Welcome to the United Nations 
OHCHR 
Press releases Treaty bodies
COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONSIDERS REPORT OF CHINA AND SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGIONS OF HONG KONG AND MACAO
10 August 2009
Share
Committee on the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination
10 August 2009
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has considered the combined tenth to thirteenth report of China with addenda on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region on their implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Presenting the report, Duan Jielong, Director-General of the Department of Treaty and Law, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, said that it was an important constitutional principle to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination in China. China was a united multi-ethnic country of 56 ethnic groups and all were equal and its political system was based on a regional ethnic autonomy system. Culture was the soul of the nation and the unique traditional culture of ethnic minorities was an important part of the resplendent Chinese culture. He also mentioned that on 14 March 2008 and 5 July 2009, highly violent crimes involving beating, smashing, looting and arson took place in Lhasa as well as its neighbouring areas in the Tibet Autonomous Region and in Urumqi in Xinjiang, Uighur Autonomous Region respectively, resulting in huge civilian casualties as well as loss and damage of property. Facts had shown that the two incidents were premeditated and organized crimes of violence, directed and instigated by separatists abroad and organized and carried out by separatists inside China, aiming at creating ethnic splits and hatred.
Ho Kin-Wah, Deputy Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, presenting developments in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said measures had been taken to enhance support to ethnic minorities and facilitate their integration into the community. Non-governmental organizations that provided interpretation services, language training classes and orientation programmes had been sponsored. As to new arrivals from the mainland, he stressed that new arrivals were not excluded from the ambit of the law.
Jorge Manuel Faria Da Costa Oliveira, Director, International Law Office of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, said that generations of immigrants had come to Macao Special Administrative Region to look for peace and prosperity and that it had become very densely populated but people with different origins continued to live peacefully together. Equality and non-discrimination were cornerstones of Macao’s legislation, however, some gender inequality still persisted.
In preliminary concluding observations, Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos, the Committee Expert who served as country Rapporteur for the report of China, thanked the Chinese delegation for all the replies it had provided. He had really appreciated the answers to all the key questions, such as the role of the Convention in China, and on the incidents in Xinjiang this July and in Tibet last year.
Other Committee Experts raised questions and asked for further information on subjects pertaining to, among other things, the status of the Convention in China’s legislation; the situation of non-citizens and refugees and asylum-seekers in the country; the recent events in the Uighur and Tibet Autonomous Regions; the effect of China’s economic development on ethnic minorities and bilingual education in school curricula, among other issues.
The delegation of China also included representatives from the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations in Geneva, the Ministry of Justice, the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the Yuannan Province Ethnic Affairs Commission, the National People’s Congress, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Macao Special Administrative Region Government.
The Committee will present its written observations and recommendations on the combined tenth to thirteenth report on China with addenda on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region, at the end of its session, which concludes on 28 August.
Committee Chairperson, Fatimata-Binta Victoire Dah, expressed her sympathy and that of the Committee to China and the victims of the typhoon which had struck China over the weekend.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it is scheduled to take up the combined sixteenth to nineteenth periodic report of Greece (CERD/C/GRC/19).
Report
China is a united multi-ethnic country in which 56 ethnic groups have been identified and recognized by the central Government, the combined tenth to thirteenth report on China (CERD/C/CHN/10-13) notes. The population of various ethnic groups differs greatly: while the Han ethnic group has the largest population, the population of the other 55 ethnic groups is relatively small, so they are customarily referred to as ethnic minorities. According to the statistics of the fifth national population census conducted in 2000, in the 31 provinces, the population was 1,265.830 million, of which 91.59 per cent were ethnic Han, and 106.430 million were ethnic minorities, accounting for 8.41 per cent of the total population.
Thanks to many years’ endeavor, revenues in China’s ethnic areas have kept increasing, the people’s living standards constantly improving and poverty has been remarkably alleviated. Ethnic minorities and ethnic areas have always been the country’s focus of poverty alleviation since the Chinese Government launched the poverty-alleviation campaign on a large scale and in an organized and planned way in the middle of the 1980s. The Poverty-Alleviation and Development Programme for China’s Rural Areas which started in 2001 once again confirmed the ethnic areas as the key targets of poverty alleviation.
Regarding guarantees for equal rights and interests of scattered ethnic minorities, it has to be noted that scattered ethnic minorities in China have a population of about 30 million, accounting for one third of the total population of ethnic minorities. They are scattered in more than 98 per cent of the counties and cities of China’s 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the State Council. Since 1999, China has continued to guarantee by legislation the equal rights of scattered ethnic minorities in the political, economic, cultural and other fields. Various regulations explicitly prohibit ethnic discrimination and any act undermining ethnic unity or creating ethnic split.
The addendum on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (CERD/C/HKG/13) notes that the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees does not apply to Hong Kong and that Hong Kong has a firm policy of not granting asylum. The unique situation of Hong Kong with relative economic prosperity in the region would make it vulnerable to possible abuses if the Convention were to be extended to Hong Kong. For the Macao Special Administrative Region, the report (CERD/C/MAC/13) notes that the resident population was estimated at 513,427 persons in 2006. More than half of the employed population were engaged in the following industries: recreational activities (16.9 per cent); wholesale and retail trade (14.9 per cent); manufacturing (14.9 per cent) and hotels, restaurants and similar activities (10.5 per cent). The non-resident workers represent 16.6 per cent of the employed population. Labour associations have long been an active group within Macao society, acting politically and defending the interest of the working classes.
Presentation of the Report
DUAN JIELONG, Director-General of the Department of Treaty and Law, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, presenting the report, said that it was an important constitutional principle to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination in China. China was a united multi-ethnic country of 56 ethnic groups. All ethnic groups were equal. Apart from the Han ethnic group, China’s other 55 ethnic groups were ethnic minorities with a total population of over 100 million, accounting for eight per cent of China’s population. Equality of ethnic groups and prohibition of discrimination were the cornerstones of China’s ethnic policy. China’s Constitution explicitly stipulated that all ethnic groups in China were equal. Discrimination against and oppression of any ethnic groups were prohibited and any acts that undermined the unity of the nationalities or instigated their secession were prohibited. In China, all citizens enjoyed equal rights regardless of their ethnicity, racial status or religious belief. China also had preferential policies and treatment for ethnic minority people in many aspects.
China’s political system was based on a regional ethnic autonomy system. Under the principle of safeguarding State unity and territorial integrity, these bodies enjoyed a wide range of autonomous rights, including the right of self-management in political affairs, economy, education, science, culture, public health and others. Based on the actual conditions in ethnic minority areas, China had adopted a series of special policies and measures to assist these areas in achieving sustainable economic and social development. In 2007, the State Council had formulated the 11th five-year-plan for the Ethnic Minority Cause, marking out 11 primary tasks and 11 major projects for the development of the ethnic minority cause and ethnic minority protection. In recent years, China had taken three major measures to accelerate the development of ethnic minority people: the implementation of the strategy for development of the Western China regions; the promotion of development in border areas and improvement of the people’s livelihoods; and the provision of special support for ethnic minority groups with a population below 100,000.
