Shame on those weaponizing human rights: China Daily editorial

The mudslinging at China's "human rights record" in the quinquennial review by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday exposes the extent to which the United States-led clique is willing to weaponize human rights.

The silence some of the about 40 developed countries keep over the ongoing human rights violations in the Gaza Strip only serves to show the double standard they employ in criticizing what they allege are China's "human rights violations" in Xinjiang, Xizang and Hong Kong.

Some tried to attribute the more than 120 countries that spoke highly of China's efforts to uphold human rights in the three regions to a successful public relations effort by Beijing. That only serves to show the way in which the US-led clique politicizes human rights as part of its arsenal, with their championing of subjective human rights being used as a means to put pressure on and even overthrow foreign governments.

As for the so-called human rights issues related to Xinjiang, Xizang and Hong Kong, had the "prescriptions" for these regions put forward by these developed countries been faithfully adopted by the Chinese government, the consequences would have resulted in a nightmare, not just for the three regions themselves but also the rest of the world.

Xinjiang would have become a hotbed for terrorism and extremism thanks to the "Holy War" the de facto US pawns have been tirelessly trying to start in it. Xizang would have reverted to a feudal society to maintain its "purity". Hong Kong would have become a springboard for anti-China forces worldwide to cause trouble, winding the clock back to a quasi-colonial age for Hong Kong residents. And all of them would have been severed from their motherland.

Respect for a country's sovereignty and territorial integrity is the foundation of modern international order and a prerequisite for international relations. The baseless attacks on China's human rights record in the regions by the members of the US-led clique were intended to smear the country's human rights efforts with the aim of retaining the "moral high ground" for their championing of "universal values".

The 100-some "performers" staging "protests" outside of the UN human rights headquarters belied the moral superiority claimed by these China-bashing countries as they are all agents of groups on the US' payroll. Shame on these human rights lecturers and champions pretending to be blind to or endorsing the human rights crises their gang leader has caused, directly and indirectly, worldwide. By surrendering themselves to be a tool in its hands, they have demonstrated how little worth they place on mutual learning and the advancement of the global human rights cause.