II. Civil and Political Rights
Law-based governance shall be advanced, judicial protection of human rights strengthened and orderly civil participation in political affairs expanded to effectively protect the people' s civil and political rights.
(1) Rights of the person
Acts of law enforcement and judicature touching on the rights of the person shall be standardized. Measures shall be taken to prevent extorting confessions by torture. Places of surveillance shall be regularized to protect the rights of people whose personal freedom is subject to restriction.
·Improving laws and regulations concerning administrative bodies and procedures. Administrative bodies shall not extend their power beyond the law, and not impose any coercive measure or punishment that restrict personal freedom in the absence of Constitutional basis or legal basis.
·Improving law enforcement procedures. A system of archiving shall be established of the entire law-enforcement process, and the system of judicial supervision shall be improved over coercive administrative measures involving rights of the person.
·Improving judicial oversight over judicial and investigation means that restrict personal freedom. Efforts shall be strengthened to prevent at source interrogation by torture and illegal collection of evidence, and improve the mechanism for preventing and redressing unjust, false and erroneous cases in a timely manner. The system of synchronous video and audio recording shall be implemented for the entire process of questioning criminal suspects, while the scope of its application being gradually expanded. Trial implementation shall be made of the system of transferring major cases together with the relevant synchronous video and audio recordings.
·Improving the mechanism of consulting lawyers at the stage of investigation. Where the defense lawyer entrusted by a criminal suspect provides written opinions, materials and evidence that prove the suspect's acts do not constitute a crime, arrest is unnecessary, detention is unsuitable or investigation is illegal, the procurator shall state clearly in the relevant written report on investigation and arrest the conditions and reasons for whether or not adopting the lawyer's opinions.
·Seriously implementing the system of residential surveillance at designated places. Tight control shall be enforced on the conditions and duration of residential surveillance, as well as the places and means of enforcement, in addition to improvement of the pertinent review and approval system.
·Imposing rigid constraints on law-enforcing and case-handling activities of public security organs. Efforts shall be made to reform and improve the systems of acceptance and hearing of cases, appraisal of law-enforcement effectiveness, and accountability for mistakes in law-enforcement. Management shall be strengthened of the use of case-handling sites and areas for law enforcement, and improvement shall be made of the IT application in law enforcement for public security bodies.
·Making greater efforts to investigate and punish government functionaries abusing power to illegally detain people or commit other crimes that infringe upon the rights of the person.
·Strictly observing the conditions applicable to death penalty. The procedure of checking and verification shall be strengthened for death sentence, and the procedure of oversight over death sentence checking and verification shall be further regularized.
·Formulating the Law on Detention Houses. The level of legislation for protecting the rights of detainees shall be raised, in addition to enacting related supporting laws, regulations, provisions and rules.
·Improving the system of examining and approving the necessity of criminal custody. Where custody is deemed unnecessary or unsuitable due to severe illness, the criminal suspects or defendants shall be released or the coercive measures be changed.
·Enhancing supervision over the duration of criminal custody. Efforts shall be made to prevent and settle prolonged detention of suspects without concluding the case, and strictly implement the systems of changing custody, reporting overdue custody and accountability for detention beyond the legally prescribed time limit.
·Strictly implementing the rules and regulations on places of surveillance. The mechanism to handle detainees' complaints shall be improved, and channels of right relief be unblocked for them. IT application in relation to procuratorial work shall be strengthened for places of surveillance, and dynamic oversight be realized in such places.
·Promoting procedure-based enforcement, medical care, management and supervision of compulsory medical treatment, and protecting the rights of those receiving compulsory medical treatment.
·Implementing the Anti-Drug Law and the Regulations on Drug Rehabilitation. Standard rules shall be implemented for decision-making on compulsory isolation for drug rehabilitation, early termination or extension of the terms of such drug rehabilitation. The effectiveness of medical treatment and rehabilitation in relation to drug addiction shall be improved, and the lawful rights of drug addicts undergoing rehabilitation shall be protected.
(2) Right to fair trial
Following the rule of judicial operation, an adjudication-centered litigation system shall be established, and judicial credibility shall be enhanced.
