China’s new strategy on human rights: Unite the world behind a ‘selective’ approach
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This creates a global network of like-minded regimes whose diplomats can protect Beijing’s human rights abuses from scrutiny and criticism in international forums. They can also vote in support of Beijing’s resolutions at the United Nations. In turn, adhering to the Global Civilization Initiative could give intolerant governments more room to pursue their own goals and punish political opponents without fear of condemnation.
China has struggled to fend off criticism of its human rights record for more than three decades. It faced a storm of outrage over the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 and condemnation of the mass incarceration of Muslim Uighurs in recent years. Each time, the Chinese government has had to deal with the diplomatic consequences of its own repression. To deflect this criticism, Chinese diplomats and propagandists are making various claims. On the one hand, they have tried to unite developing countries behind the idea that the “right to subsistence” trumps other human rights concerns. At other times the government has justified its dictatorship as an expression of traditional Chinese “Confucian values.”
These emphasize the importance of duty and social harmony more than individual rights. However, the government has now formulated a coherent ideological strategy in response to this criticism. China not only wants to resist, but also wants to destroy the fundamental idea of the post-Cold War international order—the universality of human rights. A new approach hidden in ‘democratic’ values The government’s new strategy is called ‘Global Civilization Initiative’. It has become a major weapon in the foreign propaganda arsenal of the Chinese party-power. The initiative was first announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in March. It complements two previously announced (and similarly named) diplomatic instruments: the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative.
Together, these intentionally vague concepts are designed to expand China’s influence over international institutions and norms. They also advance Xi’s plan for the “great renewal of the Chinese nation.” Announcing the ‘Global Civilization Initiative’, Xi expressed high concerns about building a ‘global network for inter-civilization dialogue and cooperation’ based on ‘common values of humanity’ such as ‘justice, democracy and freedom’. Keep the ideal in front. Since then, these themes have been widely repeated by China’s media outlets and its foreign propagandists. However, the truth is that this initiative represents a system in which all-powerful China sits at the top of a hierarchy of like-minded countries in the ‘Global South’.
Selective approach towards human rights China’s new initiative could have a significant impact on human rights. First, in contrast to respect for universal human rights in the liberal international system, China’s strategy calls for a cultural relativist approach based on each country’s ”national conditions and unique characteristics”. In other words, there should not be any universal standard of human rights. Instead, each country should develop human rights protections according to its own culture and traditions. As China’s former Foreign Minister Qin Gang said earlier this year: There is no one-size-fits-all model for protecting human rights.
This approach is problematic because it allows governments to selectively enforce international human rights standards. It also provides a cover for China’s own human rights violations. A network of like-minded dictators Another way the Global Civilization Initiative threatens human rights is by promoting greater cooperation between intolerant and authoritarian regimes. Announcing the initiative, Xi made clear the difference between China and Western democracies: The Chinese Communist Party will continue to safeguard international fairness and justice and promote world peace and stability. In pursuing modernization, China will neither follow the old path of colonization and plunder, nor follow the crooked path taken by some countries to achieve hegemony after becoming stronger.
Chinese officials are also using seemingly benign tactics like dialogue, cooperation and shared prosperity to promote this new strategy. Chinese state media also cited the ancient Silk Road as evidence that China has long “adopted the spirit of cooperation, mutual learning and mutual benefit.” It was intended to help countries seeking an alternative to the Western-led international system. To form a broad coalition. In this new model led by China, countries avoid imposing their values on each other.
Interference in internal affairs is also strictly prohibited. Once again, this strategy may provide a cover for China. This creates a global network of like-minded regimes whose diplomats can protect Beijing’s human rights abuses from scrutiny and criticism in international forums.They can also vote in support of Beijing’s resolutions at the United Nations. In turn, adhering to the Global Civilization Initiative could give intolerant governments more room to pursue their own goals and punish political opponents without fear of condemnation.
Disclaimer: IndiaTheNews has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
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