Please indicate whether the Government has undertaken a review of its reservation to the Convention with a view to its withdrawal.

Please provide information on the implementation of the Convention by the courts, for example which articles of the Convention are considered self-executing and which articles of the Convention have been invoked before the courts and cited in court decisions? (HRI/CORE/1/Add.21, paras. 51-52).

Please provide clarification as to whether the State Council Committee on Women and Children is an advisory or an executive body. If the latter, please indicate to what extent and in what ways the State Council's recommendations are taken into account and followed-up on. In addition, please provide information on whether and to what extent the State Council coordinates the activities undertaken in the provinces, autonomous regions and directly administered municipalities as well as between different ministries for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. (Paras. 10-11 of the report).

Please indicate to what extent and in what ways the present institutional arrangements relate to the non-governmental organizations in the country. (Paras. 10-11 of the report).

Please indicate whether consideration has been given to the establishment of a national institution, such as an ombudsperson for children to promote and monitor the implementation of the rights of the child.

Please describe the steps taken to implement article 4 of the Convention indicating the measures being taken to ensure that regional disparities do not develop in relation to the provision of social services and that children throughout the country are protected against the adverse effects of any reductions in budgetary allocations, especially to the social sector.

In which of the main minority languages has the Convention been made available?

Please indicate the measures being taken to train local and central Government officials and professional groups such as social workers, doctors, health and family planning workers, teachers, judges, lawyers, police and personnel in detention facilities as well as decision makers about the principles and provisions of the Convention.

In view of the information contained in para. 16 of the report, please indicate to what extent the domestic news media, especially radio and television are being used to publicise the State party's report, particularly in remote areas of the country.

Please provide clarification as to the State regulations which permit the employment of children under the age of 16. (Para. 20 of the report).

Have any procedures been established to monitor tendencies of discrimination against children on the basis of gender, ethnic origin, place of birth or any other grounds? Is there a deliberate effort to collect disaggregated statistical data so that such tendencies can be detected?

Please provide information on the steps taken to prevent and eliminate discriminatory attitudes or prejudices and to ensure an effective protection against discrimination, particularly towards the girl child and disabled children. In addition, please specify, the measures taken to ensure non-discrimination in respect of unregistered children.

In light of article 8 of the Protection of Minors Act which states, inter alia, that "No discrimination shall be practised against female minors," what specific measures are being taken to combat discrimination against girls based on cultural practices, attitudes, prejudices or traditions persisting in rural areas? (Para. 28 of the report).

Please provide further information on the measures being taken to combat discrimination against children belonging to minorities. (Para. 31 of the report).

Has there been an evaluation of the manner in which the principle of the "best interests of the child" has been taken into account in legal and administrative proceedings?

What success has there been in implementing article 35 of the Women's Rights Act, with particular regard to the number of prosecutions which have occurred under this Act? Please provide more information on the further measures being taken to address the problems of the abandonment and/or killing of girl children, in addition to those mentioned in paras. 37 and 102 of the report, such as social, educative and other preventive measures .

In view of the information provided in paras. 60, 64, 202 and 203 of the report, and in light of the provisions of articles 13 and 17 of the Convention, especially with regard to the right of the child to seek, impart and receive information from various domestic and foreign sources, please indicate the steps taken to ensure, in practice, the dissemination and availability to all children, of children's literature and mass media programmes, including in the languages of children of scattered minority nationalities.

In view of reports received concerning the controversy surrounding the recognition of the Panchen Lama, please provide information on the application of article 14 of the Convention in regard to this matter.

Please provide more information on the regulatory systems for public orphan care as mentioned in para. 94 of the report. In this connection please clarify whether, as is the case for kindergartens, the Department of Health assists in monitoring and guiding health and hygiene activities for children under the care of the Ministry of Civil Administration, or equivalent provincial or municipal bodies. In addition, please provide details on the specialized training provided for the staff of State-run public care institutions, including at the provincial and municipal levels, what form does it take and how effective has it been?

Please provide further information on the reasons for children's separation from the family. In addition, please provide further information on the number of children in each of the following groups, disaggregated by age, gender, ethnic or national background and rural or urban environment:

a) homeless and abandoned;

b) children with disabilities;

c) children placed in old persons' homes;

d) children placed in institutional care; and

e) children supported "individually".(Para. 93 of the report).

In what way does the Adoption Act take into consideration the birth control policy in prescribing the strict procedures for adoption as mentioned in paras. 99 and 117 of the report. In addition, please describe in more detail any plans and programmes designed to facilitate or improve the possibility of children in institutionalized care moving to parental or other home-like care.

Please indicate what measures are envisaged to ensure the implementation of a legal framework for the effective protection of children in cases of intercountry adoption. In addition, pursuant to paras. 97 and 98 of the report, please clarify the measures in place to prevent and punish corruption and trafficking in the case of inter-country adoption and to monitor and supervise adoption agencies. Furthermore, please indicate whether the Government is planning to ratify the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.

