China rejects unfounded accusations

'Diversity of paths' on human rights should be respected, UN envoy says

The United States and some Western allies are "provoking confrontation, pointing fingers at other developing countries' human rights situation, and brazenly launching smear campaigns", said China's envoy to the United Nations during the UN General Assembly Third Committee's debate on Thursday.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, called out the US and its Western allies for their "totally unfounded" accusations, saying that "instead of caring about human rights in China, their real intention is to sabotage China's stability and development".

By totally disregarding the facts, Zhang said the US and a few other countries are fabricating lies, making groundless accusations against China, and using human rights to interfere in China's internal affairs. The Chinese government and people adamantly oppose and resolutely reject these moves.

"To the US and a few other countries, let me say this: It's time to wake up and face global challenges. Dialogue and cooperation are the right way forward," he added.

China and the Chinese people have made steady progress in human rights, bringing about a "historic resolution" to poverty a decade ahead of the UN's 2030 agenda for poverty reduction and sustainable development, and have realized national independence and prosperity.

"The Chinese people have become the real master of the country. And ideals of democracy, human rights, freedom and equality have been translated into reality. China has achieved constant progress in human rights and made prominent contribution to the global human rights cause," he said.

The promotion and protection of human rights is "a dynamic process in history", and the international community must "steer the right course forward".

Imposing a single model of human rights development and governance, especially from the outside, is neither feasible nor democratic. Rather, "a diversity of paths" should be respected, Zhang said.

The ambassador noted that some countries, while espousing a return to multilateralism, are actually "forming exclusive cliques".

He said they talk about upholding international order, while "imposing unilateral sanctions and coercive measures, and infringe upon the rights and interests of people of other countries".

"We must uphold dialogue and cooperation, instead of creating confrontation," Zhang said. "The world is progressing. Gone are the days when developing countries were trampled upon. Human rights are not some privilege of the West. People of every nation have the right to live a happy life."

Shared aspiration

Equality and human rights are not only the shared aspiration of all humanity, but also a goal that the Chinese people constantly pursue, the ambassador said. China's path toward this goal is in accordance with its national conditions and will brook no external interference.

"It is the people's support that gives us the greatest strength in advancing our human rights path with distinctive Chinese features. The best testament is the happy life and smiling faces of the Chinese people," Zhang said.

"Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, we have found a developmental path suited to our national conditions," said Zhang, adding that China's greatest human rights achievement is to bring prosperity and happiness to the people.

China has also made "strategic progress" in containing the pandemic at home, as well as provided more than 100 countries and international organizations with over 1.2 billion vaccine doses－more than any other nation in the world.

China's progress is the result of the hard work of the Chinese people, the envoy said.

According to a statement from China's permanent mission to the UN on Thursday, Egypt, Algeria, Chad, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Venezuela and other countries "actively supported and echoed China's position for all countries to have the right to independently choose their path to human rights based on their national conditions".