Culture was the soul of the nation and the unique traditional culture of ethnic minorities was an important part of the resplendent Chinese culture as well as precious intellectual assets for all ethnic groups. Upholding unity in the country and solidarity of all its ethnic groups was the legal obligation of each Chinese citizen under the Constitution. In order to uphold the unity of the country and all its ethnic groups, China had enacted laws prohibiting incitement of racial and ethnic hatred and racial discrimination and separation. According to the law, punishment must be enforced on highly violent crimes committed by forces of racial separatism, religious extremism and violent terrorism, so as to safeguard the authority of law, protect lives and property of all ethnic groups and ensure normal conditions for life and work.
China had enjoyed a historic leap in the economy. Ethnic minority areas’ total GDP increased by 17.4 times from 32.4 billion yuan in 1978 to 3062.6 billion yuan in 2008. Almost 40 million people were lifted out of poverty. As to education, significant progress had been achieved. The goal of universal nine-year compulsory education and elimination of illiteracy among young and middle-aged has generally been realized. There was also an increase in the number of ethnic minority officials. By the end of 2006, there were 2.994 million ethnic minority officials countrywide, 3.8 times that of 1978.
Mr. Duan mentioned that on 14 March 2008 and 5 July 2009, highly violent crimes involving beating, smashing, looting and arson took place in Lhasa as well as its neighbouring areas in the Tibet Autonomous Rregion and in Urumqi in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region respectively, resulting in huge civilian casualties as well as loss and damage of property. Facts had shown that the two incidents were premeditated and organized crimes of violence, directed and instigated by separatists abroad and organized and carried out by separatists inside China, aiming at creating ethnic splits and hatred, undermining the gratifying situation of harmonious development in ethnic minority areas and undermining national unity and territorial integrity. These violent crimes not only gravely violated Chinese law, but also the purposes and principles of the Convention. They had been widely condemned by the Chinese people of all ethnic groups. The Chinese Government took prompt action according to the law to stop these criminal activities.
HO KIN-WAH, Deputy Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, presenting developments in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region since 2001, said that apart from reinforcing the legal framework, measures had been taken to enhance support to ethnic minorities and facilitate their integration into the community. Non-governmental organizations that provided interpretation services, language training classes and orientation programmes had been sponsored. In the area of education, the Government attached great importance to rendering additional support to all non-Chinese speaking students to help them learn the Chinese language. The Government had stepped up the provision of vocational training to ethnic minorities in order to enhance their employment opportunities. As to new arrivals from the mainland, Mr. Ho stressed that new arrivals were not excluded from the ambit of the law.
JORGE MANUEL FARIA DA COSTA OLIVEIRA, Director, International Law Office of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, said that generations of immigrants had come to Macao Special Administrative Region to look for peace and prosperity. Macao Special Administrative Region had become very densely populated but people with different origins continued to live peacefully together. Equality and non-discrimination were cornerstones of Macao’s legislation. Civil Law made no distinction between men and women, however, some gender inequality still persisted. In education, the female to male ratio was balanced and there were even less female drop outs than males. In recent years, many new institutions have been established in order to protect human rights, for example in the fields of human trafficking, women’s issues and disabilities.
Questions by the Committee
LINOS-ALEXANDRE SICILIANOS, Committee Expert and Rapporteur on the report of China, said that since 2005, China had appeared before the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Consequently, there was abundant information on the human rights situation in China. The provision in the Constitution covering non-discrimination did not explicitly cover discrimination on the base of origin or ethnicity. There was little information on non-citizens and refugees in China. The situation of asylum-seekers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, some of whom claimed to have suffered torture, seemed to be very dramatic as non-governmental organizations had informed the Committee.
Mr. Sicilianos said that a comprehensive law against discrimination could be useful in order to strengthen the combat against discrimination in China, although the number of amendments to the original law was very impressive. There was a wide gap between the economically developed areas in the East and the rest of China, regarding poverty, infrastructure, education, health and social security. There were very few cases concerning violation of the non-discrimination law before the courts, which was not necessarily a positive sign as this could be due to fear of reprisals or lack of training by legal staff, among others.
On the March 2008 events in Tibet, the Committee against Torture had expressed concern at the fact that a large number of persons had been detained. The Committee had formulated a series of recommendations, including for China to conduct investigation of torture; ensure access to independent lawyers and medical care; prohibit enforced disappearance; and conduct investigation in deaths occurred. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination would like to know more about measures taken as follow-up to these recommendations.
Regarding the recent events in the Uighur Autonomous Region, the Committee had been informed by the representatives of the permanent mission of China that around 1,000 persons had been detained. The Committee was concerned about their access to a fair trial, prohibition of torture and enforced disappearance in these cases. As the Committee against Torture said, China should immediately abolish reeducation through labour. China had said that it prohibited, prevented and sanctioned illegal detention. The Committee would like to know whether any steps had been taken regarding administrative detention.
Judicial reviews and free access to a lawyer constituted fundamental rights which should be applied. Various sources had informed the Committee on harassment of defense lawyers, especially when they dealt with the defense of Tibetans and Uighurs. As the Committee on the Rights of Child had highlighted, there were concerns regarding the freedom of religion, especially for Buddhists, Muslims and Taoists. The statistics of political participation were impressive, but members of the ethnic minorities rarely occupied decision making posts.
Mr. Sicilianos commended China on the economic development it had achieved. There had been development in education, but literacy seemed to be an issue in regions of ethnic minorities, for example in Tibet. Teaching of minority languages was another important issue, as the implementation of bilingual education was very limited as it was only practiced in primary schools. Concerning the right to health and medical care, a lot of funds had been allocated. However, the problem of insufficient access to medical care in minority regions persisted. In minority regions, unemployment was much higher, poorer education and lack of proficiency in Mandarin seemed to be the two main reasons. However, other forms of discrimination were also reported.
Several Experts noted that there was strongly conflicting information received from the State and non-governmental organizations. In the Criminal Code, no mention was made on racial discrimination. There was no information on the number of complaints or convictions on racial discrimination. This lack of information was a pity, as China was no doubt committed to prosecution of discrimination. The absence of complaints was not necessarily a good indicator. This might be the result of the obstacles faced by lawyers when they were about to take on such a case, as numerous lawyers had pointed out to the Committee.
Other Experts deplored that earlier recommendations of the Committee related to granting more extensive autonomy to Tibet had not been followed by China. The recent unrest in the Uighur Autonomous Region was blamed on separatists from the outside, which could not be verified by the Committee, but gave rise to some questions nevertheless. The Committee asked for more information on the number of victims during the tragic events in Tibet and more recently the Uighur region. Concerning actions against terrorism, Experts wanted to know what actions the Chinese Government was taking to ensure that it was exclusively targeting terrorist groups and not civilians. Of course every country had the right to defend itself against separatist movements. The Committee only expressed concerns if excessive violence was used in the oppression of these separatist movements.
For China as a whole, the illiteracy rate was at only 9 per cent. There was contradicting information on bilingual education, as some sources said that the native language was replaced by Mandarin in the Uighur Region. Also, there had been mention of the transfer of children from ethnic minorities to cities.
