ON Jan 26 this year, China’s human rights report was unanimously adopted by the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group for the fourth cycle. More than 120 countries spoke highly of China’s remarkable achievements and unremitting efforts in human rights protection.
The concept of “human rights” became known from the West, yet its essential ideas have long existed in Chinese political culture. It was fully embodied in the long-cherished “people-being-first-of-all” political principle.
In the Book of Documents, one of China’s oldest classics written 3,000 years ago, it is written that “People are the foundation of a country. Only when people lead a good life can the country thrive.”
Mencius, the famous Chinese ancient sage, said the same thing: “People are the most important; the state is secondary.”
Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, priority has been given to ensuring and safeguarding the human rights of all Chinese citizens. Seeing both the global trend and China’s unique situation, the Chinese government has successfully pioneered its own way of advancing human rights protection and made historic achievements in various fields.
The following are three major principles. People are always at the centre. President Xi Jinping said: “... to ensure all Chinese people a life of contentment is China’s most weighty human right.”
After eight years of painstaking efforts, China has successfully alleviated nearly 100 million people out of poverty, putting an end to its centuries-long absolute poverty history.
This is an achievement not only for the Chinese people but also, more importantly, a victory for mankind as a whole. By realising the poverty reduction aim of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of time, China has contributed significantly to global poverty reduction and progress in human development.
China has made solid progress in advancing high-quality development and established the world’s largest education, social security and healthcare systems, bringing tangible benefits to people of all ethnic groups.
Human rights are equally enjoyed by all. China is as diverse and as multiethnic as Malaysia. There are 56 ethnic groups living on this vast land. Like seeds of a pomegranate hugging each other closely, people of different ethnic groups in China love and support each other as brothers and sisters do in one big family.
Big or small, all ethnic groups in China enjoy equal social status. Their rights and benefits are legally stipulated and protected, and freedom of religion is ensured to everyone.
Recent years have seen additional “Outlines for Women’s and Children’s Development” adopted, and “Law on the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests” amended to further promote gender equality and all-around development of women and children in China.
The physically underprivileged in China are also given proper support with their medical, educational, occupational and spiritual needs.
In upholding the principles of fairness and justice, China has been cooperating with other countries in the UN Human Rights Council and other multilateral organisations.
China has facilitated the adoption of a series of major international human rights conventions and declarations, and shared its wisdom with the rest of the world by proposing the vision of “building a community with a shared future for mankind”. This vision has been incorporated into a number of UN Human Rights Council resolutions.
Besides conducting human rights dialogues with Malaysia and 30 other countries or regions, China has been promoting exchanges and cooperation in various fields to promote human rights protection.
China has proposed the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, which are Chinese solutions to addressing the global concerns of development deficits, security predicament and civilisational alienation.
Human rights are not abstract terms. They are specific in denotation, achievable in practical form and evolve with history. There are no fixed standards or one-fits-all models. Therefore, every country’s human rights development path should be allowed and respected, and success or failure can only be judged by its own people.
By undertaking Chinese-style modernisation, China is steadily advancing its cause of national rejuvenation to make it a stronger and more prosperous country.
China will bring better equitability to all its people and promote human rights protection to new heights.
Malaysia is also a diverse and inclusive society protecting human rights under the rule of law. As a good neighbour and close partner, China is willing to work with Malaysia in various fields to jointly contribute to the advancement of human rights development in both the region and the world.
Article 1 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” I believe that with the collective efforts of all, these common aspirations of humankind will eventually become a reality.
By OUYANG YUJING Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Malaysia
Growth engine: An employee works on steel castings in a factory in Hangzhou, China. The country’s contribution to worldwide economic growth is approximately 30%. — AFP
IN today’s world, China occupies a pivotal position in the global economy, showcasing a unique combination of rapid economic growth, innovative strategies and global influence.
The country has evolved from a regional power to a global economic leader, making significant contributions to international affairs and economic development.
Through active participation in international organisations, development of extensive trade networks and investments in global infrastructure projects, China exerts a profound impact on the world economic system.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Chinese Premier Li Qiang articulated the key aspects of China’s economic policy and strategy.
He noted that China demonstrates sustained progress in economic development and exerts a significant influence on the global economy, serving as a vital engine of global development.
