Brussels, 09/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - Li Junhua, the director general for international organisations and conferences at the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs, said on 8 December that the elections in Hong Kong were a “legal” issue and not a human rights one. For several months now, thousands of people have been protesting in order to have truly democratic elections.
“The situation in Hong Kong is not a human rights issue but a legal issue” concerning the implementation of the elections, Lu Junhua stated at the end of the 33rd EU-China dialogue on human rights. He added that occupying places was illegal, and that China followed the rule of law and protected the security and prosperity of citizens. In his view, this is a “domestic issue” which involves the “sovereignty of China”. The director for East Asia and the Pacific at the European External Action Service (EEAS), Gerhard Sabathil, underlined the need for “better dialogue” so as to resolve the issue itself.
Li Jinhua also spoke about human rights in his country, as the EU often criticises human rights violations. In his view, China has a specific way of dealing with human rights, in which he has “full confidence”. He stated that one human rights model is not better or worse than another. “When one wants to judge a country's model, it is necessary to listen to the people of this country”, he said, adding later that “the Chinese model should be decided upon by the Chinese”. “To look at human rights, one should put himself in the shoes of the other side”, he said, believing that China had made as much progress on human rights in a few decades as Europe has in centuries.
During the dialogue on human rights, the EU underlined the situation of several human rights protesters, including journalist Gao Yu, Uighur teacher Ilham Tohti (see EUROPE 11161) and 2010 Nobel prize-winner Liu Xiaobo. Lu Jinhua nevertheless stated that it was not necessary to focus on the well-being of “a few individuals” and lose sight of 1.3 billion people. (CG)