As to freedom of religion, the report noted that no convictions had been made on grounds of the adherence to religious groups, except for carrying out criminal activities related to that religion. The Committee would like to know more about the nature of this exception.
The continuity of a large influx by members of Han ethnicity into the Western regions where minorities lived was reason for dissatisfaction among ethnic minorities. Experts recommended discontinuing incentives for non-ethnic migration into Western regions.
An Expert underlined that ethnic minorities did not only live in far-flung regions, but were spread in all provinces. Discrimination was particularly an issue, where different ethnic groups were living together and one or more were clearly in the minority. Another Expert asked what the role of self-definition as a member of an ethnic minority was. Was it possible that new minorities would emerge through this procedure?
One Expert noted that minorities enjoyed certain rights that were not granted to the Hans who constituted the overwhelming majority of the population. The Chinese Han were permitted to have only one child, whereas the minorities were able to have more children in order to ensure that their numbers did not decrease as a percentage of the population, although the country as a whole was overpopulated.
As to Macao Special Administrative Region, the Committee would like to hear more on human trafficking which was described as serious problem in the report. Further, migrant workers were excluded from the social welfare system, which was noted with concern by the Committee. Macao Special Administrative Region seemed to be a transit point for women that would then be sexually exploited. The traffickers themselves were apparently not prosecuted.
Turning to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, an Expert said that there were particular concerns regarding domestic workers not being included into social welfare schemes. NGO information said, contrary to the official State information, that new arrivals from the mainland were not covered by the Race Discrimination Ordinance. Further, why did the 1951 Convention on Refugees, which China had ratified, not apply to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region?
Experts asked questions pertaining to, among others, the possibility to invoke the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Chinese courts; the existence of legal provisions against discrimination in recreational areas; the discriminatory attitude of police against ethnic minorities; measures taken to ensure that workers from minority groups were not discriminated against; safeguards against emerging income disparities among different economic classes as well as ethnic groups; possible adverse impact on the ecology and benefits for the local people by the new railway linking eastern China with Tibet; measures taken to protect Tibetans and Uighurs; measures to support ethnic minorities living in regions with difficult climate conditions; the timeframe for the adoption of a refugee law and the ratification of the Convention on Stateless Persons; and equality of ethnic minorities in the recent elections in Macao Special Administrative Region.
Answer by Chinese Delegation
In their responses to questions raised by Committee Experts, members of the Chinese delegation said that the Chinese Constitution clearly stipulated that all Chinese citizens were equal before the law; it was a basic principle in China. Freedom from discrimination was a part of Chinese law. On descent based discrimination, this was not directly mentioned in Chinese laws but it was also prohibited.
According to the Chinese Constitution, all foreign nationals’ rights were protected by the law and any discrimination against them was also prohibited. The delegation also noted that China had in place a comprehensive system to prohibit and prevent racial discrimination. This legal system had the Constitution at its core and was supplemented by other laws.
On whether the Convention could be invoked in court, the delegation said that once a treaty or a convention was ratified by China, the Chinese legal system incorporated these treaties and Chinese courts applied Chinese laws in accordance with the Convention, instead of invoking the Convention directly.
On the acts of violence in July 2009 in Urumqi, Xinjiang, the Chinese delegation said that last Friday they had already explained the true nature of the incidents. More than 1,000 people had been injured and more than 100 people had been killed in the violence. The scene had been quite chaotic and in order to prevent any escalation, law enforcement officials had patrolled the places where the worst violence had occurred and had arrested people. For the people currently remaining in custody there was proof of their criminal acts. Warrants of arrest had been issued to 83 people. The legal rights of the suspects were fully protected. All courts dealing with these cases were common courts; there was no special tribunal.
Turning to the protection of civilians in the fight against terrorism, the delegation said that in China, the criminal code defined certain terrorism related charges, and these only applied to individuals or groups, but it was never linked to any specific ethnic group. Courts valued facts and evidence more than anything else.
Turning to the incidents of March 2008 in Lhasa, the delegation said that separatist forces for the independence of Tibet, from outside and inside Tibet, had orchestrated the violent actions. Some 18 lives had been lost in the violence. Criminal cases linked with these events were handled in accordance with law and justice. The legitimate rights of criminals were fully respected. The intermediate court of Lhasa had organized open hearings, in accordance with criminal law and criminal procedure law. Translation and interpretation as well as defence lawyers had been provided to all. Tibet was different from Hong Kong and Macao, noted the delegation. The establishment of an autonomous region in Tibet was determined by the Constitution, as well as Tibet’s past and present reality. Any move to change this reality was against the Chinese Constitution and other laws.
The delegation said that on 23 May 1951, the Central Government of China and the local Government of Tibet had signed an agreement on the peaceful liberation of Tibet. At the time, over 95 per cent of Tibetans had been serfs under the crude exploitation of serf owners. The agreement had provided for democratic reforms. Later on, the people of Tibet had asked for early democracy. In March 1959 serf owners had staged an armed uprising. They had failed and they had then fled the country. Afterwards, more than 1 million serfs had been emancipated. This was an important chapter in the world’s history against slavery. Any attempt to return Tibetans to slavery against their will was rejected.
On the setting up of a national human rights institution, the delegation noted that China still did not have one, as outlined in the Paris Principles. However several organizations were investigating the work of governmental institutions and were conducting inquiries.
The Chinese Autonomy Region system had protected the rights of people of various ethnic groups. In these regions, people elected their own political representatives and choose their own regional regulations. Regional Government authorities could decide on their own educational plans. One or more regional languages could be used by Government officials in the performance in their duties. Respect for and protection of the religious of beliefs of the ethnic groups and minorities was provided. The customs and the environment of ethnic minorities were also protected. Superior authorities had the legal obligation to help minorities in their development.
About the measures to protect the rights of ethnic groups who lived scattered among other ethnic groups, the delegation said that China was paying great attention to those scattered groups to ensure that they enjoyed equal rights and that their beliefs were respected. Each regional ethnic group had at least one member in the regional parliaments. Efforts were undergoing to draw in more members from the ethnic minorities into the Government.
About how to protect ethnic minorities from the impact of modernization, the delegation said China continued to accelerate its economic development and helped increase the standard of living of members of every ethnic minority. In this process, due consideration was given to the cultural heritage. All levels of Government were working hard to promote the protection of ethnic minorities. The Chinese State also provided specific privileges to ethnic minorities; candidates from ethnic minorities enjoyed recruitment privileges in the public sector. Social security was provided to ethnic minorities, as well as free vocational training.
On the question of the self-identification of ethnic groups, the delegation said that some countries, when identifying ethnic groups, looked at objective factors such as languages or religions, while other countries looked at subjective factors such as the self-identification of a group. In China, both subjective and objective factors were considered. Anthropologists and ethnologists had worked hard to do an extensive survey of the existing groups and communities existing in China. They had analyzed their history, background and psychology. This information, together with the self-identification of groups themselves, had served as a background in the identification of the separate ethnic groups between the 1950s and 1970s. New ethnic groups could still appear in the future.
