Twenty-two Chinese provinces had formulated regulations, opinions or measures against domestic violence by the end of 2004, says a white paper on China's human rights progress in 2004 issued by the Information Office of the State Council on Wednesday.

The white paper says the Chinese government protects women's legitimate rights and interests according to law.

By the end of 2004, 2,603 coordination teams or joint conferences for the protection of women's and children's rights and interests above the county level had been established, and 3, 183 courts or jury panels had been set up for the protection of women's rights.

Meanwhile, the All-China Women's Federation had conducted a sample survey in six provinces and 24 counties under their jurisdiction, to learn about the state of women's legal knowledge and needs.

Women's equal rights and interests in political, economic and social spheres are being gradually realized along with social development.

From 1975 to 2003, women deputies to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, had always accounted for over 20 percent of the total number of deputies, says the white paper.

The scale of employment, payment and education level of women are roughly on the same level as those for men. The government actively provides women with reproduction health services and has introduced informed choice in contraception and birth control to protect women's rights to reproduction health, information and choice.

In 2004, the government launched "World AIDS Day" activities which featured the theme "Show Concern for Women, Say No to AIDS" to provide face-to-face dissemination and education for 34.83 percent of China's female population.

Meanwhile, the government severely punishes such unlawful acts as unnecessary medical tests on the sex of fetuses, artificial abortion because of the sex of a fetus, and drowning or abandoning female babies. The experimental campaign of "Caring for Girls" was launched in 11 counties in 11 provinces with excessively high male sex ratios in the newly born population, and it was expanded to 24 counties in 24 provinces the same year.