China’s contribution to global economic growth is approximately 30%, underscoring its central role in the world economic system.
Li also highlighted that China achieved an economic revival with an expected gross domestic product growth of 5.2% in 2023, surpassing the initial target of 5%.
Furthermore, Li pointed out that China is the only country covering all industrial sectors classified by the United Nations, and its added value in industry accounts for about 30% of the global level.
This testifies to China’s leading position in the global industry and its ability to stimulate worldwide productivity.
China’s active participation in international organisations underscores its commitment to multilateral cooperation and global responsibility.
The recent reelection of China to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2024-2026 term at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly marks a significant milestone, affirming its influence and commitments in international affairs.
This is the sixth time China has been a member of this crucial body, demonstrating its active role in advancing global dialogue and cooperation in the field of human rights.
Furthermore, the Belt and Road Initiative, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2023, stands as one of China’s most ambitious projects in global economic development.
The third forum of international cooperation under this initiative achieved 458 significant outcomes.
Chinese financial institutions allocated 780 billion yuan to finance projects associated with the initiative, facilitating the creation of close economic ties with numerous countries.
Chinese and foreign enterprises reached business cooperation agreements worth US$97.2bil, emphasising China’s role as a global economic partner and a bridge between various world regions.
China’s transportation infrastructure plays a critical role in its economic dominance. The country has established air connections with over 100 countries and regions worldwide, fostering stronger global connections and increasing trade.
The total tonnage of the fleet owned by Chinese shipowners amounts to 249.2 million gross tonnes, reflecting the scale of its maritime power.
These achievements, combined with leadership in cargo and container throughput at ports, underscore China’s strategic role in global logistics and trade.
China’s industry also exerts a significant influence on the global economy.
The country leads in many sectors, maintaining the world’s top position in industrial added value for the past 14 years.
This achievement is particularly notable given that China is the only country covering all industrial sectors classified by the United Nations.
With over 200 major industrial clusters, China boasts a large and diverse industrial system that contributes to the global distribution of production factors and enhances worldwide productivity.
The China-initiated South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund, with a capital of US$4bil, serves as a key tool in supporting international development and strengthening global partnerships.
Additionally, Chinese financial institutions are preparing to launch a special fund of US$10bil aimed at implementing initiatives for global development, highlighting China’s strategic role in worldwide economic progress.
Evidence of China’s growing economic power is also seen in the significant increase in foreign investments.
From January to September 2023, 41,947 enterprises with foreign investments were established in China, representing a 32.1% increase compared to the previous year.
This reflects the attractiveness of the Chinese market to international investors and its ability to draw capital from various corners of the world.
In conclusion, China’s contribution to the global economy is multifaceted and substantial. From active participation in international organiaations and global initiatives, to leadership in the industrial and financial sectors, China demonstrates its role as a global economic leader.
Social and humanitarian efforts, along with contributions to peacekeeping missions, further underscore its commitment to cooperation and sustainable development.
The reflections of these achievements in the speeches of leaders like Li Qiang underscore China’s strategic vision and contribution to shaping the future of the global economy. — China Daily/ANN
By Azerbaijan-based journalist Seymur Mammadov is a special commentator for China Daily. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.
The so-called "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act," which maliciously denigrates the human rights situation in China's Xinjiang while disregarding facts and truth, will come into effect on June 21.
The act is the latest example of how the US launches disinformation campaigns against China. Experts noted that starting from funding anti-China think tanks and scholars to authoring malicious, false reports, the hyping up of relative topics in the media, and interference from US politicians, the US government enacts such evil laws. In its mastery of creating disinformation, the US, on April 27, announced the creation of the Disinformation Governance Board under the US Department of Homeland Security. However, the board was shut down after just three weeks after serious concerns were raised.
"The US government itself is the primary spreader of disinformation. German writer Michael Lüders pointed out in his book The Hypocritical Superpower that the US government is very adept at selecting and distorting facts, limiting the source of information, and polarizing public opinion in order to blur facts and influence people's judgment. When the waters are muddied, it is certainly easier to fish for geopolitical and economic gains," said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian at a media briefing on June 8, in response to a question related to the Disinformation Governance Board.