On the question of whether economic development in China had benefited ethnic minorities, the delegation said that in the Xinjiang region, economic development had been higher than the national rate. A social assistance programme had been set up to help poor people in rural and urban areas in Xinjiang. Free textbooks were being provided to all rural students and students from poor families received free education. In the Xinjiang region there were 13 ethnic groups. Movement of people across regions was normal, the majority of inland emigrants had come to Xinjang to develop the region; there was no organized or planned immigration. Education was bilingual. Its purpose was not to replace the ethnic language with mandarin, but for children to speak their own ethnic language and mandarin.
Answers by Delegation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
In their responses to questions raised by Committee Experts, members of the delegation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said that, on the definition of indirect discrimination, the racial discrimination ordinance defined indirect discrimination in line with the general principle under international human rights jurisprudence. Their courts had examined the concept of indirect discrimination on various occasions and had accumulated relevant experience and expertise. The ordinance was binding for the Government and apart from it, there were constitutional provisions that prohibited the Government from practicing any discriminatory act. Any such act was subject to the court’s supervisory jurisdiction under the common law.
On the protection of new arrivals from the mainland under the racial discrimination ordinance, the delegation said that the ordinance applied equally to all persons in Hong Kong. New arrivals were protected under the ordinance against discrimination on the ground of race.
The delegation said that they had taken measures within the Government to facilitate civil servants’ understanding of the racial discrimination ordinance and the importance of promoting racial equality. Many departments had also taken steps to enhance their staff’s awareness of ethnic minorities’ needs for public services and cultural sensitivity.
Concerning the status of the Refugee Convention, the delegation said that Hong Kong was small in size and had a high and dense population. Its unique situation rendered it vulnerable to possible abuses. Their position was that the administration did not have an obligation to handle refugee status determination. Refugees claims lodged in Hong Kong were handled by the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees and it made decisions on screening and arranged resettlement for the screened-in refuges under its mandate. Asylum seekers were also covered by the racial discrimination ordinance.
Further, the United Nations Convention against Torture had been applied to Hong Kong since 1992 and they were committed not to remove a person to another State where there were substantial grounds for believing that this person would be in danger of being subjected to torture.
On foreign domestic workers, the delegation noted that the current labour legislation had provisions on annual leave and rest day arrangements. The Government had moreover publicized the importance of proper rest periods for all workers and a guide had been published for employers. The Government attached great importance to protecting the rights of workers, whether local or migrant workers.
On the reported discriminating attitude of Hong Kong Police towards ethnic minorities raised by the Committee, the delegation said that the Police attached great importance to developing a constructive relationship with ethnic minorities and all police officers were trained and required to be fair and impartial in carrying out their duties and in dealing with all members of the community. Their training included training on human rights and racial equality.
Answer by Delegation of Macao Special Administrative Region
In their responses to questions raised by Committee Experts, members of the delegation of the Macao Special Administrative Region said that in Macao, only some categories of residents benefited from a wide range of welfare protection, such as civil servants, the elderly and pregnant women. Social welfare for the general population was very limited, irrespective of whether one was a local resident or a migrant worker. In any case, it was mandatory for the employer of a non-resident worker to provide insurance for medical problems and for working-accidents.
As regards to the issue of regional human rights institution, the delegation said that the path that the Macao Special Administrative Region had undertaken was a mixed one. It comprised the Ombudsman and several specialised commissions on the protection of human rights, integrated by representatives of the Government and of non-governmental organizations.
Turning to the Refugee Convention and its Protocol, the delegation said that both were applicable in the Macao Special Administrative Region. Specific legislation, which was enacted in 2004, allowed the intervention of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in all phases of the process of recognition of the refugee status.
On elections in the Macao Special Administrative Region, the delegation said that all permanent residents might participate on equal terms in the elections, either by voting or standing for election, regardless of their nationality, descent, race, sex, language, sex, religion, etc. A few holders of public high ranking positions, such as the Chief Executive, members of the Executive Council and the Government, amongst others, had to be permanent residents with Chinese nationality.
Questions by Experts
In further questions, one Committee Expert said that one could not say that economic development necessarily meant respect for social and economic rights, it could happen but there was no absolute correspondence between the two. One Expert noted that the Chinese report did not only include philosophical considerations but included many and several important statistics. Taking into account the vastness of the country and the many questions that the Committee had asked, the set of responses had nonetheless been widely organized and had even been provided in English. It also did not happen very often that almost all questions got answered by a delegation and this was welcome.
There was still some un-clarity whether the full spectrum of the forms of discrimination was recognized in China, such as direct, indirect, structural and institutional discrimination, amongst others. Concerning bilingual education, experience had shown that the ideal way of working in schools was to use the mother tongue at the initial stages of education and for as long a possible.
Another Expert noted that, as far as he had understood, China would look at the possibility of a new law on discrimination. This would be a very positive element. The very low level of cases of racial discrimination was not necessarily a positive element as it could also be due to people being insufficiently informed, or insufficient awareness by the police, for example. The State party’s report also noted that there were administrative measures with regard to the reincarnation of living Buddha’s in traditional Tibetan Buddhism. What were these measures?
One Expert wondered whether it was true that Roma people were not present in China. He believed that Roma people must also be present in China as there were many of them in bordering countries such as Russia.
Another Expert wondered why the system of “one country-two systems” would be splitting people if applied to Tibet and Xinjiang, as it was already working in Hong Kong and Macao. Why would the situation be so different if applied to Tibet and Xinjiang? Another Expert noted that it was good to have something as a reconciliation effort happening after events such as those which had happened in Xinjinag this July.
Answer by Delegation
The delegation, answering the second round of questions, said, on social security and medical schemes in the ethnic ministry regions, that in China, at the current stage of its economic development, there were still some imbalances, as the eastern part was ahead of the middle part of the country. The same applied to rural and urban areas. China had 1.3 billion people, was a developing country and every year there were 10 million new-born children. China was faced with accommodating the needs of all these people. There was no such a thing as perfection and they were trying to get suggestions and help from the Committee to help the ethnic minorities in China.
Now that they entered the phase of modernization, more exchange was happening with other countries and they had to undertake necessary reforms to the old system.
As to why the “one country two system” could not happen in the Tibet and Xinjiang region and whether it constituted discrimination, the delegation said Tibet and Xinjiang were autonomous regions in China and the system was working well. China was a socialist country. A political system was always chosen by the country itself. Why has it used the “one country two system” for some of its parts? This had been to address historical problems and to strengthen national stability and world peace. But the basic prevailing system had been chosen by the whole Chinese people through centuries of struggle, and this could not be changed by a suggestion or a proposal but had to come with the full support of all Chinese people.
Preliminary Concluding Observations
LINOS-ALEXANDRE SICILIANOS, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of China, thanked the Chinese delegation for all the replies it had provided. He had really appreciated the answers to key questions, such as the role of the Convention in China, the incidents in Xinjiang this July and in Tibet last year, the notion of autonomy, the concept of self-management, education, respect for religious freedom, the difference between the east and west of the country, cultural heritage, employment, public health, self-identification of ethnic groups, amongst others. In relation to Hong Kong and Macao, the direct responses to the questions of his colleagues had been appreciated.
