Pompeo's fact-twisting China speech versus the truth

2. Mike Pompeo: China is not a free country, as 1.4 billion Chinese are surveilled and oppressed. China is repeating some of the same mistakes that the Soviet Union made - rejecting property rights and predictable rule of law.

False.

Fact check: China practices socialism with Chinese characteristics. An essential feature of the socialist democracy is that the people are the masters of the country. The socialist political system with Chinese characteristics upholds the unity of Party leadership, the running of the country by the people, and law-based governance, and features enhancing institutional safeguards for the running of the country by the people.

-- China achieved freedom from the oppression of imperialism and colonialism. Freedom, democracy and rule of law are codified in China's Constitution. They are also part of the core values of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In 1997, the 15th CPC National Congress committed to "...ensuring that the people enjoy extensive rights and freedom endowed by law, and respecting and guaranteeing human rights." In 2007, respecting and guaranteeing of human rights was added into the CPC Constitution for the first time. In 2017, the 19th CPC National Congress established Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the guiding thinking of the CPC, and categorically stated that the CPC should "strengthen legal protection for human rights to ensure that the people enjoy extensive rights and freedoms as prescribed by law," and stressed protecting people's personal rights, property rights, and right to dignity. The Chinese government earnestly respects and fully protects the human rights and freedoms of Chinese citizens in accordance with China's Constitution and other laws.

-- On May 28, 2020, the third session of the 13th National People's Congress adopted the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, representing an important milestone in the country's advancement of socialist rule of law in the new era. With seven parts, 1,260 articles and more than 100,000 words, the civil code was compiled based on systematically incorporating and modifying existing civil laws and regulations formulated in different periods, including the general principles of the civil law and laws on real rights, contract, guarantee, marriage, adoption, inheritance, tort liability and personality rights. It adjusts personal and property relations between natural persons, legal persons and other civil subjects, and provides equal protection of rights in various areas including safeguarding life and health, property safety, convenient transactions, people's happiness and dignity.

-- China safeguards freedom of religious belief in accordance with the law. The country has nearly 200 million religious believers, more than 380,000 clerical personnel, and about 140,000 places of worship registered for religious activities. The scriptures of Islam, Buddhism and Christianity among other religions have been translated, published and distributed in multiple languages. In Tibet Autonomous Region, there are 1,787 religious venues which house more than 46,000 Buddhist monks and nuns. Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has 24,800 religious venues including mosques, churches, temples and Taoist abbeys; there is one mosque for 530 Muslims on average in the region; the number of clerical personnel is 29,300; students have access to undergraduate programs in Islamic institutes; and more than 1.76 million copies of the Quran and Selections from Sahih of al-Buhari have been distributed.

-- Liberty does not mean a free rein, and science, reason, law, order and international rules are all foundations of liberty. Liberty, says Montesquieu in "The Spirit of the Laws," is a right of doing whatever the laws permit, and if a citizen could do what they forbid, he would be no longer possessed of liberty. Freedom has boundaries. Even the so-called "free nations" delimit a "no-go zone" for liberty and never allow anyone to challenge the bottom line of the legal system. The Chinese government has the power conferred by the law to take various measures to safeguard national unity, ethnic solidarity and social stability. It is also duty-bound to protect the lawful rights and interests of the vast majority of the people by taking these measures. The exercise of its power and the fulfillment of its duties fall within China's domestic affairs and no interference from external forces will be tolerated.

-- The constitutions of more than 100 countries provide that the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms should not jeopardize national security. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights stipulates that the freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs, the right to freedom of expression, the right of peaceful assembly, and the right to a public trial among other rights may be subject to limitations that are necessary to protect public safety or order. The European Convention on Human Rights also has similar provisions. The United States, Britain, Canada and Australia among other countries have built strict legal systems to safeguard national security and stay tough on fighting crimes endangering national security.

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