Sun Lei, China’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, speaking during the general debate of the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee on October 6, responded firmly to a number of Western countries, urging them to stop fabricating and spreading lies about China and stop using human rights issues for political manipulation.
Sun said that China strongly condemns and is firmly opposed to the groundless accusations and malicious smears of China’s human rights situation made by countries including the UK, Australia, Japan, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, in their replies during the general debate of the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly.
He went on to note that these countries consider themselves superior to others and often assume the posture of self-appointed “human rights teachers,” yet they have serious human rights problems of their own, adding that these countries are in no position to lecture others on human rights, let alone make irresponsible remarks about China.
In contrast to China, which has eliminated extreme poverty, poverty has continued to worsen in the UK in recent years, he said, with over 14 million people living below the poverty line, half of whom are in “extreme poverty”.
A 2018 report by Philip Alston, then UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said 14 million people, a fifth of the UK population, lived in poverty, and four million of these were more than 50 percent below the poverty line, and 1.5 million destitute, unable to afford basic essentials.
A study by the British Social Metrics Commission in 2024 found the cost of living crisis had plunged two million more people into severe hardship since 2019, meaning more than 16 million people in total are defined as living in poverty, or 24 percent of the UK population, the highest since comparable records began in 2000.
China’s new Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law aims to promote common prosperity and development among all ethnic groups. However, by contrast, Japan has failed to fulfil its commitments to eliminate racial discrimination and has not treated the Ainu (an indigenous people living in the north of Japan) and Ryukyu (Okinawan) peoples as equal ethnic groups, leaving their survival and development under threat. In the UK, Australia and Ireland, colonialism has caused enduring harm to this day, and these countries are facing serious social problems, including racism and ethnic divisions.
And in contrast to China’s concrete efforts to promote dialogue, cooperation and more equitable global human rights governance, countries such as the UK, Australia, Japan, the Czech Republic and Lithuania frequently invoke morality yet remain indifferent to the unjust treatment suffered by the people of Palestine, Iran and Cuba. They repeatedly use human rights as a pretext to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and impose unilateral coercive measures, infringing on the interests of developing countries and playing a highly disgraceful role, Sun pointed out.
The following articles were originally published by Global Times and China Daily.
China rebukes certain Western countries over human rights criticism, says they have no right to lecture it
October 6 (Global Times) – Sun Lei, China’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on Tuesday delivered a rebuttal during the general debate of the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee in response to Western countries, urging a handful of countries to stop fabricating and spreading lies about China and stop using human rights issues for political manipulation.
China strongly condemns and is firmly opposed to the groundless accusations and malicious smears of China’s human rights situation made by countries including the UK, Australia, Japan, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, in their replies during the general debate of the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, Sun said, according to a statement released by the Permanent Mission of China to the UN on Tuesday.
These countries consider themselves superior to others and often assume the posture of self-appointed “human rights teachers,” yet they have serious human rights problems of their own, Sun said, adding that these countries are in no position to lecture others on human rights, let alone make irresponsible remarks about China.
According to Sun, China has continued to safeguard and improve people’s well-being through development, eliminating absolute poverty nationwide. Nearly 100 million people have been lifted out of impoverishment, and a middle-income group of more than 400 million people has been established.
By contrast, poverty has continued to worsen in the UK in recent years, with over 14 million people living below the poverty line, half of whom are in “extreme poverty.” In Japan, the relative poverty rate among households stands at 15 percent, while child poverty has become increasingly pronounced. China expresses deep concern over the human rights situations in Japan, Sun said.
Meanwhile, China has continued to advance whole-process people’s democracy and ensure that the people run the country, with public support for and satisfaction with the government exceeding 90 percent for years. The national security law in Hong Kong marked a historic turning point for Hong Kong, bringing it from chaos to governance and from stability to prosperity, while improving and developing its democratic system, winning broad support across the city, Sun said.
By contrast, polls show that about 75 percent of people in the UK are concerned about the future of democracy. In Australia and the Czech Republic, public trust in government has fallen to new lows, with young people’s confidence in democracy also declining significantly, Sun added.
Sun said that all ethnic groups in China are equal members of the family of the Chinese nation and are closely united like the seeds of a pomegranate. The political, economic, cultural, religious and other rights of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Xizang Autonomous Region are effectively protected. The enactment and implementation of the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law aims to promote common prosperity and development among all ethnic groups.
By contrast, Japan has failed to fulfill its commitments to eliminate racial discrimination and has not treated the Ainu and Ryukyu peoples as equal ethnic groups, leaving their survival and development under threat. In the UK, Australia and Ireland, colonialism has caused enduring harm to this day, and these countries are facing serious social problems, including racism and ethnic divisions, Sun said.