__________
For use of the information media; not an official record
of Racial Discrimination
10 August 2009
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has considered the combined tenth to thirteenth report of China with addenda on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region on their implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Presenting the report, Duan Jielong, Director-General of the Department of Treaty and Law, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, said that it was an important constitutional principle to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination in China. China was a united multi-ethnic country of 56 ethnic groups and all were equal and its political system was based on a regional ethnic autonomy system. Culture was the soul of the nation and the unique traditional culture of ethnic minorities was an important part of the resplendent Chinese culture. He also mentioned that on 14 March 2008 and 5 July 2009, highly violent crimes involving beating, smashing, looting and arson took place in Lhasa as well as its neighbouring areas in the Tibet Autonomous Region and in Urumqi in Xinjiang, Uighur Autonomous Region respectively, resulting in huge civilian casualties as well as loss and damage of property. Facts had shown that the two incidents were premeditated and organized crimes of violence, directed and instigated by separatists abroad and organized and carried out by separatists inside China, aiming at creating ethnic splits and hatred.
Ho Kin-Wah, Deputy Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, presenting developments in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said measures had been taken to enhance support to ethnic minorities and facilitate their integration into the community. Non-governmental organizations that provided interpretation services, language training classes and orientation programmes had been sponsored. As to new arrivals from the mainland, he stressed that new arrivals were not excluded from the ambit of the law.
Jorge Manuel Faria Da Costa Oliveira, Director, International Law Office of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, said that generations of immigrants had come to Macao Special Administrative Region to look for peace and prosperity and that it had become very densely populated but people with different origins continued to live peacefully together. Equality and non-discrimination were cornerstones of Macao’s legislation, however, some gender inequality still persisted.
In preliminary concluding observations, Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos, the Committee Expert who served as country Rapporteur for the report of China, thanked the Chinese delegation for all the replies it had provided. He had really appreciated the answers to all the key questions, such as the role of the Convention in China, and on the incidents in Xinjiang this July and in Tibet last year.
Other Committee Experts raised questions and asked for further information on subjects pertaining to, among other things, the status of the Convention in China’s legislation; the situation of non-citizens and refugees and asylum-seekers in the country; the recent events in the Uighur and Tibet Autonomous Regions; the effect of China’s economic development on ethnic minorities and bilingual education in school curricula, among other issues.
The delegation of China also included representatives from the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations in Geneva, the Ministry of Justice, the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the Yuannan Province Ethnic Affairs Commission, the National People’s Congress, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Macao Special Administrative Region Government.
The Committee will present its written observations and recommendations on the combined tenth to thirteenth report on China with addenda on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region, at the end of its session, which concludes on 28 August.
Committee Chairperson, Fatimata-Binta Victoire Dah, expressed her sympathy and that of the Committee to China and the victims of the typhoon which had struck China over the weekend.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it is scheduled to take up the combined sixteenth to nineteenth periodic report of Greece (CERD/C/GRC/19).
Report
China is a united multi-ethnic country in which 56 ethnic groups have been identified and recognized by the central Government, the combined tenth to thirteenth report on China (CERD/C/CHN/10-13) notes. The population of various ethnic groups differs greatly: while the Han ethnic group has the largest population, the population of the other 55 ethnic groups is relatively small, so they are customarily referred to as ethnic minorities. According to the statistics of the fifth national population census conducted in 2000, in the 31 provinces, the population was 1,265.830 million, of which 91.59 per cent were ethnic Han, and 106.430 million were ethnic minorities, accounting for 8.41 per cent of the total population.
Thanks to many years’ endeavor, revenues in China’s ethnic areas have kept increasing, the people’s living standards constantly improving and poverty has been remarkably alleviated. Ethnic minorities and ethnic areas have always been the country’s focus of poverty alleviation since the Chinese Government launched the poverty-alleviation campaign on a large scale and in an organized and planned way in the middle of the 1980s. The Poverty-Alleviation and Development Programme for China’s Rural Areas which started in 2001 once again confirmed the ethnic areas as the key targets of poverty alleviation.
Regarding guarantees for equal rights and interests of scattered ethnic minorities, it has to be noted that scattered ethnic minorities in China have a population of about 30 million, accounting for one third of the total population of ethnic minorities. They are scattered in more than 98 per cent of the counties and cities of China’s 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the State Council. Since 1999, China has continued to guarantee by legislation the equal rights of scattered ethnic minorities in the political, economic, cultural and other fields. Various regulations explicitly prohibit ethnic discrimination and any act undermining ethnic unity or creating ethnic split.
The addendum on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (CERD/C/HKG/13) notes that the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees does not apply to Hong Kong and that Hong Kong has a firm policy of not granting asylum. The unique situation of Hong Kong with relative economic prosperity in the region would make it vulnerable to possible abuses if the Convention were to be extended to Hong Kong. For the Macao Special Administrative Region, the report (CERD/C/MAC/13) notes that the resident population was estimated at 513,427 persons in 2006. More than half of the employed population were engaged in the following industries: recreational activities (16.9 per cent); wholesale and retail trade (14.9 per cent); manufacturing (14.9 per cent) and hotels, restaurants and similar activities (10.5 per cent). The non-resident workers represent 16.6 per cent of the employed population. Labour associations have long been an active group within Macao society, acting politically and defending the interest of the working classes.
Presentation of the Report
DUAN JIELONG, Director-General of the Department of Treaty and Law, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, presenting the report, said that it was an important constitutional principle to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination in China. China was a united multi-ethnic country of 56 ethnic groups. All ethnic groups were equal. Apart from the Han ethnic group, China’s other 55 ethnic groups were ethnic minorities with a total population of over 100 million, accounting for eight per cent of China’s population. Equality of ethnic groups and prohibition of discrimination were the cornerstones of China’s ethnic policy. China’s Constitution explicitly stipulated that all ethnic groups in China were equal. Discrimination against and oppression of any ethnic groups were prohibited and any acts that undermined the unity of the nationalities or instigated their secession were prohibited. In China, all citizens enjoyed equal rights regardless of their ethnicity, racial status or religious belief. China also had preferential policies and treatment for ethnic minority people in many aspects.
China’s political system was based on a regional ethnic autonomy system. Under the principle of safeguarding State unity and territorial integrity, these bodies enjoyed a wide range of autonomous rights, including the right of self-management in political affairs, economy, education, science, culture, public health and others. Based on the actual conditions in ethnic minority areas, China had adopted a series of special policies and measures to assist these areas in achieving sustainable economic and social development. In 2007, the State Council had formulated the 11th five-year-plan for the Ethnic Minority Cause, marking out 11 primary tasks and 11 major projects for the development of the ethnic minority cause and ethnic minority protection. In recent years, China had taken three major measures to accelerate the development of ethnic minority people: the implementation of the strategy for development of the Western China regions; the promotion of development in border areas and improvement of the people’s livelihoods; and the provision of special support for ethnic minority groups with a population below 100,000.