Last month, former US President Barack Obama's speech on disinformation and democracy sparked heated discussions. While what he tried to say was that disinformation is harmful to US democracy, many netizens pointed out that his words actually exposed how the US had launched disinformation campaigns in other countries, including meticulous propaganda operations designed to mislead citizens and result in a lack of confidence in their leaders.
"Large-scale propaganda is an important part of the US global strategy to establish, maintain, and consolidate its global dominance. The institutionalized US foreign communication strategy was accelerated after World War II," Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
Cuban Ambassador to China, Carlos Miguel Pereira, told the Global Times that the US likes to fuel its powerful propaganda machine to present a distorted world view that does not correspond to reality to protect its political interests.
Lüders told the Global Times in a previous interview that the US is "hypocritical because while it always cites higher values, in reality, it pursues a kind of power politic that is tough and cold-blooded. Its reference to 'higher values' is being manipulated."
Experts noted that the US employed "white", "black" and "gray" propaganda, and the latter two are mostly carried out by agencies such as the CIA and Defense Department in a covert manner. It is estimated that 40 percent of the CIA's covert operations are propaganda programs.
Three types of propaganda
In 1951, the US government set up the Psychological Strategy Board (PSB), a committee comprised of the State Department, the Department of Defense, and the CIA. In 1953, the Operations Coordinating Board (OCB) under the command of the National Security Council was formed to further propose the US government's information and psychological warfare programs while the PSB was abolished.
In 1961, former US President Kennedy abolished the OCB as it was believed that secret wars should not be publicly overseen by so many officials. Since then, the agency in charge of psychological warfare became a mystery.
However, based on the analyzed related materials and US government documents, we can still have a broad understanding of how the US conducts information and psychological war abroad, Lü said.
After more than a century of practice, the US formed a complete set of international communications mechanisms. That is, the NSC led inter-department cooperation, to conduct either covert or overt communications operations. They use "idealism" as a cover to achieve their "realistic" interests in their international communication disclosures. This strategic communication, to a great extent, helps maintain US global dominance, Lü noted to the Global Times.
According to Lü, an important characteristic of US national and international communication is that it pursues "ideological thrust" and "weaponized information." That is to say, all the conveyed messages must serve US national strategic interests and goals.
Lü listed three types of propaganda that the US adopts in its strategic communication.
The "white" propaganda refers to osmotic propaganda based on the government's public activities, including public diplomacy led by the US State Department and the state-owned media represented by Voice of America.
The "black" propaganda refers to propaganda activities carried out through covert action. Many propagandist activities carried out by the CIA, the Department of Defense, and other agencies fall in this category, which includes a large number of infiltration activities such as secretly controlling domestic and foreign media and buying off politicians.
The CIA has a long history of manipulating media outlets worldwide for its secret propaganda purposes. According to an article in The New York Times in 1977, dozens of English and foreign language publications have been owned, subsidized, or influenced by the CIA over the past three decades. To shape world opinion, the CIA was able to call upon many news outlets in its worldwide propaganda campaign.
Some of its officials admitted to The New York Times that they were concerned about the possibility of "blow-back" - that is - some of the purposely misleading or downright false information spread by the CIA abroad may be picked up by US reporters overseas and included in their dispatches to publications at home.
The "gray" propaganda refers to engaging "opinion leaders" and workers in the media industry in relevant countries to act as spokespersons for US interests by means of behind-the-scenes bribes and inducements, so as to promote the interests of the US and influence the decisions of relevant governments, Lü said.
According to the Los Angeles Times, in 2005, the US military secretly paid newspapers in Iraq to run stories written by US military information operations troops with help from a defense contractor to "burnish the image of the US mission in Iraq." Nearly $1,500, for instance, was paid to Addustour newspaper to run an article titled "More Money Goes to Iraq's Development." The Los Angeles Times also found out that the Pentagon had contracted a Washington-based firm named the Lincoln Group to plant these stories.
The "gray propaganda" and "black propaganda" are mostly carried out by agencies including the CIA and the US Defense Department and the secrecy of these plans is hard to uncover, Lü said.
Scholar Loch Johnson estimated that a full 40 percent of CIA secret operations are propaganda programs. "Whatever foreign policies or slogans the White House may be pushing" at the time, the CIA "will likely be advancing these same ideas through its covert channels," he said.
