Chinese president underscores int'l co-op on human rights

BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao has vowed the Chinese people will, as always, work together with the international community to promote healthy development of the human rights cause in the world.

Hu made the remarks in a letter to the China Society for Human Rights Studies on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the publication of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

He said China will strengthen international cooperation, as it has always done, in the human rights field to make its due contribution to the building of a harmonious world featuring lasting peace and common prosperity.

China, however, will base its human rights development on the basic situation of the country while acknowledging the universal value of human rights, Hu said in the letter.

The country will prioritize people's rights to existence and development in its socialist modernization drive and ensure, in accordance with law, the equal rights to participation and development of all society members, Hu said, stressing the principle of "people first".

Citing the enshrinement of human rights in the Constitution, Hu said the country has recorded a new chapter of human rights development since the founding of New China and especially since the reform and opening-up 30 years ago, which has been witnessed by the whole world.