Is any information available as regards the existence of domestic violence?

When was the statistical data detailed in paragraph 124 of the report compiled? How regularly are surveys focusing on disability undertaken?

From the information provided in paras. 123, 137 and 143 of the report, what measures are being taken to improve the school enrolment rate for disabled children of school age, particularly those in outlying provinces?

Given that the rural heath care network is incomplete, as recognised in para. 157 of the report, how successful have measures been to extend coverage of primary health care and to continue the reduction of infant and child mortality, including through the more equitable distribution of medicines, medical equipment and professional personnel to all health units in rural and poorer areas?

Please provide information on the cost of educating a child at the different levels of schooling, particularly in view of the statement in para. 178 of the report that students are forced to drop out of school due to miscellaneous expenses. In addition, please provide clarification as to what is meant by schooling fees mentioned in para. 120 of the report.

Do the statistics indicating an average of one million children in poor regions of China have "missed school" in recent years provide details of the proportion of girl children affected? What measures does the Government consider to be necessary to raise the level of school enrolment for girls beyond the steps outlined in the Spring Buds Scheme? What programmes besides those mentioned in paras. 187-188 of the report are in place to reduce the school drop-out rate of girls?

What progress has been achieved in reaching the target of the establishment of public primary schools in each village in Tibet by the end of the century? In the interim, what measures are being taken to provide schooling to the approximately 36% of children of school-age who are not enrolled? In addition, please indicate the additional measures being taken to address the problem of the high illiteracy rate.

Please provide clarification as to whether corporal punishment is permitted in schools? (Para. 166 of the report).

With regard to the special agencies (juvenile courts) mentioned in para. 213 of the report, please provide further information on:

(a) the relationship between these special agencies and the independent juvenile tribunals; and

(b) the "special trial procedures" designed for minors which these courts follow.

In particular, has there been any analysis undertaken of the functioning of the special agencies and independent juvenile tribunals mentioned in para. 213 of the report in ensuring the effective application of the provisions of articles 37, 39 and 40 of the Convention?

With respect to article 40 (2)(b)(ii) of the Convention which stipulates that children should have legal or other appropriate assistance in the preparation and presentation of his or her defence, please provide information on how promptly this assistance is to be provided according to domestic state and provincial legislation.

Please provide further information on the measures in place to safeguard the rights of the child pursuant to article 37(d) of the Convention who have been detained for re-education. Please provide clarification as to whether children may be dealt with under other administrative measures. In addition, please provide statistical data on the number of children detained under such measures as well as successful appeals by children that have been upheld against such administrative measures.

With respect to the sentencing of juvenile offenders between the ages of 14 and 18 to life imprisonment, please provide further information on the manifestations of "repentance" and the required displays of "merit" as mentioned in para. 227 of the report that must be demonstrated by juveniles before their sentence is reduced. In addition, what proportion of juveniles sentenced to life imprisonment have their sentences so reduced? Furthermore, for those juveniles who do have their life sentences reduced, how long does it take before they benefit from "mitigation" as mentioned in para. 227 of the report?

Please clarify the situations permitted by article 28 of the Protection of Minors Act and provided for in State regulations under which an individual or organisation may employ a minor aged under 16 years. In addition, are there any regulations adopted to define the excessively heavy, toxic or harmful work or dangerous occupations forbidden to be performed by minors under the age of 16? (Para. 233 of the report)

Please provide statistical information on the numbers of child workers in the following categories:

(a) the number of children below the age of 16 employed pursuant to State regulations as permitted by article 28 of the Protection of Minors Act (para. 233 of the report); and

(b) the number of children below the age of 16 employed in paid auxiliary work (para. 235 of the report).

Given that children are taught too little about drug avoidance while at school (para. 248 of the report) and that the demands of the Convention cannot be met by legislation and administrative measures alone (para. 250 of the report), please provide more information regarding the Government's top priority of giving teachers more thorough training in educating children to avoid drugs.

Please provide information regarding:

(a) what further measures does the Government consider necessary to prevent and combat the problem of abduction of children?

(b) the situations in which purchasers of abducted children will be held criminally responsible, particularly where they do not hinder the return or rescue of those they have purchased (para. 262 of the report); and

(c) the criminal liability of those who sell children where the children are not sold into prostitution (paras. 254 and 256 of the report).

Please provide statistical data on:

(a) the number of those prosecuted for abduction under article 141 of the Penal Code and the decision "On the severe punishment of criminals who seriously endanger public security" in the past five years (para. 261 of the report);

(b) the number of those prosecuted for abduction and purchasing under the decision "On the severe punishment of criminals abducting or kidnapping girls and children" (para. 262 of the report); and

(c) the number of children rescued, disaggregated by sex and age.