COMMENT
8 | Tuesday, July 30, 2019 CHINA DAILYCHINA DAILY WORLDWIDE
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[email protected]Editorials
Rule of law is Hong Kong’s
most valuable possession
I
n its first ever news briefing on Monday, the Hong Kong and
Macao Affairs Office, the country’s top office in charge of the
affairs of the two special administrative regions, expressed the
central government’s concern about the well-being of Hong
Kong in light of the continuing violent protests in the city.
No society under the rule of law will tolerate rampant violence, a
spokesperson said, calling on all sectors of Hong Kong society to
“clearly oppose violence”, “strongly uphold the rule of law” and end
the political gridlock to focus on economic development and improv-
ing people’s livelihoods.
Weeks of violence by a few radicals have damaged Hong Kong’s
reputation of being one of the safest cities in the world. Already,
some foreign governments, such as those of Japan and the Republic
of Korea, have issued travel warnings to their citizens and there has
been a significant drop in the number of tourist arrivals recently.
Local consumer sentiment has also turned sour with growing wor-
ries about jobs. As a result, a double-digit decline in both tourist
arrivals and retail sales has been forecast for the month of July by
government officials.
Business confidence has also been dented, and any prolonged
violence could further dampen consumer and business confi-
dence, which would not bode well for the livelihoods of Hong
Kong people.
The unbridled assaults on police officers, the legislature building
and other government premises have dealt a big blow to Hong Kong’s
rule of law. In a statement on Monday, police said 49 “radical protest-
ers” had been arrested for a variety of offenses during clashes on Sun-
day, when rioters hurled bricks, bottles, paint bombs and corrosive
liquids at police, and even a crossbow was used to fire ball bearings.
The rule of law is a core value Hong Kong people revere and defend
like a faith as it is the strongest pillar that underpins the city’s global
competitiveness. Any further erosion of it could herald a permanent
decline for the city.
The Hong Kong Police Force, which has demonstrated admirable
courage, fortitude and professionalism in its operations to restore
order in the face of the shocking acts by the radical protesters, has the
full support of the central government.
Now the majority of Hong Kong residents that abhor the violence
need to make themselves heard. They have expressed their support
for the Hong Kong Police Force and objection to the antics of the radi-
cal protesters. But the violence unleashed again by the extremists
over the weekend suggests they need to express their objections in a
stronger voice and a more serious manner.
Maintaining social harmony and stability serves the interests of all
in Hong Kong as well as those of outside investors. It is also a prereq-
uisite for addressing the deep-seated problems that have built up over
a long period of time.
If the disorder persists, it will be the whole of Hong Kong society
that pays the price.Guo Chushan
Critics of Xinjiang policies politically motivated
T
he UN ambassadors of 22
Western countries recently
sent a joint letter to the
United Nations Human
Rights Council criticizing the meas-
ures that have been taken to coun-
ter terrorism and extremism in the
Xinjiang Uygur autonomous
region, which they claim infringe
upon the human rights of Uygurs.
A few days later, the ambassadors
of 50 other countries sent a joint
letter to the UN praising the meas-
ures for protecting the human
rights of people in the region. They
also opposed the West’s politicizing
of human rights, and urged West-
ern countries to stop their unwar-
ranted censuring of China.
Some critics of China have long
used human rights as a means to
criticize it. They have become good
at politicizing human rights and
instigating ideological antagonism.
They feel no shame for the humani-
tarian disasters they have caused as
a result, or their own poor human
rights records.The supporters of China are
countries from Asia, Africa, South
America as well as Europe, and
many of them are members of the
Organisation of Islamic Coopera-
tion. It means China’s progress in
protecting its citizens’ human
rights has won wide recognition
and the support of a majority of the
international community.
China has lifted nearly 800 mil-
lion people out of poverty in about
40 years, and has built the world’s
largest education, medical care and
social security systems.
In the UN Human Rights Council
review of China’s human rights
report in March, more than 120
countries acknowledged China’s
economic and social development
achievements and the effectiveness
of its human rights protection
measures.
