A Chinese diplomat on human rights said on Monday in New York that China has the largest amount of information and generates the richest ideas in the world.

China's Constitution and other laws fully respect and guarantee citizens' freedom of speech, said Liu Hua, special representative for Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, at an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression held by the Third Committee of the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly.

Liu said that the Chinese government has continuously smoothed channels for the public to express their opinions, innovated methods for the masses to conduct supervision, and established convenient and efficient online expression platforms.

In 2018, the number of Internet users in China reached 829 million, the daily amount of information generated by Internet users reached 30 billion pieces, and 9.5 billion books of various types as well as nearly 12,000 newspapers and periodicals were published.

The international community should respect the rights of citizens to free expression, and build legal order in accordance with the rule of law, Liu said, adding that countries should conduct dialogue and cooperation on establishing common rules of Internet governance on the basis of mutual respect, so as to ensure that freedom of speech is practiced under the rule of law.

At another interactive dialogue focusing on the disabled's rights, Liu noted that the Chinese government attaches great importance to promoting and protecting the rights of the disabled.

China released a white paper, titled “Equality, Participation and Sharing: 70 Years of Protecting the Rights and Interests of Persons with Disabilities in the PRC” in July this year, Liu mentioned as an example of China's efforts in this area.

From 2013 to 2017, the fiscal allocations from all levels of the government for persons with disabilities added up to over 180 billion yuan, up 123 percent over the prior five years, according to the document.

(With input from Xinhua)