Culture was the soul of the nation and the unique traditional culture of ethnic minorities was an important part of the resplendent Chinese culture as well as precious intellectual assets for all ethnic groups. Upholding unity in the country and solidarity of all its ethnic groups was the legal obligation of each Chinese citizen under the Constitution. In order to uphold the unity of the country and all its ethnic groups, China had enacted laws prohibiting incitement of racial and ethnic hatred and racial discrimination and separation. According to the law, punishment must be enforced on highly violent crimes committed by forces of racial separatism, religious extremism and violent terrorism, so as to safeguard the authority of law, protect lives and property of all ethnic groups and ensure normal conditions for life and work.
China had enjoyed a historic leap in the economy. Ethnic minority areas’ total GDP increased by 17.4 times from 32.4 billion yuan in 1978 to 3062.6 billion yuan in 2008. Almost 40 million people were lifted out of poverty. As to education, significant progress had been achieved. The goal of universal nine-year compulsory education and elimination of illiteracy among young and middle-aged has generally been realized. There was also an increase in the number of ethnic minority officials. By the end of 2006, there were 2.994 million ethnic minority officials countrywide, 3.8 times that of 1978.
Mr. Duan mentioned that on 14 March 2008 and 5 July 2009, highly violent crimes involving beating, smashing, looting and arson took place in Lhasa as well as its neighbouring areas in the Tibet Autonomous Rregion and in Urumqi in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region respectively, resulting in huge civilian casualties as well as loss and damage of property. Facts had shown that the two incidents were premeditated and organized crimes of violence, directed and instigated by separatists abroad and organized and carried out by separatists inside China, aiming at creating ethnic splits and hatred, undermining the gratifying situation of harmonious development in ethnic minority areas and undermining national unity and territorial integrity. These violent crimes not only gravely violated Chinese law, but also the purposes and principles of the Convention. They had been widely condemned by the Chinese people of all ethnic groups. The Chinese Government took prompt action according to the law to stop these criminal activities.
HO KIN-WAH, Deputy Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, presenting developments in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region since 2001, said that apart from reinforcing the legal framework, measures had been taken to enhance support to ethnic minorities and facilitate their integration into the community. Non-governmental organizations that provided interpretation services, language training classes and orientation programmes had been sponsored. In the area of education, the Government attached great importance to rendering additional support to all non-Chinese speaking students to help them learn the Chinese language. The Government had stepped up the provision of vocational training to ethnic minorities in order to enhance their employment opportunities. As to new arrivals from the mainland, Mr. Ho stressed that new arrivals were not excluded from the ambit of the law.
JORGE MANUEL FARIA DA COSTA OLIVEIRA, Director, International Law Office of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, said that generations of immigrants had come to Macao Special Administrative Region to look for peace and prosperity. Macao Special Administrative Region had become very densely populated but people with different origins continued to live peacefully together. Equality and non-discrimination were cornerstones of Macao’s legislation. Civil Law made no distinction between men and women, however, some gender inequality still persisted. In education, the female to male ratio was balanced and there were even less female drop outs than males. In recent years, many new institutions have been established in order to protect human rights, for example in the fields of human trafficking, women’s issues and disabilities.
Questions by the Committee
LINOS-ALEXANDRE SICILIANOS, Committee Expert and Rapporteur on the report of China, said that since 2005, China had appeared before the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Consequently, there was abundant information on the human rights situation in China. The provision in the Constitution covering non-discrimination did not explicitly cover discrimination on the base of origin or ethnicity. There was little information on non-citizens and refugees in China. The situation of asylum-seekers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, some of whom claimed to have suffered torture, seemed to be very dramatic as non-governmental organizations had informed the Committee.
Mr. Sicilianos said that a comprehensive law against discrimination could be useful in order to strengthen the combat against discrimination in China, although the number of amendments to the original law was very impressive. There was a wide gap between the economically developed areas in the East and the rest of China, regarding poverty, infrastructure, education, health and social security. There were very few cases concerning violation of the non-discrimination law before the courts, which was not necessarily a positive sign as this could be due to fear of reprisals or lack of training by legal staff, among others.
On the March 2008 events in Tibet, the Committee against Torture had expressed concern at the fact that a large number of persons had been detained. The Committee had formulated a series of recommendations, including for China to conduct investigation of torture; ensure access to independent lawyers and medical care; prohibit enforced disappearance; and conduct investigation in deaths occurred. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination would like to know more about measures taken as follow-up to these recommendations.
Regarding the recent events in the Uighur Autonomous Region, the Committee had been informed by the representatives of the permanent mission of China that around 1,000 persons had been detained. The Committee was concerned about their access to a fair trial, prohibition of torture and enforced disappearance in these cases. As the Committee against Torture said, China should immediately abolish reeducation through labour. China had said that it prohibited, prevented and sanctioned illegal detention. The Committee would like to know whether any steps had been taken regarding administrative detention.
Judicial reviews and free access to a lawyer constituted fundamental rights which should be applied. Various sources had informed the Committee on harassment of defense lawyers, especially when they dealt with the defense of Tibetans and Uighurs. As the Committee on the Rights of Child had highlighted, there were concerns regarding the freedom of religion, especially for Buddhists, Muslims and Taoists. The statistics of political participation were impressive, but members of the ethnic minorities rarely occupied decision making posts.
Mr. Sicilianos commended China on the economic development it had achieved. There had been development in education, but literacy seemed to be an issue in regions of ethnic minorities, for example in Tibet. Teaching of minority languages was another important issue, as the implementation of bilingual education was very limited as it was only practiced in primary schools. Concerning the right to health and medical care, a lot of funds had been allocated. However, the problem of insufficient access to medical care in minority regions persisted. In minority regions, unemployment was much higher, poorer education and lack of proficiency in Mandarin seemed to be the two main reasons. However, other forms of discrimination were also reported.
Several Experts noted that there was strongly conflicting information received from the State and non-governmental organizations. In the Criminal Code, no mention was made on racial discrimination. There was no information on the number of complaints or convictions on racial discrimination. This lack of information was a pity, as China was no doubt committed to prosecution of discrimination. The absence of complaints was not necessarily a good indicator. This might be the result of the obstacles faced by lawyers when they were about to take on such a case, as numerous lawyers had pointed out to the Committee.
Other Experts deplored that earlier recommendations of the Committee related to granting more extensive autonomy to Tibet had not been followed by China. The recent unrest in the Uighur Autonomous Region was blamed on separatists from the outside, which could not be verified by the Committee, but gave rise to some questions nevertheless. The Committee asked for more information on the number of victims during the tragic events in Tibet and more recently the Uighur region. Concerning actions against terrorism, Experts wanted to know what actions the Chinese Government was taking to ensure that it was exclusively targeting terrorist groups and not civilians. Of course every country had the right to defend itself against separatist movements. The Committee only expressed concerns if excessive violence was used in the oppression of these separatist movements.
For China as a whole, the illiteracy rate was at only 9 per cent. There was contradicting information on bilingual education, as some sources said that the native language was replaced by Mandarin in the Uighur Region. Also, there had been mention of the transfer of children from ethnic minorities to cities.
As to freedom of religion, the report noted that no convictions had been made on grounds of the adherence to religious groups, except for carrying out criminal activities related to that religion. The Committee would like to know more about the nature of this exception.
