Beijing lambasts US record on human rights and labels Washington’s inference in China as ‘hypocrisy’

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has blasted the US’s interference in Beijing’s domestic affairs on the grounds of human rights, after Washington’s embassy in China called on Chinese citizens to “boldly stand up” for their rights.

Speaking at a regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters that the US wrote the textbook on being hypocritical about human rights, and called on people to question what the term actually means. 

Human rights is not a glorious empty slogan, let alone a tool for interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, but a real improvement in life, the realization of value and dignity that most people can feel.

Hua was responding to a question from the media concerning a US Embassy post on Weibo – the Chinese version of Twitter – on Wednesday. The post, written on the eve of Human Rights Day, called on Chinese citizens to “boldly stand up” for their rights. 

Hua said the Chinese people won’t be fooled by the US propaganda and are fully aware of American hypocrisy. 

“Where are the human rights of the more than 15 million diagnosed and nearly 300,000 Americans who died from Covid? Where are the human rights of more than 40 million people of African descent in the United States? Where are the human rights of millions of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan in the war?” she asked, claiming to echo the comments of people on Weibo. 

The spokeswoman took particular aim at the US response to Covid-19: “The number of deaths from Covid-19 in the US in a single day has exceeded the number of victims of the September 11 incident. This is indeed shocking and sad.” 

In China, “the right to life is the greatest human right,” Hua insisted, adding that Beijing’s response to the coronavirus was symbolic of its commitment to put people’s lives first. 

Relations between Beijing and Washington have spiraled this year, with the US heavily criticizing China’s commitment to human rights, the erosion of democratic values in the former British colony of Hong Kong, and the treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang.

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