On 7 October, Ambassador Dai Bing, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, spoke at the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, solemnly refuting the groundless accusations on China by the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations on issues of COVID-19 and human rights. The full text of the remarks is as follows:

The US, having failed to learn from the complete failure of its anti-China campaign and paying no attention to the calls of Member States for unity and cooperation, once again made groundless accusations against China. It misused the UN platform to spread rumors and provoke confrontation to serve its domestic politics. China firmly opposes and totally rejects the accusations.

I want to tell the US that it is wrong, futile and irresponsible to discredit and blame China for the COVID-19 pandemic. First, China has contained the disease. The holidays of the Chinese National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival have seen more than 700 million travels. The Chinese people are enjoying safety and happiness. In the US, however, the number of confirmed cases has exceeded seven million, and in the past few days, several dozen people in the White House have tested positive.

Second, China pays tribute to its heroes. Academician Zhong Nanshan was awarded the "Medal of the Republic" and Dr. Li Wenliang, who is referred by the U.S. Representative, a martyr. They are all respected members of the Communist Party of China. We are also proud of so many dedicated medical staff. We hope US medical experts like Anthony Fauci are respected and whistle-blowers like Croser, the former captain of the USS Roosevelt, are fairly treated.

Third, China puts human lives first. From centenarians to newborns, people are all given full treatment. With the death toll exceeding 210,000, shouldn't the US give its people an explanation for the world's top numbers of confirmed cases and deaths, instead of making baseless accusations against China?

I want to tell the US that Xinjiang enjoys social stability and prosperity, and people of all ethnic groups there live together in harmony. There are 24,400 mosques in Xinjiang, ten times more than in the US. Every 530 Muslims in Xinjiang have one mosque, a ratio even higher than many Muslim countries. What religious oppression on earth can this be? From 2010 to 2018, the Uyghur population in Xinjiang grew from 10.17 million to 12.71 million, an increase of more than 25%, ten times that of the Han people. The so-called "forced sterilization" is a sheer lie! Xinjiang receives more than 200 million domestic and foreign tourists every year. Nearly 100 groups consisting of more than 1,000 people from 90 some countries have visited Xinjiang. I would like to ask the US: Has anyone seen the so-called "concentration camps" which detain one million Uyghurs? Where is your conscience when telling such a big lie?

I want to tell the US that when violent riots took place in Hong Kong last year, the Parliament was smashed, Parliament members stabbed, people injured, and businesses paralyzed. Lives of the ordinary people were in total chaos. People in Hong Kong were deeply saddened. No sovereign country would sit idly under such circumstances. With the implementation of the National Security Law, 80% of local residents believe that Hong Kong is much safer. Yesterday, 55 countries made a joint statement to support China's position on Hong Kong. We hope the US listens careful to the just voice of the international community. The world sees clearly who wants a stable and prosperous Hong Kong and who wants Hong Kong to be messed up.

I want to tell the US that today's world is confronted with multiple challenges, and countries expect major powers to shoulder special responsibilities. The US, however, opts for putting itself first, withdrawing from the World Health Organization at a critical time, intimidating and sanctioning other countries, and undermining multilateral cooperation. The US starts wars everywhere and imposes unilateral sanctions at will, causing hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties, and leaving millions of refugees homeless and tens of millions lacking food and medical supplies. It disregards the financial difficulties of the UN and has yet to pay more than $3 billion in dues. The US is pitching itself against the international community, and is quite often isolated in the Security Council. The country has become a violator of basic human rights of other countries and a troublemaker of the UN. What right does it have to criticize and lecture other countries on human rights?

I also want to tell the US that the Chinese people have the best say on China's human rights situation. The approval rate for the Chinese government is above 90%. Under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people are forging ahead towards national rejuvenation. Any force that wants to stop China's development and progress is simply daydreaming. We urge the US to abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological bias, recognize the historical progress of human rights of the Chinese people, and stop spreading lies and political virus.