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Remarks by Ambassador Zhang Jun at the Interactive Dialogue Between the Third Committee and the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues

2021-10-21 03:40

Mr. Chair,

The purpose of the interactive dialogue between the Third Committee and the Special Rapporteur is to enhance mutual trust and strengthen cooperation. However, the United States, France and a few other countries just cannot resist their bad habit. Once again, they have abused the platform of the Third Committee to make groundless accusations against China, spread the political virus and disinformation, and poison the atmosphere of cooperation. China firmly opposes and resolutely rejects this.

To the US and a few other countries, let me say this: Your trite lies are total unfounded. Xinjiang enjoys stability, development and prosperity, and the Chinese people's life is getting better day by day. The Chinese people are satisfied with and proud of such achievements, and those achievements are widely recognized and praised by people around the world. No matter how many times repeated, lies are still lies. You may fool yourselves, but you cannot fool the world. You are using human rights as a pretext for political maneuvering to provoke confrontation. In fact, you are the trouble maker and biggest obstacle to international human rights cooperation.

To the US and a few other countries: Your plot to obstruct China's development is doomed to fail. The path of China's development is chosen by the Chinese people ourselves. You are in no position to make choice for the Chinese people, let alone lecture China. China's progress is unstoppable. No one can deprive the Chinese people of their rights to lead a happy life. It's time to wake up! Your days of bullying and oppressing developing countries are long gone.

To the US and a few other countries: Your desperate attempts to cover up your own terrible human rights record will not work. The world sees it clearly. The US conducted genocide against the American Indians. It suppressed its own people to the point they yell "I can't breathe". It ignored the deaths of over 700,000 nationals due to the pandemic. And it stained its hands with the blood of hundreds of thousands of Muslim civilians in the Middle East and Central Asia. The list goes on. Human rights are not your cover up. Blaming other countries will not wipe off your own misdeeds, but only reveal your evil and hypocrisy.

To the US and a few other countries: Your attempts to get rid of those who hold different views in the name of democracy will only end in vain. Democracy is not your privilege, but a right enjoyed by people of all countries. The best democracy is to let people be the real master of the country, instead of making them the cannon fodder in political manipulation. The world is diverse. So are the approaches to realize democracy. Whether a country is democratic or not should be judged by its own people, not some individuals outside the country, let lone countries like you. Tragedies in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya have proven time and again that military intervention from the outside and the so-called democratic transformation entail nothing but harm to those countries affected, and to the ideal of democracy itself.

To the US and a few other countries: Your attempts to politicize human rights issues for manipulation will find no support. People around the world are clear-eyed about the truth. More than 60 countries have made a joint statement in support of China, in which they oppose interference in other countries' internal affairs in the name of human rights, and call for following the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. History and reality have proven time and again that your wanton use of finger-pointing, pressuring and bullying has lost you all the support from people around the world. You are on the opposite side of the international community.

Also, to France and other followers of the US: What you are doing is submitting your independence and autonomy, and serving as the henchmen of the US, as if you can gain superiority by acting at the beck and call of the superpower. But the truth is, you are giving up your own dignity, and will win no respect from others.

The world is developing and humankind is progressing. The US and a few other countries choose to stick to the wrong course, which goes against the prevailing trend of the times. Eventually, they will only bring disgrace to themselves, and become the laughing stock of the international community and the sinners of history.

Mr. Chair,

Respecting and protecting human rights is a basic spirit of the modern civilization. It has been written into China's Constitution, and become general practices in the Chinese society. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people of all ethnic groups have made tireless efforts and realized the first centenary goal. We have built China into a moderately prosperous society in all respects. We have brought a historic solution to absolute poverty in China, and achieved the SDG on poverty alleviation 10 years in advance. The Chinese people enjoy more human rights and freedoms than ever before.

Human rights are universal, but the path toward them are diverse. China sticks to its human rights path with distinctive Chinese features that suits our national conditions, and delivered better lives to the Chinese people. What we have achieved shows that this is a correct path with a bright future. We will firmly follow this path.

Promoting and protecting human rights is an ongoing process. China welcomes all conducive and good faith suggestions. But we will never accept any political pressuring based on lies or any condescending lecturing. Our resolve to defend our sovereignty, security and development interests remains unshakable; and our resolve to safeguard the fundamental interests and dignity of the wider developing world remains unshakable.

China will continue to conduct human rights exchanges and cooperation with other countries on the basis of equal footing and mutual trust. We will continue to provide China's wisdom and China's solutions, advocate peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, freedom and other values shared by all humanity, strive for the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and make even greater contribution to the international human rights cause.

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