Deputy permanent representative Sun Lei told the General Assembly's Third Committee that criticism from the UK, Australia, Japan, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania was groundless.
Sun Lei, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, rejected human-rights criticism from the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania during the general debate of the General Assembly's Third Committee, Global Times reported. The paper, which is state-affiliated, cited a statement from China's permanent mission.
Sun said China strongly condemned what he called groundless accusations and malicious smears. He said those countries cast themselves as human-rights teachers while having serious problems of their own, and that they were in no position to lecture China. China Daily Hong Kong carried the same rebuttal and said the remarks came at the 81st session.
The Chinese account says Beijing has eliminated absolute poverty and lifted nearly 100 million people out of poverty. Sun also cited a relative household poverty rate of about 15 percent in Japan and said child poverty there was pressing. Those figures are as stated by the Chinese mission, not independently rechecked here.
He urged the six countries to stop what he called fabricating falsehoods and using human rights for political purposes, and criticised their stance on Palestine, Iran and Cuba. The countries named have not had their statements reproduced in the Chinese reports used for this brief.
No independent transcript of the committee exchange was available in the sources checked. The item is the Chinese mission's rebuttal, not a finding on the underlying allegations.
People Sentiments Mixed
- Sun said the six countries were in no position to lecture China on human rights.
- He urged them to stop using human rights for political manipulation.