UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2020) China is engaged in the global campaign of censorship to silence violations of human rights at home, Human Rights Watch (HRW) Executive Director Kenneth Roth said in a press briefing.
On Tuesday, Roth launched the HRW's World Report at the UN headquarters in New York. The HRW chief planned to present the report in Hong Kong. However, he was banned from entering the region by Chinese authorities.
"The Chinese government is trying with increasing ferocity to use its economic and diplomatic clout to silence critical voices abroad and undermine global institutions," Roth said on Tuesday. "China has obviously long censored critics at home. The government is now trying to extend that censorship to the rest of the world."
According to Roth, Beijing has shut down civic groups, silenced independent press, curtailed online conversation, encroached on Hong Kong's freedoms and built a massive surveillance system to control Uyghurs and Muslims in the Xinjiang province, among other human rights violations.
Roth said that to avoid international criticism for these actions, the Chinese government has bolstered efforts to undermine global institutions that aim to protect human rights, including the United Nations.
After Roth's remarks, First Secretary at the Chinese mission to the United Nations Jisheng Xing took to the floor to refute the statement and the entire World Report, citing HRW's fabrications, prejudices against China and ignorance of factual information provided by the government.
Commenting on Roth's ban from entering Hong Kong, the Chinese diplomat indicated that his remarks at the UN press conference was the reason for declining him entry.
