CHINA’S HUMAN rights record was criticised by a United Nations panel in Geneva yesterday, with delegates focusing in particular on Tibet, labour camps, the death penalty, torture in custody and the treatment of dissidents.
The Chinese delegation to the UN human rights panel’s first review of China’s progress was led by ambassador Li Baodong, who defended the Beijing government’s treatment of citizens, saying its people are free to voice their opinions to the media and that the government opposes torture.
China links progress on human rights to economic development, and Beijing reiterated this line in a report submitted to the review which said that higher standards of living had led to improvements in the legal system and greater levels of political representation.
“China respects the principle of the universality of human rights . . . given differences in political systems, levels of development and historical and cultural backgrounds, it is natural for countries to have different views on the question of human rights,” the statement ran.
China’s response to criticism was very much in line with its standard line on human rights, and Mr Li accused countries particularly critical of its record of politicising the debate.
The UN’s Human Rights Council has carried out reviews of China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Russia as part of a programme started in 2007 that will examine all UN member states every four years.
Some delegates asked China about reports that Tibetan Buddhists and Uighur Muslims were facing increasing restrictions on their freedom of religion, culture and expression following last year’s violence. Mr Li said the Chinese government would not allow torture to be used against ethnic or religious minorities.
Human rights groups described China’s comments during the review as an attempt to whitewash reality. They said the jailing of activist Liu Xiaobo for circulating a pro-democracy manifesto known as Charter 08, growing censorship and the denial of lawsuits by grieving parents, whose children either died when their schools collapsed in last May’s earthquake in Sichuan or because of tainted milk powder, were signs that the government is still tough on dissent.
Beijing believes it is playing a long game on human rights, and accuses any foreign government trying to intervene of meddling in its internal affairs.
It is also quick to turn the tables in human rights debates – when Australia took the opportunity of the review to attack China on its Tibetan stance, the Chinese responded by quizzing Australia about the treatment of indigenous Aborigines.