Beijing lashes out at universal rights, US policies

Beijing lashes out at universal rights, US policies

Mainland officials once again rejected a global universal values as they lashed out at the US on Wednesday over recent legislation passed by Congress criticising Beijing for its policies in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang.



Addressing a human rights forum being held in Beijing, minister of propaganda Huang Kunming reiterated China’s rejection of the notion of a universal human rights standard.



“There is no universal human rights path and model in the world,” Huang said. “The development of the cause of human rights must and can only be promoted in accordance with the national conditions of each country and the needs of the people.”



China insists it is up to each nation to choose its own path when it comes to human rights, and dismisses Western concepts of free speech, liberal democracy and civil rights in favor of tough authoritarian control aimed at growing the economy and raising living standards.



According to Chinese state media, officials and scholars from more than 70 Asian, African and Latin American developing countries, as well as the United Nations, attended the two-day 2019 South-South Human Rights Forum, hosted by the Cabinet’s information office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.



Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu meanwhile slammed the US policies without naming the country by name, saying a “certain individual country vigorously starts trade wars and constantly introduces so-called human rights and democracy bills to openly interfere in the internal affairs of other countries".



Ma also accused the US of spreading conflicts and humanitarian crises elsewhere “under the banner of human rights,” reflecting complaints that American interventions and the promotion of democracy have destabilised countries from Syria to Venezuela.



Ma also attacked US trade policy, saying – again without mentioning Washington by name – that the country referred to “wielded sanctions batons", and engaged in economic blockades, the decoupling of science and technology and financial sanctions against target nations, the main one presumably being China.



“These acts not only hinder the development of the world economy, but also violate the human rights of the people of the affected countries. They must be firmly opposed and resisted,” Ma told participants at the forum on human rights. (AP)