UN should ensure that it is not dominated by China

LAST week, China's official People's Daily published an essay by Foreign Minister Wang Yi praising China's achievements in human rights ever since Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012. "Only the person wearing the shoes can tell if the shoes are comfortable," he said. "Only the Chinese people have the most say in China's human rights situation. It's the people's choice."

That sounds logical but, in reality, the Chinese people are not allowed any say. The government sees to it that Chinese non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play no role in Chinese human rights reports to the UN. In fact, it goes to great pains to prevent ordinary Chinese from attending UN meetings that discuss human rights in China.

The most recent visit by a UN human rights expert was of Philip Alston in August 2016, whose remit was to look into extreme poverty and human rights. His report praised China for having "lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty". The infant mortality rate, he reported, fell by 60 per cent between 2000 and 2012, and the maternal mortality rate fell by 49 per cent. "Life expectancy at birth," he said, "rose from 69 to 75 years from 1990 to 2012". But, Mr Alston said, his mandate was to reflect on the relationship between poverty alleviation and human rights, and to consider whether China's achievements "translate into ensuring full respect for the human rights of its people".