Deputy chairwoman of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) Huang Qingyi said on Tuesday morning that China has about 27,000 women and children's rights watchdogs to investigate infringement.

In a work report delivered to the Tenth National Women's Congress which convenes at the Great Hall of the People, Huang said based on those investigations law enforcement branches cracked down on illegal activities in order to safeguard the rights of women and children nationwide.

The ACWF pushed forward legislation on preventing and curbing domestic violence in 25 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, Huang said, adding that her federation capitalized on various forms to popularize the state's fundamental policy on equality between men and women throughout the country.

The ACWF also helped in the past five years establish 540,000 parenting schools and education consulting agencies, Huang said.

By spreading modern and scientific parenting knowledge, Huang said, her federation tried to better the education network which features close interaction among schools, families and communities.

The ACWF helped spread good parenting experience to ensure protection for and education on children, particularly girls, Huang said.

The ACWF provided about 120 million training opportunities to career women or the unemployed, Huang said. Six regional women's career development cooperation mechanisms were set up in areas with huge demand for labors, such as the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and the Bohai Sea Rim.

In the past five years, Huang said, the federation raised funds worth 1.223 billion yuan (US$180 million) for national projects that aided women and children in poverty.

The five-day congress will hear and discuss a work report by the Ninth Executive Committee of the ACWF, deliberate and adopt amendments to the federation's constitution, and elect the 10th ACWF Executive Committee.

ACWF Chairwoman Gu Xiulian said 1,407 delegates from across the country were present at the once-every-five-year congress. Among the 1,280 elected delegates, 1,020 of them are newly elected. Each of China's 55 ethnic minorities has at least one delegate to the congress.

(Xinhua News Agency October 28, 2008)