There is no single development
path, and all countries have the
right to explore their own path of
development and their own human
rights protection model.Xinjiang is China’s internal
affair, and it concerns China’s sov-
ereignty, national security and ter-
ritorial integrity. The problems in
Xinjiang are not ethnic or religious
issues, but issues of terrorism and
violent crimes. The Chinese gov-
ernment has taken measures
according to the law to respond to
these challenges to ensure social
stability and the fundamental
interests of local people.
The measures China has taken in
Xinjiang are to not only fight
against terrorism, extremism and
separatism, but also prevent more
people from being brainwashed by
harmful ideology that is often pack-
aged in religion and nationalism.
These measures have reversed
Xinjiang’s security situation within a
few years. Over the past nearly three
years, Xinjiang has not witnessed
any violence incidents, which is a
significant achievement for a region
that is three times as large as France
with a population of about 24 mil-
lion comprising 47 ethnic groupsand many different religions.
Xinjiang was once at a crossroad
where it threatened to become
another hotbed and exporter of ter-
rorism. China has turned it to a
region of stability and prosperity.
Beijing has invited foreign
envoys, ambassadors, international
organization officials and reporters
to visit Xinjiang many times.
Almost all of the people who have
seen Xinjiang, including the voca-
tional education training centers,
for themselves have said that it is
different from the Western media’s
reports.
The duplicity and hypocrisy of
some Western countries are evident
in their one-sided and baseless criti-
cism of the anti-radicalism measures
employed in Xinjiang. It seems only
after Beijing gives a green light to the
spread of terrorism, extremism and
separatism will these Western coun-
tries pocket their accusing fingers.The author is an observer of inter-
national affairs.Li Yunlong
West does not speak for international community
D
isregarding the facts, 22
Western countries sent
a joint letter to the pres-
ident of the United
Nations Human Rights Council
and its high commissioner for
human rights recently, making
groundless accusations against
the anti-terrorism and deradicali-
zation measures that have been
employed in the Xinjiang Uygur
autonomous region, in an attempt
to deceive international public
opinion and create the illusion
that the international community
condemns the human rights situa-
tion there.
However, their ploy was soon laid
bare, as the Geneva-based resident
ambassadors of another 50 coun-
tries, sent a signed letter to the
president of the UN Human Rights
Council and its human rights high
commissioner, in which they
praised China’s efforts to counter
terrorism and extremism in Xinji-
ang, and pointed out that terror-
ism, separatism and religious
radicalism have done serious dam-age to Chinese people of all ethnic
groups in the region and trampled
on their basic human rights, such
as people’s rights to life, health and
development.
The handful of Western coun-
tries, which only account for about
one-tenth of the world’s population,
claim they speak for the interna-
tional community when misrepre-
senting the facts in Xinjiang and
speaking ill of China. Yet the main-
stream international community,
including countries in Asia, Africa,
Europe and the Americas with dif-
ferent religious and cultural back-
grounds, speaks positively of the
measures to counter terrorism and
extremism in Xinjiang.
It is particularly noteworthy
there was not a single developing
country that signed the letter crit-
icizing China, nor did many West-
ern countries, including some
European Union countries. This
shows that the international com-
munity does not approve of the
usual suspects using human
rights issues to interfere in Chi-na’s internal affairs.
China has taken a series of coun-
terterrorism and deradicalization
measures in Xinjiang, including
setting up vocational education and
training centers, which have helped
reverse the security situation in
Xinjiang and effectively guaranteed
the basic human rights of the peo-
ple of all ethnic groups in the
region. In the joint letter, the 50
countries urged Western countries
and their officials who have not
even visited Xinjiang to stop mak-
ing groundless accusations against
China based on unverified informa-
tion. That these countries have
issued a joint letter in support of
China and opposed the unfounded
attack on China shows they recog-
nize China’s contribution to the
global fight against terrorism and
extremism.
Based on hearsay and the words
of some anti-China elements, some
Western countries, non-govern-
mental organizations and media
outlets have made malicious accu-
sations against China and smearedthe measures taken in Xinjiang to
counter terrorism and extremism,
and fabricated false stories without
regard to the facts.
