China to further enhance human rights protection: officials

BEIJING, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- China has made great progress in terms of human rights protection, and the Communist Party of China (CPC) will continue its efforts in advancing the cause of human rights, officials said Friday at a symposium marking the 30th anniversary of the country's first white paper on human rights, "Human Rights in China."

Over 70 people, including officials, representatives from grass-roots organs, scholars and experts, attended the symposium, which was held by China's State Council Information Office.

The white paper is a significant milestone in the cause of human rights in China, said Jiang Jianguo, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Noting the great achievements of respecting and protecting human rights made by the CPC over the past 100 years, Jiang stressed efforts to further uphold a people-centered development philosophy and enhance human rights protection.

Li Ning, deputy head of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, said that China's legislative work has seen continuous progress over the past years to better safeguard people's economic, social and cultural rights.

China fulfills its international human rights obligations and conducts extensive international cooperation on human rights, said Li Xiaomei, special representative for human rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.