China's proposal to raise the threshold of resolutions criticizing countries for their human rights records conforms to the justice and seriousness of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said yesterday.

"The proposal will avoid the abuse of resolutions and has been widely accepted by developing nations and UNHRC member countries," Qin said at a regular press briefing.

Members of the UN's new human rights watchdog yesterday agreed in principle to compromise on how to investigate other countries' wrongdoings after China submitted the last-minute proposal.

Qin said that after a tough year of negotiation, the UNHRC has set new rules on looking into allegations of human rights violations. It is the result of joint efforts and has laid the foundation for the council's future operation.

Beijing has been taking part in the negotiation in a constructive and cooperative manner, he said, and has helped safeguard UNHRC's justice and objectivity.

"China will continue to devote itself to the international human rights dialogue and promote and safeguard human rights worldwide."

Objection to report

China denounced the US annual report on human trafficking, and urged Washington to regard Beijing's efforts and progress in an objective and just way.

The US State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report" released last week put China on the Tier 2 Watch List, the second worst classification.

The report's criticism of China stemmed in part from the treatment of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) nationals who have crossed over to the country illegally.

Qin said the Chinese government attaches great importance to safeguarding the interests of its citizens and fighting against human trafficking. The country has made "remarkable progress" because of its continuous efforts, as a result of which domestic human trafficking cases are falling.

Talking about DPRK nationals who have crossed into China illegally, Qin said it is widely known that they are not "refugees". They have jumped the border for economic reasons.

The Chinese government has dealt with the issue according to national and international laws, as well as humanitarian principle. The US allegation is groundless because the international community has praised such operations.

'Referendum' and UN

Qin condemned Taiwanese leader Chen Shui-bian's attempt of pushing for a "referendum" on the island to apply for United Nations' membership.

Qin said such a move will have a strong impact on cross-Straits relations, and urged the international community to understand the risk of the move, as well as the political intension of the Taiwan authorities.

Reports said US State Department officials have clearly opposed the "referendum" move, and have called on Chen to give up the proposal.

(China Daily 06/20/2007 page2)