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Don't Run Your Head against the South Stone Wall Anymore
The annual meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission will be held in Geneva next month. This reporter had twice gone to cover the annual meeting, the scenes featuring the fierce trial of strength in the international human rights field remain to this date clear and fresh in his mind. The Western countries headed by the United States have since 1990 tabled anti-China proposals at nine UN human rights meetings, which met with defeat each time. Facts prove that there is no way out for antagonism created in the international human rights field. Should those, who had run into the south stone wall nine times and been foiled each time, recall this history and come to realize something therefrom?
Firstly, they should give up the Cold-War mentality. Human right has its universality, as well as its particularity, a fact recognized by the overwhelming majority of countries in the world. The Western countries headed by the United States invariably delineate countries on the basis of ideology, they only recognize the Western standard of value and concept of human rights, insisting that all countries copy the Western stuffs in toto in disregard of their own historical tradition and social and economic developmental level. This practice has entailed social disturbances and even chaos caused by war in some African countries. No wonder that Western countries headed by the United States invariably stood diametrically opposed to the vast number of developing nations at each annual meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission. This confrontation, however, is unfavorable to the promotion of international cooperation in the field of human rights.
Secondly, they should give up the hegemonic concept. After the conclusion of the Cold War, the United States, as the only superpower in the world, acted arrogantly and assumed the air of self-importance, needless to say, it was all the more domineering in the field of international human rights. From the very outset, it was the sponsor that spurred the European Union to bring up anti-China proposals, while the United States itself supported the proposals. In the spring of 1997, however, the four EU countries represented by France took the lead to propose using dialog to replace confrontation in the field of international human rights, clearly indicating that at UN human rights meetings, they should no longer table proposals directed against China's human right situation. As a result, that year the EU did not take the lead for the first time to table an anti-China proposal. Refusing to take its defeat lying down, the United States instigated Denmark to take the lead to dish out an anti-China proposal which was supported by 10-plus countries including the United States and Britain. This proposal could still be called the motion of "Western countries headed by the United States", the United States managed to shore up its face as "master of the arena" to give an open challenge, however, it made little combat gains and rolled down from the arena the seventh time, sustaining disastrous defeat. The following year, the United States became somewhat clever, refraining from inciting other countries to table anti-China proposals, and itself did not do so either. In 1999, the United States was ready to make trouble again, it was lamenting that not a single country in the world wanted to serve as its spokesman, so this overlord had no alternative but to go into action itself, as it looked around, and found there was only one small country left to be its follower, this naturally was another defeat..
Last year, after being defeated in each of eight battles, the United States, angry and shame, vowed to fight it out with China to see who was the stronger, it was out of its expectations that it became utterly isolated, after this single nation dished out the anti-China proposal, there was unexpectedly not a single follower, and it thus really became a "leader without a following". Left alone with only its own shadow and suffering a crushing defeat, it became totally discredited
Thirdly, they should abandon the double human right standards. While measuring others, the United States should also measure itself with a ruler. Each year, the United States puts up the air of being a "master". In its so-called annual human right situation report, the United States ordered many countries about and made irresponsible remarks against them. Was the United States itself so clean when it shamelessly censured others? No! Huge amounts of related facts and figures were ready at hand which were exposed by US media themselves:
The corruption of the US system of election by the people has been exceedingly serious, numerous US electors have noticed the "the stink of money" generated therefrom. The money spent on US election last year reached as high as US$3 billion. An American expert studying the relations between money and election campaign gave away the secret when he said that one can know the final result of the election before it is launched as long as one looks into the account on the collection of funds at the federal election committee. Poor American people have been forgotten by "democracy", and the "equality bragged about by the Constitution has been trampled upon".
US child laborer problem is serious. There are 290,000 children employed by factories, mines and farms in the United States. They are often working under dangerous and unbearable conditions. Children working with farms work even as long as 20 hours a day, the wages they earn are pathetically meager. What is more, they face the danger of being poisoned by insecticide, injured and becoming disabled lifelong.
In the United States considered to be the richest in the world, there are thousands upon thousands of people suffering hunger every day. In 1998, food was not guaranteed for 9.7 percent families in the United States.
As a matter of fact, the human right situation of any country in today's world cannot be described as perfect. Allowing the common people of various countries to enjoy more human rights by constantly improving the human right situation is the lofty objective being commonly pursued by human societies. To this end, various countries should strengthen links and understanding through dialogs and cooperation. At the meetings of the UN Human Rights Commission, the Chinese government had repeatedly put forward its proposals for replacing confrontation with dialog, this is the only practical way to promote the human right cause of humankind. At the UN human right meeting this year, it can be said with certainty that if anyone who, going against the historical trend, dishes out an anti-China proposal for the 10th time, will definitely meet with the 10th disastrous defeat. Quoting the ancient saying, "Whoever understands the times is a great man", I advise those gentlemen who suffered repeated defeats should promptly make a fresh start and must not harp on the same old tunes. I wish the UN human right meeting this year can make a good beginning and earnestly do something good for creating an atmosphere for international cooperation in the human right field.
This article , written by Guo Yongyi, is published on the front page of People's Daily, February 23
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