KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 – China is ready to work with Malaysia towards the advancement of human rights development in both the region and the world.
Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing said as good neighbour and close partner, China is willing to work with Malaysia in various fields to jointly advance the human rights cause.
“Human rights are not abstract terms,” the ambassador wrote in an article titled “Keep Progressing on China’s Path, Jointly Advance the Human Rights Cause for Humanity” released in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
“They are specific in denotation, realisable in practical form and evolve with history. There are no fixed standards or one-fits-all models. Therefore, every country’s human rights development path should be allowed and respected, whose success or failure can only be judged by its own people,” he said.
By carrying out the Chinese-style modernisation, he said China is steadily advancing its cause of national rejuvenation which will make China into a stronger and more prosperous country.
He added that China will bring benefits of bigger amount and better equitability to all its people and promote human rights protection to a new height.
Saying that China is as diverse and multi-ethnic as Malaysia is, the Chinese ambassador said there are 56 ethnic groups living on this vast piece of land.
“Big or small, all ethnic groups in China enjoy equal social status, whose rights and benefits are legally stipulated and protected. Freedom of religious beliefs is ensured to everyone,” he said.
Ouyang said the concept of “human rights” have long existed in Chinese political culture and was fully embodied in the long-cherished “people-being-first-of-all” political principle.
The ambassador quoted a saying in the ‘Book of Documents’, one of China’s oldest classics written 3000 years ago, that “People are the foundation of a country. Only when people lead a good life, can the country thrive”.
Mencius, the famous Chinese ancient sage, said the same thing, “People are the most important; the state is secondary.”
Ouyang also quoted President Xi Jinping that, “to ensure all Chinese people a life of contentment is China’s most weighty human right”.
After eight years of painstaking efforts, China has successfully alleviated nearly 100 million people out of poverty, putting an end to its centuries-long absolute poverty history.
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
“I believe, with collective efforts of all, what is said in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which are common aspirations of humankind, will eventually become true in life,” Ouyang said.