Newscasters work on their broadcast at Radio and TV Marti headquarters on Jan 24, 2007 in Miami, Florida. The anti-Castro broadcasting network is overseen by the US Broadcasting Board of Governors. Photo: AFP
US' harm to the world
Ambassador Pereira told the Global Times that the destabilization campaigns and subversion programs from the US government against Cuba are nothing new.
According to the ambassador, in 2021, the Joe Biden administration asked Congress for $20 million for so-called "democracy in Cuba" programs, and almost $13 million for illegal radio and television broadcasts.
The ambassador said that in 2021, they found that the federal agency USAID granted 12 organizations based in Florida, Washington, and Madrid dedicated to the anti-Cuban campaign, more than $6.6 million, in the month of September alone.
"The US has unleashed a media offensive aimed at discrediting the management of the Cuban government, through the manipulation and politicization of issues such as human rights and the fight against terrorism, as well as generating mistrust around the Revolution, for which it deploys today with full intensity, its subversive component to try to influence sensitive and strategic sectors for the future of the country, such as our youth, through social networks, in which private US platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are known to predominate," he said.
Such methods include creating Facebook groups, the use of robots and fake accounts on Twitter, or trying to recruit Cuban residents in Miami to spread falsehoods about Cuba as though they were in the country.
During the violent July 11 unrest in 2021 in Cuba, an account based in Spain and managed by US institution posted more than 1,000 tweets a day to fuel the unrest, according to the diplomat.
From 1996 to 2021, the US Congress allocated around $404 million for supposed democracy programs under the Helms-Burton Act, an act seeking international sanctions against the Castro government. Likewise, between 1984 and 2021, the US Congress had allocated nearly $945 million for illegal broadcasts on Radio and TV Martí.
Radio and TV Martí is a Miami-based radio and television international broadcaster financed by the US federal government which transmits news to Cuba.
In November, the Ethiopian government urged the US government and relevant organizations to stop spreading falsehoods about the country.
Ethiopia's state minister of communication, Kebede Dessisa, said the US government should "refrain from disseminating shameful fake news and defamation regarding Ethiopia," state broadcaster EBC reported.
The US likes to claim that it acts in the name of freedom, democracy, and human rights but there is a huge gap between this idealism and reality. Their disinformation causes great harm which ordinary citizens have to bear, experts said.
The US used white powder as so-called evidence of possession of weapons of mass destruction then waged war on Iraq, killing about 200,000 to 250,000 Iraqi civilians. Citing a staged video by the "White Helmet" and the false intelligence it provided as "evidence", the US launched the so-called "most precise air campaign in history" against Syria, claiming more than 1,600 innocent civilian lives in a single strike.
Info war on China
Since the normalization of China-US relations, the US has not abandoned its use of ideological weapons and US intelligence agencies' rumor mill capabilities to contain China's development and undermine political stability, Lü said.
Since 2018, the US has incessantly hyped "human rights" topics in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Its modus operandi, as Lü pointed out, includes letting the media first create ambiguous topics, followed by intelligence agencies selecting suitable candidates and presenting them as "fugitives" to accept interviews in the media, followed by so-called research reports by anti-China think tanks. After that, the US government usually mobilizes several "human rights organizations" that it either secretly or openly supports to proliferate the topic and call for "sanctions." Thereafter, the US government follows the suit.
Zhao Lijian also listed how the US launched a disinformation campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic at the June 8 media briefing.
"You may still remember that the US downplayed the threat and speed of the coronavirus disease's transmission at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and kept spreading disinformation about the origins of the virus. Disinformation about COVID-19 was rated by a certain US website as "2020 Lie of the Year." As a result, more than one million innocent American lives have been lost to the virus, making the US the country with the highest COVID-19 death toll as well as the most confirmed cases," Zhao said.
"The more lies the US government tells, the greater the reputational damage and its credibility deficit," he said. "The US needs to stop fabricating and disseminating false information, and stop taking pride in being "an empire of lies."
According to the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer, only about 39 percent of American respondents said they trusted their country's government, which is nearly the lowest level ever recorded.
The Chinese-language website of Deutsche Welle on Tuesday published a commentary entitled "Maintaining critical dialogue with China is more important than ever." The article is filled with clichés about so-called "human rights issues in Xinjiang," which are not worth reading. But the phrase "critical dialogue" in the headline is intriguing. It is in fact the main attitude of the US and other Western countries in communicating with non-Western nations in recent years.
