Decolonization is an ongoing battle: China Daily editorial

The last holdouts of colonialism still linger on although the majority of colonies have been liberated from the grip of their colonial masters over the past more than seven decades after World War II.

The Malvinas Islands are a case in point, with the United Kingdom still clinging to its colonial mentality, and refusing to return the islands to Argentina.

That explains why China voiced its support of Argentina's sovereignty over the islands at the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization on Thursday.

Argentina should have naturally regained sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands in 1816 when the country gained independence from Spain. But they were forcefully grabbed by the UK in 1833.

A UN resolution in 1965 urged the two countries to settle their dispute over the sovereignty of the Islands through talks. But the two countries went to war over the control of the islands in 1982, with the UK emerging the victor.

But decolonization is the trend and the way to realize equality and fairness in the global governance.

The UK should heed the call of the UN to negotiate with Argentina. But instead it has refused any form of talks, insisting on its possession of the sovereignty of the Islands.

The UK's mentality of colonialism also finds expression in its unreasonable interference in Hong Kong affairs, of course.

For the UK, despite its decline as a colonial power, lacks the courage to reflect on its colonial past. This has made it impossible for it to have a clear understanding about how the world could be governed in a fair and equal manner for the well-being of all countries and peoples.

The UK and some other Western countries which used to be colonial powers can still hardly resign themselves to the reality that power politics does not apply in global governance today and that the dignity and interest of developing countries must be respected.

On the issue of climate change, the distribution of vaccines to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and some other issues concerning the development of developing countries, they still think that they can do whatever they like without bothering about the dignity and interests of their developing counterparts.

Their hanging on to the colonial mentality has become a stumbling block to the settlement of common problems such as global warming and poverty alleviation for the healthy development of the international community.

China's support of Argentina on the question of the Malvinas Islands is a token of its long-standing opposition to colonialism and its backing of the interests and rights of developing countries.