BEIJING – A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday refuted US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns' erroneous comments about China's human rights situation, saying such remarks expose US political agenda of using human rights as a pretext to interfere in China's internal affairs under the pretext of human rights and undermine China's stability, development and ethnic unity.
Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a request for comment on a statement made by Nicholas Burns on Dec 10 that unjustly criticized the human rights situation in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong.
The relevant statement by the US side levels groundless accusations against China's human rights situation and is full of lies and prejudice, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin
The relevant statement by the US side levels groundless accusations against China's human rights situation and is full of lies and prejudice, Wang said.
"It fully reflects the hegemonic and bullying nature of the US side," he said, adding that China is extremely dissatisfied and firmly opposes such remarks.
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The people of China are best positioned to judge the human rights conditions in China, the spokesperson said, adding that respecting and protecting human rights has been enshrined in China's constitution.
China sticks to the socialist path of political development with Chinese characteristics, comprehensively develops the whole-process people's democracy, and adheres to the people-centered development philosophy, thus ensuring better protection of human rights, he added.
Wang pointed out that China has earnestly fulfilled its international human rights obligations and is the only major country in the world that has consecutively formulated and implemented four national human rights action plans.
"We will continue to follow China's path of human rights development, take an active part in global human rights governance, and promote the comprehensive development of human rights," he said.
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The so-called "genocide" and "crimes against humanity" in Xinjiang is a sheer lie of the century; the so-called "repression" policy carried out by China in Tibet is completely misleading and the so-called disintegration of China's commitment to Hong Kong's autonomy totally confuses right and wrong, Wang noted.
The United States often points fingers at the human rights situation in other countries while turning a blind eye to its own human rights problems, the spokesperson said, reiterating that the United States has serious problems such as systematic racism, forced labor and violation of the rights of migrants and Indians
The United States often points fingers at the human rights situation in other countries while turning a blind eye to its own human rights problems, the spokesperson said, reiterating that the United States has serious problems such as systematic racism, forced labor and violation of the rights of migrants and Indians.
In the name of protecting human rights, the United States has bullied, imposed sanctions on and waged wars against other countries, resulting in humanitarian devastation, economic ruin and social turbulence in these countries and creating numerous human rights disasters and crises. What the United States does tramples on the international cause of human rights, Wang said.
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"With such a poor track record, the United States is in no position to preach human rights and has no right to point fingers at other countries," he added.
"We urge the United States to stop slandering China on the human rights issue, stop interfering in China's internal affairs and undermining China's stability under the pretext of human rights, truly reflect on its own human rights violations and fix its poor track record first," Wang said.
Lift the sanctions
Meanwhile, China also urges the United States to withdraw its so-called sanctions on Chinese officials immediately, and stop interfering in Tibet affairs, Wang said.
His remarks came after the United States on Friday imposed sanctions on two senior Chinese officials over what they called serious human rights abuse in Tibet autonomous region.
Wang said the US side imposed illegal sanctions on Chinese officials under domestic law and the pretext of so-called human rights issues in Tibet, which "grossly interferes in China's internal affairs, blatantly violates basic norms in international relations and gravely undermines China-US relations."
"China firmly opposes it and strongly condemns it," Wang said.