Canada using human rights as political tool at UN doomed to fail: Chinese diplomat

Canada's spreading of disinformation to frame China at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is nothing but using human rights as a political tool, said a senior Chinese diplomat on Thursday. 

Ahead of the 47th regular session of the UNHRC scheduled from June 21 to July 13, Canada is leading attempts to make a Xinjiang-related joint statement at the interactive dialogue on the annual report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Liu Yuyin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that such an attempt is doomed to fail.

"Out of political purposes, a small group of Western countries, Canada included, are attempting once again to spread disinformation and lies to frame China at the Human Rights Council. It is nothing but a repeat of their usual trick of using human rights as a political tool, which is bound to be rejected by the international community and doomed to fail," Liu said.

He added that the Chinese government is committed to the well-being of its people, including people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, as it takes their aspirations for a better life as its goal.

"With unremitting efforts, Xinjiang has made remarkable achievements in economic and social development and the field of human rights. At present, Xinjiang enjoys social stability, peace, and economic prosperity. People there are living a safe and enjoyable life," he said.

According to the Chinese diplomat, in 2020, after lifting more than 3 million people out of poverty in the region, Xinjiang eradicated absolute poverty for the first time in history.

"The Chinese government's policies governing Xinjiang are open and aboveboard and accountable to the people and history. These policies have won wholehearted support of the people of all ethnic groups."

"Certain countries are simply not happy to see prosperity, stability, and development in Xinjiang and are doing whatever they can to fabricate lies about Xinjiang in an attempt to smear China, interfere in China's internal affairs, and stunt China's development," he added. 

As more than 200 million visits are made by tourists to Xinjiang every year, and those Western countries all have embassies in China, "how come that their ambassadors and diplomats have no idea of the truth in Xinjiang? Or they simply choose to be the man pretending to fall asleep," Liu questioned.

China has extended invitations on several occasions to these ambassadors of Western countries to visit Xinjiang, but on each occasion, they declined with one excuse after another, and failed to make the trip to this date, he said.

"People just wonder, why are they so scared to visit? Obviously, what they really care is not facts and truth, but how to slander and frame China in every possible way under the pretext of Xinjiang-related issue. What they have done will not gain any support and won't go anywhere," he noted.

Liu lashed out Western countries including Canada by saying that despite grave and shocking human rights violations within their own borders, they have never taken any substantive action to address the violations. For them, human rights are nothing but lip service or a tool to attack others.

"Canada has seriously violated human rights of the indigenous people. The recent discovery of the remains of over 200 indigenous children at a Canadian boarding school is yet another reminder of Canada's historical atrocities of killing the indigenous people and eradicating their culture. Over 150,000 indigenous children in Canada were forcibly taken away from their parents and sent to boarding schools, where at least 4,000 children died of unnatural causes. Until today, people of Asian and African descent in Canada are still suffering from systemic racial discrimination, and rights of migrants are wantonly offended," he said.

"We would like to once again warn these countries that Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong are inalienable parts of China, and the Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong related issues are purely China's internal affairs which brook no interference by any external forces. No one cares more about the human rights of the Chinese people than the Chinese government," Liu added.

"Canada and the countries concerned are advised to immediately halt their dangerous act, stop political manipulation of Xinjiang-related issues and stop provoking confrontation at the Human Rights Council. We will fight back resolutely any injustice and trespasses done to us," said the Chinese diplomat. 

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