Human Rights Watch: "China's Human Rights Repression is a Global Threat"... China Reacts Strongly

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Sunmi Park] The international human rights organization Human Rights Watch condemned China's repression of human rights and criticized China's attitude of suppressing individual freedom as a global threat.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong on the 15th, Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, said at a 'World Report 2020' press conference held at the United Nations headquarters in New York on the 14th (local time), "The Chinese government fears the people's aspiration for democracy," and "China's repression of human rights is an existential threat to the world."

Originally, Human Rights Watch's 'World Report 2020' was scheduled to be released in Hong Kong on the same day, but since China placed Roth on the sanctions list in retaliation for the U.S. government's implementation of the 'Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act' (Hong Kong Human Rights Act) and denied his entry into Hong Kong, the report was inevitably disclosed in New York.

At the press conference, Roth informed about this fact and explained, "China seems to believe that this report has incited Hong Kong's democratization movement. This judgment by China is an insult to Hong Kong. It is a clear example showing how much the Chinese government fears the people's aspiration for democracy."

This Human Rights Watch report consists of a total of 652 pages covering human rights conditions in 100 countries, but it mainly focuses on human rights in China. Roth pointed out, "The global system for protecting human rights is under threat from the Chinese government and President Xi Jinping," and "The Chinese government views human rights as an existential threat, but this very stance of theirs is an existential threat to the world."

Roth claimed that about one million Uyghurs and Muslims are forcibly detained in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in western China, and that the Chinese government is expanding attacks on freedom of expression by arresting journalists who raise their voices on human rights and prosecuting human rights activists.

He also expressed concern that China's actions predict a dystopian future where no one can escape Chinese censorship and an international human rights system weakened to the point where it cannot check government oppression. He pointed out that China suppresses the voices of the business community by wielding access to the massive Chinese market, which accounts for 16% of the world's gross domestic product (GDP). He added that major governments, including U.S. President Donald Trump, have failed to collectively check China.

Regarding the release and press conference of Human Rights Watch's 'World Report 2020' on this day, the Chinese side criticized Roth, saying, "This report is full of prejudice and distorts facts." Chinese diplomat Xing Jisheng, who attended the press conference, also conveyed the Chinese government's position of completely rejecting Human Rights Watch's biased and manipulated report. He said, "The content Roth revealed at the press conference clearly explains why his entry into Hong Kong was denied."

Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang pointed out that Human Rights Watch "supported anti-China Hong Kong independence activists in various ways, incited their violent actions, and instigated separatist activities," adding, "They bear significant responsibility for the chaotic situation in Hong Kong, and such organizations should be sanctioned and pay the appropriate price."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.