Backgrounder: World Consumer Rights Day

BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- March 15 is World Consumer Rights Day. This year's theme is "Our Money, Our Rights."

On March 15, 1962, former U.S. President John F. Kennedy delivered a special speech on the protection of consumer interests, in which he put forward four basic rights of consumers -- the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose and the right to be heard.

Following the work to protect consumer interests, Kennedy's four basic consumer rights plus another four rights -- the right to satisfaction of basic needs, the right to justly solve dissensions, the right to master consumption basic knowledge and the right to have a healthy living and work environment -- are globally recognized as the eight fundamental consumer rights.

In 1983, the Consumers International set March 15 the World Consumer Rights Day, stipulating that consumers are entitled to enjoy the rights of safety protection, obtaining correct data of products, free decision to choose and the right to claim for compensation and the right to have a sound healthy environment.

Since 1983, consumers all over the world and related organizations hold various kinds of activities to mark the World Consumer Rights Day on March 15 every year.

The China Consumers' Association (CCA) started to launch the similar activities as early as 1986 although the CCA joined the Consumers International in 1987. The CCA this year will launch a variety of activities with the theme of "Consumption and Services."