The continuity of a large influx by members of Han ethnicity into the Western regions where minorities lived was reason for dissatisfaction among ethnic minorities. Experts recommended discontinuing incentives for non-ethnic migration into Western regions.
An Expert underlined that ethnic minorities did not only live in far-flung regions, but were spread in all provinces. Discrimination was particularly an issue, where different ethnic groups were living together and one or more were clearly in the minority. Another Expert asked what the role of self-definition as a member of an ethnic minority was. Was it possible that new minorities would emerge through this procedure?
One Expert noted that minorities enjoyed certain rights that were not granted to the Hans who constituted the overwhelming majority of the population. The Chinese Han were permitted to have only one child, whereas the minorities were able to have more children in order to ensure that their numbers did not decrease as a percentage of the population, although the country as a whole was overpopulated.
As to Macao Special Administrative Region, the Committee would like to hear more on human trafficking which was described as serious problem in the report. Further, migrant workers were excluded from the social welfare system, which was noted with concern by the Committee. Macao Special Administrative Region seemed to be a transit point for women that would then be sexually exploited. The traffickers themselves were apparently not prosecuted.
Turning to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, an Expert said that there were particular concerns regarding domestic workers not being included into social welfare schemes. NGO information said, contrary to the official State information, that new arrivals from the mainland were not covered by the Race Discrimination Ordinance. Further, why did the 1951 Convention on Refugees, which China had ratified, not apply to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region?
Experts asked questions pertaining to, among others, the possibility to invoke the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Chinese courts; the existence of legal provisions against discrimination in recreational areas; the discriminatory attitude of police against ethnic minorities; measures taken to ensure that workers from minority groups were not discriminated against; safeguards against emerging income disparities among different economic classes as well as ethnic groups; possible adverse impact on the ecology and benefits for the local people by the new railway linking eastern China with Tibet; measures taken to protect Tibetans and Uighurs; measures to support ethnic minorities living in regions with difficult climate conditions; the timeframe for the adoption of a refugee law and the ratification of the Convention on Stateless Persons; and equality of ethnic minorities in the recent elections in Macao Special Administrative Region.
Answer by Chinese Delegation
In their responses to questions raised by Committee Experts, members of the Chinese delegation said that the Chinese Constitution clearly stipulated that all Chinese citizens were equal before the law; it was a basic principle in China. Freedom from discrimination was a part of Chinese law. On descent based discrimination, this was not directly mentioned in Chinese laws but it was also prohibited.
According to the Chinese Constitution, all foreign nationals’ rights were protected by the law and any discrimination against them was also prohibited. The delegation also noted that China had in place a comprehensive system to prohibit and prevent racial discrimination. This legal system had the Constitution at its core and was supplemented by other laws.
On whether the Convention could be invoked in court, the delegation said that once a treaty or a convention was ratified by China, the Chinese legal system incorporated these treaties and Chinese courts applied Chinese laws in accordance with the Convention, instead of invoking the Convention directly.
On the acts of violence in July 2009 in Urumqi, Xinjiang, the Chinese delegation said that last Friday they had already explained the true nature of the incidents. More than 1,000 people had been injured and more than 100 people had been killed in the violence. The scene had been quite chaotic and in order to prevent any escalation, law enforcement officials had patrolled the places where the worst violence had occurred and had arrested people. For the people currently remaining in custody there was proof of their criminal acts. Warrants of arrest had been issued to 83 people. The legal rights of the suspects were fully protected. All courts dealing with these cases were common courts; there was no special tribunal.
Turning to the protection of civilians in the fight against terrorism, the delegation said that in China, the criminal code defined certain terrorism related charges, and these only applied to individuals or groups, but it was never linked to any specific ethnic group. Courts valued facts and evidence more than anything else.
Turning to the incidents of March 2008 in Lhasa, the delegation said that separatist forces for the independence of Tibet, from outside and inside Tibet, had orchestrated the violent actions. Some 18 lives had been lost in the violence. Criminal cases linked with these events were handled in accordance with law and justice. The legitimate rights of criminals were fully respected. The intermediate court of Lhasa had organized open hearings, in accordance with criminal law and criminal procedure law. Translation and interpretation as well as defence lawyers had been provided to all. Tibet was different from Hong Kong and Macao, noted the delegation. The establishment of an autonomous region in Tibet was determined by the Constitution, as well as Tibet’s past and present reality. Any move to change this reality was against the Chinese Constitution and other laws.
The delegation said that on 23 May 1951, the Central Government of China and the local Government of Tibet had signed an agreement on the peaceful liberation of Tibet. At the time, over 95 per cent of Tibetans had been serfs under the crude exploitation of serf owners. The agreement had provided for democratic reforms. Later on, the people of Tibet had asked for early democracy. In March 1959 serf owners had staged an armed uprising. They had failed and they had then fled the country. Afterwards, more than 1 million serfs had been emancipated. This was an important chapter in the world’s history against slavery. Any attempt to return Tibetans to slavery against their will was rejected.
On the setting up of a national human rights institution, the delegation noted that China still did not have one, as outlined in the Paris Principles. However several organizations were investigating the work of governmental institutions and were conducting inquiries.
The Chinese Autonomy Region system had protected the rights of people of various ethnic groups. In these regions, people elected their own political representatives and choose their own regional regulations. Regional Government authorities could decide on their own educational plans. One or more regional languages could be used by Government officials in the performance in their duties. Respect for and protection of the religious of beliefs of the ethnic groups and minorities was provided. The customs and the environment of ethnic minorities were also protected. Superior authorities had the legal obligation to help minorities in their development.
About the measures to protect the rights of ethnic groups who lived scattered among other ethnic groups, the delegation said that China was paying great attention to those scattered groups to ensure that they enjoyed equal rights and that their beliefs were respected. Each regional ethnic group had at least one member in the regional parliaments. Efforts were undergoing to draw in more members from the ethnic minorities into the Government.
About how to protect ethnic minorities from the impact of modernization, the delegation said China continued to accelerate its economic development and helped increase the standard of living of members of every ethnic minority. In this process, due consideration was given to the cultural heritage. All levels of Government were working hard to promote the protection of ethnic minorities. The Chinese State also provided specific privileges to ethnic minorities; candidates from ethnic minorities enjoyed recruitment privileges in the public sector. Social security was provided to ethnic minorities, as well as free vocational training.
On the question of the self-identification of ethnic groups, the delegation said that some countries, when identifying ethnic groups, looked at objective factors such as languages or religions, while other countries looked at subjective factors such as the self-identification of a group. In China, both subjective and objective factors were considered. Anthropologists and ethnologists had worked hard to do an extensive survey of the existing groups and communities existing in China. They had analyzed their history, background and psychology. This information, together with the self-identification of groups themselves, had served as a background in the identification of the separate ethnic groups between the 1950s and 1970s. New ethnic groups could still appear in the future.
