The Chinese Government on October 9 issued a white paper on progress made in enhancing justice and protecting human rights.

The white paper, the first of its kind, says that the ultimate purpose of judicial reform is to improve social fairness, justice and human rights.

Improving human rights is vital, the white paper says, citing a 2012 amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law.

In terms of protecting human rights, effective measures are being taken to deter and prohibit the obtainment of confessions through torture, protect the rights of criminal suspects and defendants and protect the right of attorneys to do their work. Measures are also being taken to strictly control the use of the death penalty.

Jiang Wei, a senior official in charge of reforming the judicial system, said at a press conference that China's reforms would be based on its own present circumstances, instead of simply copying from other countries.

However, he said, China is keen on learning from the experiences of other countries and will try to incorporate judicial concepts and practices used elsewhere.