White paper says civil, political rights better protected

BEIJING -- A white paper issued by China's State Council Information Office on Friday said that China has improved legislation to better protect the civil and political rights of its people.

According to the white paper, titled "New Progress in the Legal Protection of Human Rights in China," China has revised the Criminal Law, abolishing nine death penalty charges and raising the bar on executing convicts that have received a death sentence with a two-year reprieve.

To implement the rule of law and promote humanitarianism, China has implemented the amnesty system stipulated in the Constitution, and granted amnesty for four types of criminals, it said.

China has also improved its laws to protect special groups. The white paper said China enacted the Anti-Domestic Violence Law, making clear the legal liabilities of the perpetrators and the procedure of investigation to protect victims of domestic violence.

China has revised the Criminal Law, increasing criminal punishment for buyers of abducted women and children, and criminalized such acts, according to the white paper.