This is, in most cases, an unconscious revelation of American and Western elites' inner feeling of superiority. But now they put it forward consciously and promote it as an "effective way" to deal with China. This cannot be explained simply by "pride and prejudice." They did not articulate it in the past, but Western countries have been practicing and enhancing the so-called critical dialogue with China. It has become an approach or even a weapon in the West's strategic game with China. In other words, they are trying to "lecture" China under the cover of "dialogue."
In global interactions, disagreements are common. It is also normal to express different views or even criticize without mincing words. However, equal dialogue cannot be based on the premise that some values are superior to others. It also cannot be only one party lecturing or accusing the other. The US and the West's "critical dialogue" is condescending, and the implied logic is that only they have the ability, qualification and power to determine right and wrong. This means that one party already claimed the moral high ground before the "dialogue" even begins, which dwarfs the development level and moral image of other countries.
Colonialism has long been discarded as something despicable, but Western-centric power structures and mentality have not disappeared completely. Colonialism has been subtly transplanted into various aspects, lurking in Western political language and communication methods. Some elites in the US and the West, with a strong sense of superiority on civilization, regard non-Western countries as candidates waiting for their "approval." With ideological pointers in their hands, they took to the podium to oversee exams, judge papers, and then grade them based on the "performance" of these countries to determine whether they passed the exam. As for the standard of scoring, it is drawn by the US and the West according to their own historical and social formations, and "Western-centrism" is the only correct answer in all the exams.
In their eyes, only the West is right, civilized and advanced, while those who differ from them are branded as "evil," barbaric and backward. They forcibly create a dichotomy between "civilization" and "barbarism." On this fictional premise, they attach moral labels on different practices of other countries, trying to dwarf them in image so that they can "attack others from a high position" as they wish. It is for this reason they recklessly fabricate the lie of "genocide" in Xinjiang, audaciously call for "punishing China" by various means, and frantically threaten to bomb China "back into the Stone Age."
Sometimes, arrogance is a kind of overbearingness; sometimes, it is also a kind of deep inferiority. In the face of the rise of emerging market countries, including China, and their own troubles, the US and other Western countries are becoming increasingly overwhelmed. Faced with the narrowing gap between them and emerging market countries, they have to rely on slogans of "human rights" and "democracy" to maintain their "absolute advantage." The reason why they are so sensitive to their position in the dialogue is that they are aware of the disappearance of the absolute advantage they used to have. As a result, they have to deliberately highlight their discourse power to maintain the obsolete power structure behind it, which has become a subconscious reaction.
Even in the fields of human rights and democracy, the US and the West are increasingly lagging behind, relying only on slogans, posturing and fist-pumping to show their "self-esteem," which is actually laughable to the rest of the world. The West's self-confidence is collapsing, as the democratization of international relations is increasingly popular and as developing countries' awareness of their rights is strengthening. Today, if someone still wants to engage in colonialism and ideological hegemony, or even imagines leading other countries by the nose like livestock, no country with national pride and a sense of independence will obey.
Returning to the "critical dialogue," China has never been afraid of criticism, but firmly opposes hegemony. Times have changed, and US and Western elites should learn to be equal and respectful. Dialogue is necessary, and we welcome "constructive dialogue," but we reject "critical dialogue." We would also like to remind that a condescending posture is dangerous, because the farther you are from the ground, the harder you may fall.
Chinese envoy to the United Nations on Thursday sternly refuted the allegations of “genocide” made
by the US and the UK over human rights situation in China's Xinjiang region, after the two countries took a Security Council meeting on
international law and maintaining peace and security as a chance to attack China on Xinjiang-related issues. They have also called on another “investigative” trip to Xinjiang on Thursday after they found that the UN human rights chief's recent visit to Xinjiang had failed to support their “genocide” fallacies about the region.
After frequent gun shooting cases nationwide in the US
that caused heavy casualties, including children, the White House and Capitol Hill are trying to show that they are trying to find a solution
under pressure from society, as US President Joe Biden said Congress "must act to pass gun control legislation."