On the question of whether economic development in China had benefited ethnic minorities, the delegation said that in the Xinjiang region, economic development had been higher than the national rate. A social assistance programme had been set up to help poor people in rural and urban areas in Xinjiang. Free textbooks were being provided to all rural students and students from poor families received free education. In the Xinjiang region there were 13 ethnic groups. Movement of people across regions was normal, the majority of inland emigrants had come to Xinjang to develop the region; there was no organized or planned immigration. Education was bilingual. Its purpose was not to replace the ethnic language with mandarin, but for children to speak their own ethnic language and mandarin.
Answers by Delegation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
In their responses to questions raised by Committee Experts, members of the delegation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said that, on the definition of indirect discrimination, the racial discrimination ordinance defined indirect discrimination in line with the general principle under international human rights jurisprudence. Their courts had examined the concept of indirect discrimination on various occasions and had accumulated relevant experience and expertise. The ordinance was binding for the Government and apart from it, there were constitutional provisions that prohibited the Government from practicing any discriminatory act. Any such act was subject to the court’s supervisory jurisdiction under the common law.
On the protection of new arrivals from the mainland under the racial discrimination ordinance, the delegation said that the ordinance applied equally to all persons in Hong Kong. New arrivals were protected under the ordinance against discrimination on the ground of race.
The delegation said that they had taken measures within the Government to facilitate civil servants’ understanding of the racial discrimination ordinance and the importance of promoting racial equality. Many departments had also taken steps to enhance their staff’s awareness of ethnic minorities’ needs for public services and cultural sensitivity.
Concerning the status of the Refugee Convention, the delegation said that Hong Kong was small in size and had a high and dense population. Its unique situation rendered it vulnerable to possible abuses. Their position was that the administration did not have an obligation to handle refugee status determination. Refugees claims lodged in Hong Kong were handled by the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees and it made decisions on screening and arranged resettlement for the screened-in refuges under its mandate. Asylum seekers were also covered by the racial discrimination ordinance.
Further, the United Nations Convention against Torture had been applied to Hong Kong since 1992 and they were committed not to remove a person to another State where there were substantial grounds for believing that this person would be in danger of being subjected to torture.
On foreign domestic workers, the delegation noted that the current labour legislation had provisions on annual leave and rest day arrangements. The Government had moreover publicized the importance of proper rest periods for all workers and a guide had been published for employers. The Government attached great importance to protecting the rights of workers, whether local or migrant workers.
On the reported discriminating attitude of Hong Kong Police towards ethnic minorities raised by the Committee, the delegation said that the Police attached great importance to developing a constructive relationship with ethnic minorities and all police officers were trained and required to be fair and impartial in carrying out their duties and in dealing with all members of the community. Their training included training on human rights and racial equality.
Answer by Delegation of Macao Special Administrative Region
In their responses to questions raised by Committee Experts, members of the delegation of the Macao Special Administrative Region said that in Macao, only some categories of residents benefited from a wide range of welfare protection, such as civil servants, the elderly and pregnant women. Social welfare for the general population was very limited, irrespective of whether one was a local resident or a migrant worker. In any case, it was mandatory for the employer of a non-resident worker to provide insurance for medical problems and for working-accidents.
As regards to the issue of regional human rights institution, the delegation said that the path that the Macao Special Administrative Region had undertaken was a mixed one. It comprised the Ombudsman and several specialised commissions on the protection of human rights, integrated by representatives of the Government and of non-governmental organizations.
Turning to the Refugee Convention and its Protocol, the delegation said that both were applicable in the Macao Special Administrative Region. Specific legislation, which was enacted in 2004, allowed the intervention of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in all phases of the process of recognition of the refugee status.
On elections in the Macao Special Administrative Region, the delegation said that all permanent residents might participate on equal terms in the elections, either by voting or standing for election, regardless of their nationality, descent, race, sex, language, sex, religion, etc. A few holders of public high ranking positions, such as the Chief Executive, members of the Executive Council and the Government, amongst others, had to be permanent residents with Chinese nationality.
Questions by Experts
In further questions, one Committee Expert said that one could not say that economic development necessarily meant respect for social and economic rights, it could happen but there was no absolute correspondence between the two. One Expert noted that the Chinese report did not only include philosophical considerations but included many and several important statistics. Taking into account the vastness of the country and the many questions that the Committee had asked, the set of responses had nonetheless been widely organized and had even been provided in English. It also did not happen very often that almost all questions got answered by a delegation and this was welcome.
There was still some un-clarity whether the full spectrum of the forms of discrimination was recognized in China, such as direct, indirect, structural and institutional discrimination, amongst others. Concerning bilingual education, experience had shown that the ideal way of working in schools was to use the mother tongue at the initial stages of education and for as long a possible.
Another Expert noted that, as far as he had understood, China would look at the possibility of a new law on discrimination. This would be a very positive element. The very low level of cases of racial discrimination was not necessarily a positive element as it could also be due to people being insufficiently informed, or insufficient awareness by the police, for example. The State party’s report also noted that there were administrative measures with regard to the reincarnation of living Buddha’s in traditional Tibetan Buddhism. What were these measures?
One Expert wondered whether it was true that Roma people were not present in China. He believed that Roma people must also be present in China as there were many of them in bordering countries such as Russia.
Another Expert wondered why the system of “one country-two systems” would be splitting people if applied to Tibet and Xinjiang, as it was already working in Hong Kong and Macao. Why would the situation be so different if applied to Tibet and Xinjiang? Another Expert noted that it was good to have something as a reconciliation effort happening after events such as those which had happened in Xinjinag this July.
Answer by Delegation
The delegation, answering the second round of questions, said, on social security and medical schemes in the ethnic ministry regions, that in China, at the current stage of its economic development, there were still some imbalances, as the eastern part was ahead of the middle part of the country. The same applied to rural and urban areas. China had 1.3 billion people, was a developing country and every year there were 10 million new-born children. China was faced with accommodating the needs of all these people. There was no such a thing as perfection and they were trying to get suggestions and help from the Committee to help the ethnic minorities in China.
Now that they entered the phase of modernization, more exchange was happening with other countries and they had to undertake necessary reforms to the old system.
As to why the “one country two system” could not happen in the Tibet and Xinjiang region and whether it constituted discrimination, the delegation said Tibet and Xinjiang were autonomous regions in China and the system was working well. China was a socialist country. A political system was always chosen by the country itself. Why has it used the “one country two system” for some of its parts? This had been to address historical problems and to strengthen national stability and world peace. But the basic prevailing system had been chosen by the whole Chinese people through centuries of struggle, and this could not be changed by a suggestion or a proposal but had to come with the full support of all Chinese people.
Preliminary Concluding Observations
LINOS-ALEXANDRE SICILIANOS, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of China, thanked the Chinese delegation for all the replies it had provided. He had really appreciated the answers to key questions, such as the role of the Convention in China, the incidents in Xinjiang this July and in Tibet last year, the notion of autonomy, the concept of self-management, education, respect for religious freedom, the difference between the east and west of the country, cultural heritage, employment, public health, self-identification of ethnic groups, amongst others. In relation to Hong Kong and Macao, the direct responses to the questions of his colleagues had been appreciated.
__________
For use of the information media; not an official record
VIEW THIS PAGE IN: