China’s leader Xi Jiping said on Wednesday (25) that no nation fits the ideal of human rights. The statement was made during a visit to the country by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, and after the leak of data that reveals violence against the Uighur Muslim minority in Chinese territory.
“There is no ideal nation in human rights, [nem] there is no need for a ‘teacher’ to rule in other countries,” Xi said during a conference call with Bachelet, according to the Tass news agency.
The Chinese leader also said that human rights should not be politicized or treated with “double standards”, in an insinuation that human rights issues are used as justification for external interference in China.
Xi also defended the Chinese government’s policy and said protecting human rights is “a task for all mankind”. He called for joint input to develop the administration of the topic globally in a more impartial, rational and inconclusive manner. According to China’s leader, Beijing is willing to cooperate with all parties on the basis of mutual respect.
Bachelet arrived in China on Monday (23) for a six-day visit. It is the first official trip by an incumbent to the Asian nation since 2005.
The main point of the script is Xinjiang, where the communist regime led by Xi Jinping is accused of repressing Muslim minorities such as the Uighurs. The US government, for example, accuses Beijing of committing genocide and crimes against humanity in the region.
The High Commissioner is expected to visit local detention centers that, in all, hold more than 1 million Uighurs. Asked about the matter, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that Beijing will facilitate the visit to “promote the development of the international cause of human rights.” He added, however, that the regime opposes “using the matter for political manipulation.”
On Tuesday, a data leak drew attention to violence faced by Uighurs detained in the Xinjiang region. More than 2,800 photographs and identities of detainees were released, including that of Zeytunigul Ablehet, a 17-year-old girl detained for having heard a prohibited speech.
Written documents, in turn, would prove the thesis that repression is ordered by the highest levels of the Chinese state.
“We are shocked by the reports,” said US State Department spokesman Ned Price. “It would be very difficult to imagine that a systematic effort to suppress, stop, conduct a campaign of genocide and crimes against humanity would not have the blessing — would not have the approval — of the highest levels of government of the People’s Republic of China.”
Chinese officials, meanwhile, say the Uighurs are in “professional training centers” to “deradicalize” people tempted by Islam or separatism after a series of attacks in the region.
