Minister hails human rights action plan

A senior official has hailed the release of the nation's first human rights action plan as a major step in promoting the cause's all-round development in the country.

"It signals that the human rights cause has become a major theme of China's national construction and social development, and has ushered in a new phase of planned, all-round development," said Wang Chen, minister of the State Council Information Office, which issued the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-10) on Monday.

"It will help foster and promote the concept of respecting and safeguarding human rights at various levels of governments, in different sectors and the whole society at large, and propel the human rights cause in China," Wang said.