Sun said that amid global turbulence and headwinds facing multilateralism, China has contributed to the international human rights cause through its development and concrete efforts to promote dialogue, cooperation and more equitable global human rights governance.
By contrast, countries such as the UK, Australia, Japan, the Czech Republic and Lithuania frequently invoke morality, yet remain indifferent to the unjust treatment suffered by the people of Palestine, Iran and Cuba. They repeatedly use human rights as a pretext to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and impose unilateral coercive measures, infringing on the interests of developing countries and playing a highly disgraceful role, Sun added.
Sun said the global trend toward multipolarity and more democratic international relations is irreversible and called for greater solidarity and cooperation on human rights. He said that China would pursue a human rights development path suited to its national conditions, engage in constructive dialogue and oppose the politicization of human rights, while urging a small number of countries to stop fabricating and spreading lies about China and stop using human rights issues for political manipulation. Otherwise, they will only end up hurting themselves.
China rebukes baseless, false human rights accusations
October 7 (China Daily) – Some Western countries continue to fabricate and spread falsehoods about China and exploit human rights issues for political purposes, while failing to safeguard the well-being of their own people, revealing a clear double standard in their approach to human rights, experts said.
At the general debate of the Third Committee of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, Sun Lei, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, said representatives of the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania had made baseless accusations against China and maliciously smeared its human rights record in their statements. China expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to their remarks.
Sun said these countries, which regard themselves as superior to others, frequently assume the role of “human rights lecturers”. Yet, their accusations regarding China’s human rights are unfounded and, given their own serious human rights problems at home, they are in no position to lecture others on human rights.
Sun pointed out that China has consistently worked to safeguard and improve people’s livelihoods while pursuing development, eliminating absolute poverty and lifting nearly 100 million people out of poverty.
By contrast, poverty in the UK, for example, has continued to worsen in recent years, with more than 14 million people living below the poverty line, half of them in “extreme poverty”, he said.
A 2018 report by Philip Alston, then UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said 14 million people, a fifth of the UK population, lived in poverty, and 4 million of these were more than 50 percent below the poverty line, and 1.5 million destitute, unable to afford basic essentials.
A study by the British Social Metrics Commission in 2024 found the cost of living crisis had plunged 2 million more people into severe hardship since 2019, meaning more than 16 million people in total are defined as living in poverty, or 24 percent of the UK population, the highest since comparable records began in 2000.
In Japan, Sun said, the relative household poverty rate stood at approximately 15 percent, while child poverty has become an increasingly pressing issue.
Sun added that China was deeply concerned by the human rights situation in Japan.
He said China urged certain countries to stop fabricating and spreading falsehoods about China and using human rights issues for political purposes. Otherwise, they will “only end up shooting themselves in the foot”, he said.
In his second right of reply to the Japanese representative’s statement, Sun told the Japanese side that only by strictly adhering to its international obligations, thoroughly eradicating the legacy of militarism, and committing to peaceful development can it truly shed the burden of its history.
Any attempt to whitewash its history of aggression, promote the resurgence of militarism, and challenge universal principles of justice and conscience through false narratives, such as “international contributions” and “existential crises”, will inevitably face historical reckoning and the judgment of justice once again, he said.
Chen Hong, director of the Asia-Pacific Studies Center at East China Normal University, said that the West’s “double standards on human rights” are, in essence, not merely a matter of applying inconsistent standards, but rather the complete instrumentalization and weaponization of human rights.
“When it comes to countries that they see as strategic rivals, human rights issues are blown out of proportion and used as a pretext to exert pressure, impose sanctions, interfere in their internal affairs, and even orchestrate international public opinion campaigns to isolate them,” he said.
What some Western countries are truly concerned about is not human rights, but whether human rights serve their strategic interests. When human rights align with their interests, they wave the banner of human rights and when they do not, they choose to remain silent, he said.
“Human rights have been distorted from a universal value into a tool for maintaining Western political dominance and hegemony in the international discourse,” Chen said.
He noted that countries such as the UK have long portrayed themselves as “preachers” of democracy, human rights and freedom, but this sense of moral superiority is becoming increasingly unconvincing.
“The human rights diplomacy of these countries increasingly resembles a political tool, serving not primarily to advance human rights but to maintain their moral high ground and influence over the international agenda,” Chen said.
Liu Shuliang, an associate researcher at the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, said that Japan has turned a blind eye to its own serious human rights issues, including the wealth gap, racial discrimination, gender-based violence and elder abuse.
In recent years, Japan has also attempted to distort historical facts and evade responsibility for its acts of aggression, while continuously pushing its security policies in an offensive, expansionist, and dangerous direction. It has shed the mask of a so-called “peace-loving nation” and is attempting to return to the old path of militarism, he said.
