It has come to our attention that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden has released a “human rights report on China” on 22 June. The report is filled with bias, stereotype and hostility against China, makes groundless attacks and smears on China in total disregard of basic facts, grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of human rights and democracy, provokes confrontational sentiments, and misleads the public, to which we express strong indignation and firm opposition.
In terms of human rights protection, no one can claim perfection and there is always room for improvement. Human rights have historical, specific and practical contexts. With different national conditions, histories, cultures, social systems and levels of economic and social development, countries should and can only explore suitable paths of human rights development in light of national realities and people’s needs. Any system or model blindly copied from another country regardless of the situation on the ground will not only look out of place, but also bring disastrous consequences. Should that happen, it is the people who will bear the brunt. When it comes to human rights issues, there is no such thing as a flawless utopia; countries do not need patronizing lecturers; still less should human rights issues be politicized and used as a tool to apply double standards, or as a pretext to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.
Putting the people at the center, China has found a path of human rights development that is in line with the trend of the times and suitable for China’s realities. The human rights of the Chinese people are guaranteed like never before, with a notable increase in their sense of fulfillment, happiness and security.
China has created the two miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability. Over 800 million people have been lifted out of poverty and 1.4 billion people are moving toward modernization. Over the course of just several decades, China has accomplished what took western developed countries hundreds of years.
A Harvard University survey among the Chinese people spanning 13 years found that more than 90 percent of respondents are satisfied with the Party and their government, the highest rate among countries for years running. A trust and credibility survey released in 2022 by Edelman, a renowned US public relations consultancy firm, shows that as many as 91 percent Chinese citizens trust their government in 2021, the highest among all surveyed countries.
While vigorously promoting the development of its own human rights cause, China has been a champion of the universal values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom, and has been promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, making its contributions to solving the major issues facing human society and promoting the development of human rights in the world. In recent years, the concept of “building a community of shared future” has been written into the resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council, and China-sponsored resolutions on “the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights” and on “Promoting Mutually Beneficial Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights” were adopted multiple times at the Human Rights Council. China also made joint statements on behalf of developing countries on the implementation of the right to development, the promotion of human rights by poverty alleviation, equitable distribution of vaccines, among other subjects, contributing its share to safeguarding the basic human rights of developing countries, which has won wide recognition and support from the international community.
China has been an advocate and a doer in advancing the international human rights cause. A World Bank study estimates, if implemented fully, the Belt and Road Initiative could lift 32 million people out of moderate poverty — those who live on less than $3.2 a day. It shows how participating in Belt and Road cooperation can advance human rights in more countries. In the face of the pandemic, China launched its largest global humanitarian operation since the founding of the People’s Republic, and championed the building of a global community of health for all. To address the global development deficit, China proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI) which sees improving people’s welfare and achieving well-rounded human development as the fundamental purpose and goal. The GDI has been echoed and supported by more than 100 countries and many international organizations including the UN. The Initiative galvanizes extensive international consensus for accelerated implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and builds up international synergy for coordinated development, thus providing a strong underpinning for the advancement of the international human rights cause.
In China’s whole-process people’s democracy, the entire people engage in law-based democratic elections, consultations, decision-making, management and oversight, and manage state as well as economic, cultural, and social affairs in various ways and forms and in accordance with the law.
At the end of 2020, 2.62 million people were serving as deputies to people’s congresses at all levels nationwide. Among them, those at county and township levels accounted for 94.5 percent of the total. Making full use of their close connections with the people, these deputies diligently fulfill their duties by soliciting and submitting the people’s suggestions and advice through various forms and channels.
People of all ethnic groups enjoy equal political, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as the rights to use their own ethnic language and freedom of religious belief. Xinjiang-related issues are not about human rights, but about fighting violence, terrorism and separatism. According to figures available between 1990 and the end of 2016, there were several thousand incidents of violent and terrorist attacks in Xinjiang, killing large numbers of innocent people and hundreds of police officers. In response to such real threats, Xinjiang has acted resolutely to fight terrorism and extremism in accordance with law, and as a result the trend of frequent terrorist activities has thus been effectively curbed. There has been no violent act of terrorism in Xinjiang for five consecutive years and more. The region has enjoyed security, social stability and good development. The safety and security of people of all ethnic groups have been effectively protected.
Between 2014 and 2019, GDP in Xinjiang rose from 919.59 billion yuan to 1.36 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 7.2 percent, while per capita disposable income grew by an average annual rate of 9.1 percent. In recent years, over 2,000 people from more than 100 countries, including experts, scholars, journalists, diplomats and religious figures, have visited Xinjiang, witnessing the unity, harmony and happiness of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.
Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong. Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs that brook no interference from any other sides. The Central Government of China has unswervingly implemented the policy of One Country, Two Systems. Since Hong Kong’s return, the policy of One Country, Two Systems under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy has been earnestly implemented with widely recognized achievements. The National Security Law in Hong Kong is a legitimate and necessary move to respond to violent terrorist activities and illegal external interference in Hong Kong. Constitutions of more than 100 countries have stipulations that the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms shall not endanger national security. The European Convention on Human Rights also has similar provisions. Over the past two years or so since the National Security Law was enacted, the rule of law in Hong Kong has been strengthened and better guaranteed. Hong Kong’s rule of law index continues to stay among the top in the world. Foreign investors have stronger confidence in the city. Hong Kong is seeing a bright prospect transitioning from chaos to order and to prosperity.
According to the 2022 AmCham Hong Kong Business Sentiment Survey released early this year, the number of businesses in Hong Kong optimistic about Hong Kong’s business outlook increased by 18 percent from the previous year, while the number of businesses that are pessimistic was down by 17 percent.
Since COVID-19 started, China has been acting on the principle of putting the people and their lives first. Based on China’s national conditions, it has formulated and implemented a dynamic zero-COVID guideline, and has been constantly fine-tuning its response measures in light of the evolving situation, to best protect people’s life and health and at the same time, ensure sustained, sound and steady socioeconomic development with the pandemic under effective control. Both the infection rate and mortality rate of China are the lowest in the world.
China's COVID-19 infection rate and death rate are far lower than developed countries such as European countries and the United States. The death rate in China is about 0.13 per thousand, while the death rate in Sweden is as high as about 1.9 per thousand.
The use of video surveillance and big data technology is an important step taken by the Chinese government to improve social governance, and also a common practice across the world. It is necessary, legal and justified. Tianwang (Skynet), which is composed of video surveillance systems, effectively eliminates potential risks to public security and ensures the high percentage of solved criminal cases in China. With the increasingly digitized crime prevention and control system, 98.6 percent of the people in China felt safe in 2021, and China is widely recognized as one of the safest countries in the world.
Human rights are a shared cause of mankind, and democracy is a shared value of mankind. There is no one-size-fits-all standard and model. We call on the Swedish side to take off the colored glasses of ideology, stop lecturing on human rights, look at China’s development and human rights in a fair and objective manner, and stop creating new obstacles to China-Sweden relations.
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