·Ensuring the people's courts exercise adjudicative power independently and in accordance with the law. The system that archives leading officials' intervention in judicial activities and in the handling of particular cases shall be improved, making them known to the public, and holding them accountable. The limits of authority at all levels within the judicial bodies shall be clearly defined. The mechanism of internal checks and oversight shall be improved, so shall the recording and accountability systems regarding judicial personnel who intervene in case handling.
·Standardizing judicial interpretation and case guidance, and unifying the criteria for the application of the law.
·Implementing the principle of evidentiary adjudication. The principles of testimony and trial in court shall be implemented, so shall the system of court appearance of witnesses and authenticators.
·Implementing the principle of presumption of innocence, and the rule of exclusion of illegally obtained evidence, and specifying the scope and exclusion procedures of illegal evidence.
·Enhancing institutional guarantee for lawyers' rights to know, apply and appeal throughout the course of litigation, ensuring their access to criminal suspects or defendants, and rights to review files, collect evidence, raise questions, conduct cross-examinations and debate, and ensuring lawyers exercise their rights of defense and procuration in accordance with the law. The mechanism of valuing lawyers' defense and procuration opinions in investigation, prosecution and trial shall be improved, and the system of listening to their opinions shall be observed. Discriminatory security checks of lawyers are prohibited, in order to provide convenience for them to perform their duties in accordance with the law.
·Enhancing institutional guarantee for the rights of litigants and other parties involved in the lawsuit to know, present views, debate and defense, apply and appeal, and implementing regulations on legal aid prescribed in the Criminal Procedure Law and related rules and regulations.
·Improving the practice of leniency to those who confess their crimes and submit to punishment in criminal proceedings. The judicial proceedings, penalty standards and handling means shall be clarified for cases where defendants plead guilty, accept punishment, surrender ill-gotten gains or pay compensation, all of their own accord.
·Pressing further forward with standardization in meting out punishment, regularizing the judges' sentencing discretion, improving sentencing procedures, and enhancing openness and impartiality in sentencing.
·Prohibiting defendants who are held in custody or appellants from appearing in court wearing clothing that bear the logo of their organs of custody.
·Improving the mechanism for fast-track handling of minor criminal cases, and reforming fast-track trial procedures for criminal cases in an orderly manner.
·Formulating the Law on Assistance for Victims of Crime, and establishing a unified, procedure-based relief system for victims of crime.
(3) Freedom of religious belief
Rule of law shall be enhanced in addressing religious affairs, and the stipulation in the Constitution concerning freedom of religious belief shall be implemented.
·Amending the Regulations on Religious Affairs, regularizing in accordance with the law the conduct of the government in managing religious affairs, and protecting the lawful rights and interests of religious believers.
·Supporting the efforts of the religious circles for self-improvement to enhance their capabilities for self-regulation, self-discipline and self-management. Necessary support and assistance shall be provided for religious groups to hold activities.
·Encouraging religious circles to organize charity activities in accordance with the law.
·Making efforts to run the religious institutes well, improving the training of religious professionals, and improving the qualities of faculty and staff of the religious institutes.
·Halting investments in and commercial use of venues for religious activities, and prohibiting the "contracting" of Buddhist monasteries and Taoist temples.
·Improving organization and services for the Islamic Hajj.
·Actively engaging in religious exchanges with the outside world.
(4) Rights to know and to participate
Expanding the citizens' right to know through various channels and in various fields, and increasing the means and forms of their orderly participation in social governance.
·Further pressing forward with making public the lists of powers and responsibilities for easier supervision by the public. The people's governments at all levels and their subordinate departments shall make public their functions, responsibilities, powers, administrative procedures and means of accepting public supervision.
·Introducing the system of publicity for administrative law enforcement.
·Improving the construction of online administrative information data platform and public service platform, and promoting IT application to make governmental affairs more open and easier to access.
·Improving the information disclosure system for emergencies.
·Disclosing information about police, prison, adjudicative and procuratorial affairs. Information shall be released in time about the basis, procedures, processes and results of judicature and law enforcement in accordance with the law, and a system of unified online announcement and open inquiry shall be established for effective legal documents.
·Enlarging public involvement in legislation. Exploration shall be made for the establishment of a mechanism in which the state organs, social groups, specialists and scholars provide argument and consultation for the adjustment of major interests in the process of legislation, thus expanding the channels for the public's orderly participation in legislation, and improving the mechanisms of soliciting public opinion for the drafting of laws, regulations and provisions, and giving feedbacks to the public.
