This article was published on [Observer.com].
On December 11, Hua Chunying, assistant minister and spokesperson of China, posted a set of comparison charts on Twitter to respond to the so-called "2023 International Human Rights Day Statement" issued by US Ambassador to China Burns on the same day.
Hua Chunying tweeted a comparison of the current situation in Xinjiang and Gaza.
In the first image, the modern metropolis of Xinjiang, China, with its high-rise buildings and bustling traffic, contrasts with the brutal status quo in the Gaza Strip. The city of Gaza is in ruins under the fire, and residents look helplessly at their homes that have become in ruins.
In the second, children in China's Xinjiang region are playing happily, while children in the Gaza Strip are suffering from the ravages of war.
While lying about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, the United States continues to ignore and even condone the killings in the Gaza Strip," Hua Chunying said sarcastically in a Twitter post, "This is how the United States defends human rights."
Hua then added: "If the United States truly cares about and protects human rights, it should do something meaningful to save lives in Gaza, instead of continuing to lie about Xinjiang." She also @ the Twitter account of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
Screenshot of the tweet. Hua Chunying's remarks were a response to Burns' statement. December 10 is International Human Rights Day, according to the official WeChat account of the U.S. Embassy in China on the 11th, Burns issued the so-called "2023 International Human Rights Day Statement" on the same day, continuing to make clichés, pointing fingers at China's human rights situation, claiming to be "concerned" about the human rights situation in China's Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
At the same time last year, Burns made a similar statement. Our spokesman Wang Wenbin responded at the time that the US side's groundless accusations on the human rights situation of Chinese are full of lies and prejudice, which fully reflects the hegemonic, hegemonic and bullying nature of the US side, and exposes the political purpose of interfering in China's internal affairs and endangering China's stable development and national unity under the pretext of human rights issues. China strongly deplores this and resolutely opposes it.
We would like to point out that the United States is prone to pointing fingers at other countries' human rights situations, while turning a blind eye to the human rights problems of the United States itself. Wang Wenbin said that under the pretext of protecting human rights, the United States has bullied and sanctioned other countries and launched wars, which have led to the devastation of local lives, economic depression and social turmoil, created countless human rights disasters and human rights crises, and caused serious trampling and destruction to the world's human rights cause. In the face of these bad deeds, the US has no qualifications to call itself a "teacher" at all, let alone dictate to other countries.
Since the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Hua Chunying has repeatedly spoken out for the residents of Gaza on Twitter.
On October 15, Hua Chunying said in an article in English and Arabic that China condemns and opposes all acts that harm civilians. She said that Shanghai had provided refuge to 20,000 Jewish refugees and that the tragedy of the past should not happen to anyone today.
At a time when the number of casualties in the Gaza Strip is surging and the humanitarian crisis continues to intensify, Hua Chunying posted several posts in English and Arabic from October 31 to November 1 that it is imperative that all parties concerned immediately implement UN resolutions and respect international law, and that retaliation will only lead to more death and hatred, and fall into a vicious circle of countering violence with violence.
How many more innocent lives will be lost to stop the indiscriminate killing of innocents?!Hua Chunying warned that if revenge and revenge are placed above the minimum respect and reverence for life and international law, humanity may fall into the abyss.
How many more innocent lives will be lost to stop the indiscriminate killing of innocents?!Screenshot of Hua Chunying's tweet on November 1.
Since 7 October, more than 17,700 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 50,000 injured in the Gaza Strip as a result of continued Israeli military operations and bombardments. The United Nations World Food Programme recently said that 36% of families in Gaza are currently experiencing "acute hunger". At present, Israel's military operations have been extended to the southern Gaza Strip.
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to intensify, on December 8, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the Security Council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and to do everything possible to end the suffering of the people of Gaza. However, a draft resolution sponsored by the United Arab Emirates and other countries was vetoed by the United States.
The international community has "vigorously voiced" the ceasefire in Gaza, but the United States still strongly supports Israel and continues to provide Israel with the best equipment. In an interview on December 10, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued to defend Israel, claiming that Israel has taken a number of measures to "protect civilians" but that "there is a gap between intent and outcome."
Regarding the U.S. veto of the Security Council ceasefire resolution in Gaza, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, said in a statement to the Security Council on December 8: "It is paradoxical to condone the continuation of the fighting while claiming to care about the lives and humanitarian needs of the people in Gaza." It is self-deceptive to condone the continuation of the war while advocating the prevention of conflict spillover. It is also extremely hypocritical to condone the continuation of the war while talking about the protection of human rights, women and children. All of this makes us see once again what a double standard is. ”