According to CSHRS vice-director Dong Yunhu, the website was initiated in 1998 for the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It aimed to show an authorized and authentic picture of China's human rights situation, promote academic communications and research in the field, and to offer more opportunities for international dialogue and cooperation.

The website's English version includes five channels, covering current situation, documents, laws and regulations, organizations and theories, and includes more than 2,000 pictures.

The Chinese version has seven channels with 76 topics, and fully demonstrates the current situation on human rights in the country.

Experts said the website has a wide variety of factual information as well as powerful on-line searching, and will open up a new way for overseas readers and experts to learn about human rights in China.

(People's Daily January 23, 2002)