But the human rights situation
in Xinjiang allows for no distor-
tion. That Xinjiang has not seen a
single violent terrorist incident in
the past three years and the people
of all ethnicities in Xinjiang have
significantly increased their sense
of gain, happiness and security
proves the ill-intent of these false
accusations.
The Western model is not the
only development model, nor the
only one that protects human
rights. All countries have the right
to choose their own political system
and development path, and they
are firmly opposed to the human
rights being used as a tool and dou-
ble standard to bring shame on oth-
er countries and interfere in their
internal affairs.The author is a professor at the Par-
ty School of the Communist Party of
China Central Committee.Shanghai an inspiring
venue for trade talks
A
s the trade negotiators of China and the United States gath-
er in Shanghai on Tuesday and Wednesday to resume their
talks aimed at ending the ongoing tariff war the mood sur-
rounding them is palpably more subdued than it was
ahead of the previous round of talks in May.
Patience is needed because the shortening odds that they would be
able to navigate their way to a deal last time around were dashed on
the wrecking reefs of seeming intransigent differences on a number
of key issues, and the subsequent rhetoric from both sides that they
are willing to out-wait the other.
That the two sides have returned to the negotiating table is a posi-
tive sign that they still want to strike a deal. After all, they both know
neither will be the winner in a full-blown trade war. Recognizing that
fact, they should demonstrate a shared willingness to find, if not a
clean-sweep solution, at least a way out of the current deadlock.
Their one-year trade quarrel has already inflicted wounds on busi-
nesses of both sides, not to mention the harm it has done to the global
economy. The International Monetary Fund warned last month that
current and threatened US-China tariffs could slash global economic
output by 0.5 percent in 2020, not a pleasant thought, especially when
uncertainties from other directions such as Brexit are added to the mix.
China has already demonstrated it is going to engage in the talks
with sincerity. As a sign of goodwill, it announced purchases of more
US agricultural products on Sunday, including soybeans, cotton and
pork. Something that will have pleased US farmers. The US should
reciprocate if it wants any progress to be made.
China insists on equality and respect as a basis for reaching any pos-
sible deal, and the US should give its go-to tactic of maximum pressure
a couple of days off as it has proven ineffective against China.
It may be just a coincidence that this round of talks is being held in
Shanghai, where 47 years ago, the two sides signed the Shanghai
Communiqué that laid the foundation for the normalization of bilat-
eral relations. But it is certainly an auspicious venue.
The differences that existed then between the two countries after
decades of estrangement were definitely much greater than they are
today. Yet by keeping the big picture of Sino-US relations in mind, and
by agreeing to disagree, negotiators still managed to reach a deal that
served both countries’ interests over the 40 years to come by focusing
on their common ground.
Hopefully, the wisdom of the older generation will guide the two
sides’ discussions this time around. Hot words: Natural forest protection and restoration systemThe central authorities recently issued a
natural forest protection and restoration
plan for State-owned forest zones and
farms.
China has 2.97 billion mu (197.73 million
hectares) of natural forest resources, which
account for 64 percent of the country’s over-
all forest area.
In 1998, the central authorities decided to
implement the natural forest resource pro-
tection project, marking a change in orienta-
tion from wood production to ecological
construction. Over the past two decades,
China has continuously strengthened its pro-tection of natural forests and stopped
commercial exploitation of natural
forests in an all-around way.
The new plan proposes to improve
the natural forest management and
protection system, and establish a
natural forest protection administra-
tive chief responsibility system. Reg-
ulations covering the usage of
natural forest will also be introduced.
Already, production and operation
activities are prohibited in natural
forest protection zones. But there is a
need to improve the natural forestrestoration system and enhance the con-
struction of ecological corridors.
Moreover, a supervision mechanism,
such as a natural forest resource damage
lifetime accountability system, should
be built to strengthen the supervision
over natural forests.
In addition, the plan proposes imple-
menting a multichannel natural forest
protection and restoration financing
mechanism, and encourages social pub-
lic service organizations to participate in
natural forest protection and restoration
work.Online
See more
by scanning
the code.Cai Meng