The US, whose flag flies over 750 military bases in more than 80 countries and regions, seems to
be sitting on pins and needles after witnessing China sign ONE security cooperation framework agreement with the Solomon Islands. On Tuesday
local time, US President Joe Biden met with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in the White House. Their “shared concern” about China's
security agreement and “China's Pacific ambitions” were soon placed under the spotlight of Western media outlets.
` ` MAN and nature are running out of time. That’s
the core message of the UN Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change
...
` In short, historically it was the Church that gave the moral blessing for colonisation, slavery and genocide during the Age of Globalisation.
The tragedy is that the Doctrine of Discovery is now embodied in US laws.
Native Americans, refugees from US-initiated wars, Floyds and children separated from their parents at the border will remember
the US as the greatest “human ...
The masks covering the true face of the US were taken off one after another through the seven stories the Global Times had published over the course of the past few weeks. These masks are engraved with words such as peace, liberty, security, unity, science, humanity, and global order, hiding the country's true visage that has been distorted with lust, greed, and subjugation.
The masks covering the true face of the US have been removed one after another through the seven investigative stories the
Global Times published over the course of the past few weeks. These masks are engraved with beautiful words such as peace, liberty,
security, unity, science, humanity, and global order, hiding the country's true visage distorted with lust, greed, and subjugation.
Fanning the flames to create turmoil, using economic and financial hegemony to sanction opponents, and forming cliques to create
political isolation - the US is using its hegemony to undermine the international order.
In fact, the US government's approach is quite similar to Voldemort's - they both believe in power, recruit followers, use violence, and repeatedly want to kill competitors in order to maintain supremacy.
Harvard & Cambridge: China's Era Already? You Bet!
Danny Haiphong. Photo:Courtesy of Haiphong
Editor's Note:
For the Chinese people, the past decade was epic and inspirational. The country, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, has made great endeavors in boosting its economy, deepening reforms, improving the rights of its people and acting as a responsible power globally.
To help understand China's progress in the past decade, the Global Times (GT) has launched a weekly series of interviews with scholars from home and abroad, presenting a holistic view of China's governance philosophy. The following is an interview with Danny Haiphong (Haiphong), an independent journalist in the US and co-editor of Friends of Socialist China as well as a founding member of the No Cold War international campaign, on how China has made human rights protection a priority and how it has taken human rights moral high grounds.
GT: The US Department of State issued the 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on April 12, of which 90 pages are used to criticize China's human rights conditions. At the same time, 2021 was considered to be the US' most fatal year in history with more than 460,000 Americans killed by the coronavirus last year. Why does the US care more about human rights of China and other countries than its own record?
Haiphong: The US has politicized human rights for several reasons, none of which have anything to do with genuine concerns about the wellbeing of people. Constant speculation about human rights elsewhere provides a distraction from the shortcomings of the US' own political and economic system. The US possesses an abhorrent human rights record. An average of three Americans per day are killed by US law enforcement. Nearly one million Americans have died of COVID-19. US wars abroad have taken the lives of millions and destabilized entire regions.
Human rights are also an integral component of US foreign policy. Any nation deemed a threat to US hegemony is condemned for human rights violations. Often, the allegations are unfounded. This is certainly the case in relation to China. The US has spread insidious lies about the so-called human rights violations in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) to justify sanctions and military encirclement. The US' politicization of human rights is not only hypocritical, but a true danger to humanity.
GT: Since the outbreak of the epidemic, China has prioritized the protection of people's lives, what kind of human rights views do you think this reflects?
Haiphong: China's approach to human rights is people-centered. People come first. China's dynamic zero-COVID strategy is a case in point. Human life is the top priority. This priority has mobilized the entire society in a successful war against COVID-19 which has kept the death toll very low.
This doesn't mean tradeoffs do not exist. The protection of human life amid a deadly pandemic means that uncertainty and hardship are inevitable. But it is the people-centered human rights approach which keeps China and its legitimate leadership, the Communist Party of China, forward on the path to becoming a modern socialist country by 2050.
GT: How do you see the influence the "coexistence with the virus" policy has had on the US and other Western countries? Western media are attacking and smearing China's zero-COVID strategy. Why do they suggest China should also "lie flat" in its fight against the epidemic?
