machines, 86.7 refrigerators, and 30.8 air- conditioners -- close to the level of developed countries"

Validity uncertain

But Frank Lu of Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy says it is impossible to verify the statistics.

"But the figures are meaningless. People's very basic rights to subsistence are not guaranteed. Look at the safety of coalmine workers, dozens of them have died in an explosion recently."

The white paper says in 2000, the disposable income per urban resident came to $730 (6,280 yuan), or an increase of 6.4 percent over that of the previous year.

Woodman says there has been a widening gap in living standards between the rich and the poor in China.

But an overall rise in GDP has concealed a deterioration of the poorest people in the country.

"The GINI coefficient -- an index that economists use to measure society inequality -- is higher in China than in countries such as Indonesia and Pakistan," she says.

Public relations strategy

Jan Van Der Made, researcher of Human Rights Watch says the report is lengthier than previous editions.

"But they don't talk about violation to people's rights to freedom of expression, freedom of religion, the ban on Falun Gong and the recent news about scholars being detained in China."

Made cites examples of dissidents in exile and or the jailing of those trying to organize the China Democracy Party or labor unions.

China says that people's political rights are guaranteed. "But what about those who try to set up the China Democratic Party and labor unions . . . the Falun Gong practitioners and the Tibetan people?" says Woodman.

Human Rights Watch says the white paper, together with Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to Latin America, is a public relations exercise aimed at influencing the U.N. commission in Geneva before a meeting in April and impressing the new U.S. administration.

http://asia.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/04/11/china.whitepaper/index.html