Interview: China leads way in protecting children's rights: CEO of Save the Children

BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) - The head of an international child charity group has said that China is leading the way in safeguarding children's rights and is willing to cooperate with child protection organizations to inspire other developing countries.

"China has made tremendous progress in lifting millions of children out of poverty and getting them into education," said Helle Thorning-Schmidt, CEO of Save the Children, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Thorning-Schmidt cited the example of how China's efforts to reduce the under-five mortality rate have helped the world meet its millennium target.

"The next step is to live up to the sustainable development goals(SDGs). But we all know we can't do this unless China is very much part of it," said the former Danish Prime Minister.

Save the Children is an international NGO known as a protector and defender of children in crisis. It has been working in China for over 30 years and has initiated programs to reach about half a million children in 12 Chinese regions.

Thorning-Schmidt used to frequent Beijing as a politician. In 2016, she became the woman in charge of the organization and travelled to new places and remote, poor areas.

This March, she went to a village in Yunnan Province where 65 percent of children have been "left behind" by parents who are migrant workers.

"I was able to see and talk with children and their grandparents. I also saw children's smiling faces and realized how they develop and learn and get ready to learn when they reach the age for formal schooling," said Thorning-Schmidt.

In 2016, Save the Children was running early childhood development centers in Yunnan's 24 rural communities without an operational kindergarten. It worked with local counties to develop activity curricula and train parent volunteers to provide services for children aged 3-6.

Thorning-Schmidt said the way the organization works is to inspire governments to use their technical expertise and to work with them to create change.

She said the Chinese government is open to discussing issues and problems concerning children and to finding solutions by getting support from NGOs.

Thorning-Schmidt said her political career taught her a lot about China and how to partner with the country.

During her two-day visit to China starting Tuesday, she had talks with officials of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to build a deepened cooperative relationship.

Save the Children cooperates with the Ministry of Civil Affairs to create a child protection system.

"We have strong principles and practical handouts. The Chinese government could draw on our expertise and build their own child protection system, which will be of great help for the 9 million children who are left behind by their parents," said Thorning-Schmidt.

"Our core work in China is to help these marginalized children. It takes a little bit of courage for every government to look at their own marginalized children, and I feel the courage is in the Chinese system right now and we want to encourage that," she said.

She also said China has set a good model in protecting girls' rights and investing in international development.

"This should be a great inspiration for other countries," she said.

Since the launching of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2015, China has provided overseas development assistance for other developing countries. Last month, Chinese-funded educational supplies were distributed to 86,000 Syrian refugee students in Lebanon.

Thorning-Schmidt said such assistance allows governments to help the most vulnerable people in the world while serving their own people by helping to create a more secure and stable world. Enditem