Haiphong: The politicization of COVID-19 in the US and other Western countries has created a public opinion crisis. Not only have large numbers of people been misinformed about COVID-19, but many have been convinced that China is to blame for their disastrous conditions. The truth is that the US and its Western allies neglected their domestic and global obligations to properly address the pandemic in the interests of humanity. Now these same countries want to see China plunged into a crisis through the abandonment of its successful strategy to contain the pandemic.
The reasons for this are simple. For one, China abandoning the zero-COVID strategy would validate the endless smears that the US has leveled against it. Furthermore, the US views China's zero-COVID strategy as a threat to its hegemony. This may seem silly, but it does have a material basis to it. China's zero-COVID strategy offers hope that COVID-19 deaths and cases can be reduced without completely sacrificing economic growth. The US knows that should China abandon this path, all of its progress would be threatened. This best serves the US' narrow and selfish interests.
GT: Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasized unswerving adherence to China's path of human rights development, saying living a happy life is the biggest human right for the people. Over the past years, many surveys conducted by Western institutions showed Chinese people's rising levels of satisfaction with the government's performance. What does this demonstrate? How do you comment on China's human rights views?
Haiphong: Widespread popular satisfaction with China's government is an indicator of legitimacy. China's socialist governance system serves the people. Human rights development is thus much broader in China than in the West. Economic freedom, or the freedom to a livelihood without poverty, hunger, homelessness and instability is a top priority.
China's socialist governance system has built a foundation of legitimacy with the people by serving their needs and giving them real reasons to believe that their lives will be better than prior generations.
China's own human rights views are driven by deep experience with other political systems. During the "century of humiliation," various political models were imported from the outside without success. This includes the colonial and feudal systems in the 19th century and the Western democratic model in the early 20th century. Only the socialist conception of human rights has been capable of bringing prosperity and a better life to the Chinese people.
One further note. Legitimacy and human rights development in China isn't a paternalistic affair. The interests of the people not only drive policy in China but the Chinese people possess numerous mechanisms to participate in the running of the country. This means that while China prioritizes economic human rights, political human rights play an important role in facilitating a balanced and harmonious society.
GT: The definition of human rights in the US and the West has become narrower and narrower. They place too much emphasis on political rights while ignore the most basic human rights to survival and development. Why don't the most basic human rights such as people's rights to health, survival and development get enough attention in the West?
Haiphong: The West has for centuries been driven by a model of development that places profit accumulation over the rights of the people. And it isn't just a benign profit that drives all development in the West, but capitalist profit which tends to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few private investors and monopolies. The anarchy of the market reigns supreme, and it is private monopoly capital which essentially dictates government policy. People's need for housing, gainful employment, and healthcare are viewed as profitable ventures in and of themselves. This means that their administration is built around exploitation rather than human development.
The US, for example, is the so-called richest country in the world yet has millions of people without healthcare, a place to live, or a job that can satisfy the basic needs of survival. Hundreds of thousands of people sleep on the street each night, and still more find themselves filing for bankruptcy due to medical debt. Students attending university carry with them the weight of more than a trillion in collective student loan debt to private loan servicers and banks. Political parties in Washington DC hold the view that these issues are incapable of being resolved but that private military and financial institutions should be subsidized in the hundreds of billions. The US political system doesn't just ignore the needs of the people, it proactively worsens the economic situation for the majority.
GT: What is the significance of China's human rights proposition for redefining human rights worldwide, especially for developing countries to explore their own path in human rights development and protecting people's fundamental rights?
Haiphong: China's position on human rights provides a model for countries with shared histories of Western-imposed colonialism and development. Sovereignty and respect for self-determination are prerequisites for these countries to choose their own development paths. Unfortunately, due to unilateral measures such as sanctions and unequal trade arrangements, the US and the West have prevented many countries the opportunity to exercise sovereignty in their development paths. This has caused great suffering and strife worldwide.
China's approach to human rights prioritizes sovereignty and the right to development, and these principles have been applied to the implementation of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Economic development serves everyone, not just rich investors inside or outside of China. Furthermore, China's economic growth has not been achieved through isolationism but rather robust cooperation with all countries on the basis of equality. Developing countries seeking to both exercise their sovereignty while also reaping the benefits of increased global connectivity can look to China as a model of how the rights of the people do not need to be sacrificed for economic growth and vice versa.
China US Illustration: Liu Rui/GT
Danny Haiphong. Photo:Courtesy of Haiphong
