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No single template can secure human rights, China's foreign minister says
Updated 02:18, 18-Mar-2023
CGTN
China's new foreign minister Qin Gang appeared by video conference call. /Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
China's new foreign minister Qin Gang appeared by video conference call. /Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

China's new foreign minister Qin Gang appeared by video conference call. /Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

The protection of human rights should be managed in a different fashion in different countries, China's foreign minister Qin Gang said as he criticized countries who portray themselves as judges of others' behavior.

"Human rights for all is the shared pursuit of humanity. Meanwhile, countries vary from one another in historical background, cultural heritage, national conditions and needs of the people. There is no one size fits all model in the protection of human rights," Qin Gang told the UN Human Rights Council.

China has faced criticism in the Council for policies in Xinjiang and Hong Kong that Beijing says protect the security of its citizens and improve their living standards.

Qin characterized these accusations as an attempt to smear China and hold back its development.

Security

A Xinjiang policeman told a later session about his pain at witnesessing terror attacks in Xinjiang. China's policies in the region have been criticized by the U.S. and European nations as abuses of human rights and religious freedoms. But Waresijiang Maimaiti said the measures protected all those living there.

"Targeting no specific ethnicity and free from ethnic discrimination, Xinjiang's deradicalization efforts represent an essential tool to preventing and punishing extremism and countering terrorism."

Hong Konger Alex Yeung Ching Loong, said that his home city was also a better place to live as a result of the very laws he has heard criticized in the West. 

"The implementation of National Security Law ensures the stability and security of Hong Kong, providing fertile ground for economic development," he told the Human Rights Council.

 

01:20

Ukraine

The council also heard that the conflict in Ukraine had caused a severe degradation of human rights. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a separate speech that the war had triggered "massive violations."

Ukraine has said it wants to use the meeting to secure a tribunal to investigate allegations of Russian war crimes. Russia has been suspended from the Council but will still attend as an observer. 

 

[This article was updated on 17/03/23 to include details of Chinese residents' speeches.]

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