Foreign Minister Wang Yi addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept 27, 2014. [Photo/Agencies] |
UNITED NATIONS -- The following were quotable quotes from the statement delivered by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday at the General Debate of the UN General Assembly:
-- The United Nations was established to keep the scourge of the two world wars from occurring again and it embodies the fervent hope of all countries for peace and stability. To achieve this goal, the Charter of the United Nations created the vision of joint efforts to build a better world.
-- We should treat each other as equals. The principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity must be upheld. The pursuit by different countries of economic and social development must be respected. Their right to independently choose their social systems and development paths must be safeguarded.
-- As we have seen in Gaza, the Central African Republic and South Sudan, our world is far from peaceful. In the face of all those who are killed in war, we must ask ourselves, "How can we keep the tragedies from repeating themselves?" In the face of women and children, displaced by fighting, we must ask ourselves, "When can they return home?" In the face of incessant conflicts, we must ask ourselves, "How can we open the door to lasting peace? "
-- All parties should uphold the UN Charter, develop and practice a culture of inclusion and tolerance, and uproot the seed of hatred and retaliation, so that the fruit of inclusion and amity will grow on the post-conflict land.
-- As new developments emerge in the global fight against terrorism, the international community should take new measures to address them. In particular, it should focus on combating religious extremism and cyber terrorism, resolutely eliminate the roots and block channels of spreading terrorism and extremism, and crack down hard and effectively on the use of the Internet and other new means of communication by terrorists to instigate, recruit, finance or plot terrorist attacks.
-- The Six Party Talks remain the only viable and effective way to resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. The pressing task now is to restart the talks as soon as possible. The Korean nuclear issue should be dealt with by a sustainable, irreversible and effective dialogue process which addresses the concerns of all parties in a comprehensive and balanced way.
-- The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by the United Nations in 2000 has contributed greatly to human survival and development, yet global development remains a protracted task. The international community faces not only formidable challenges in poverty reduction, hunger elimination, health of women and children, and education, but also new challenges in environment, climate change, and energy and resources security.
-- The Ebola epidemic, which is raging in some African countries, has once again sounded the alarm bell for global health security.
-- As a good brother and good partner of Africa sharing weal and woe with it, China will continue to stand firmly with the African people, and support and assist them to the best of its ability. We will also take an active part in the relevant international assistance efforts.
-- Remembering the past makes people cherish peace, and recalling history will guide us in embracing the future.
-- China welcomes the inclusion of "the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War" on the agenda of the current session of the UN General Assembly. This presents an important opportunity for us.
-- Looking back on what happened 70 years ago, the historical facts are perfectly clear, and a final verdict has already been pronounced on what was right and what was wrong. History is not to be falsified, and truth is not to be distorted. Today, 70 years later, let us jointly uphold human justice and conscience so that those who attempt to deny aggression and distort history will have nowhere to hide and achieve nothing. Let us jointly defend the UN Charter and the outcomes of the Second World War so that the vision for a world free of war and with lasting peace will strike deep roots in our hearts and pass from one generation to another.