·Implementing the plan of doubling the number of people's jurors, expanding the channels and scope of their selection and appointment, and specifying their functions and powers.
·Improving the mechanism of having specially-invited procurators, and taking effective measures to ensure they perform their duties in accordance with the law and involve in the deliberation of procuratorial affairs.
·Improving the people's supervisor system. The selection, appointment and management of people's supervisors shall be improved, their rights be fully protected, and the channels be expanded for the public's orderly participation in judicial affairs.
·Ensuring public participation in judicial mediation and hearing, and addressing petition letters and visits in relation to legal proceedings.
·Bringing into play the positive role of citizens' code of conduct, village regulations and folk conventions, and statutes of trades and social groups in social governance, and advancing self-governance of society.
·Supporting social organizations to participate in the provision of social services. Efforts shall be made to develop social work service agencies and voluntary service associations, promote the separation of trade associations from administrative bodies, facilitate the orderly development of charity organizations, and improve the systems of registration and management of social organizations and of government buying services from them.
·Revising the Organic Law on Urban Residents' Committees, and accelerating the pace of formulating or amending supporting laws and regulations of the Organic Law on Villagers' Committees. Efforts shall be made to forge ahead with transparency of the work of urban residents' and villagers' committees, and encourage democratic participation by urban and rural residents.
·Improving the system of democratic management of enterprises and public institutions in the form of employees' congresses. Efforts shall be made to press forward with institutionalization and normalization of information disclosure in enterprises and public institutions, and ensure employees' right to know and to participate in democratic management.
(5) Rights of expression and supervision
Giving more space to public opinion, increasing the means and channels of expression, improving the check and supervision system for the operation of power, and protecting in accordance with the law the citizens' rights of free expression and democratic supervision.
·Protecting the citizens' freedom of speech on the internet in accordance with the law. Services shall be further improved for netizens to express their opinions, and great store shall be set on social sentiments and public opinions as expressed on the internet.
·Establishing a registration system for complaints about and reports of unlawful acts by state organs at all levels, smoothing out such supervisory channels as informants' letter box, complaint email and hotline, so as to give full play to public supervision.
·Improving the regulations regarding the people's complaints and promoting law-based handling of such complaints. Mechanisms shall be improved to separate litigations from complaints, and bring to conclusion all petitions relating to legal proceedings lodged by way of letters or personal visits to relevant government departments. A platform integrating accusation, offense reporting, appeal, complaint, consultation and search shall be built, online processing of complaints shall be encouraged, and complaints shall be classified and handled in accordance with the law. Citizens' rational and lawful appeals shall be resolved in accordance with legal provisions and procedures.
·Amending the Administrative Reconsideration Law, and protecting citizens' and social organizations' rights to supervise administrative bodies by applying for administrative reconsideration. Oversight shall be strengthened on civil servants' violations of law and discipline.
·Giving full play to supervision by newspapers, magazines, radio, television and other types of traditional media, increasing the interaction between traditional media and new media like the internet, and highlighting law-based online supervision. Protection in accordance with the law shall be extended to the rights of news agencies and their staff to information, interview, publication, criticism and supervision.
·Improving the system of constitutional supervision by the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee, and the mechanism of procedures for the interpretation of the Constitution. The legislative recording and review system and capability building shall be improved, and all normative documents shall be brought into the scope of such recording and review. All normative documents that violate the Constitution or laws shall be abrogated or corrected. Systems shall be improved by which the people's congresses discuss and decide on major issues, and governments at all levels report to the people's congresses at the same level before making major policy decisions.
·Building a platform of consultation for the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and enriching the contents and forms of consultation. Targeting issues bearing on overall social and economic development and the people's immediate interests, CPPCC will conduct extensive consultation. The mechanisms of organizing democratic supervision, safeguarding related rights and interests, providing feedbacks, and facilitating communication and coordination shall be improved.
·Improving auditing supervision. The auditing management system conducive to exercising the right of auditing supervision independently and in accordance with the law shall be improved, and an auditing personnel management system with distinctive professional features shall be established, so as to form a system of auditing supervision commensurate to the modernization of a national governance system and capacity. Full coverage of auditing shall be endeavored over public funds, state-owned assets and resources, as well as leading officials' performance of economic duties.
