How China protects human rights by improving the people's well-being

While striving for economic development, China has promoted equal access to basic public services in fields such as education, employment, social insurance and public health, improving the lives of all social groups.

So far, more than 1,100 national standards have been issued in basic public services, such as public health, culture and sports, and services for people with disabilities, and by 2027, about 200 new national and industry standards will be added, and 80 pilot areas will be established to ensure the implementation of these standards.

China has also improved its care delivery and medical insurance systems in rural services, helping to prevent people from falling into or reverting to poverty due to ill health.

Over the past decade, China's basic medical insurance now covers more than 1.3 billion people, and basic old-age insurance covers over a billion people, meaning the country now has the world's largest social security net.

With the rapid development of the online economy, the number of people working as deliverymen, online car-hailing service drivers, domestic service providers and internet marketing specialists, has increased massively in China.

About 84 million of the country's 402 million employed are engaged in these new types of job, according to data from the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU).

But they face new problems in regards to protecting their rights and interests. And so, in recent years, China has released a slew of measures to protect their working rights. For example, these workers are now included in the minimum wage guarantee system.

Led by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, a pilot project to protecting people employed in these new areas from work-related injuries was carried out in July 2022, in seven cities and provinces. As of September 2023, a total of 6.68 million people are covered by this new form of insurance.

During the period, roughly 32,000 work-related injury cases were confirmed, and about 490 million yuan ($68 million) was paid out in compensation. 

The ministry said the pilot project not only effectively protected these gig workers' rights and interests, but also played a positive role in promoting the healthy development of the platform economy.

The ACFTU has also been organizing trade unions in these new forms of employment, and it is expected that about 10 million new members will join across the country from 2023 to 2025.