Experts, including two former diplomats representing the United States at the United Nations, said at Wednesday’s hearing that China is “dumbing down criticism, excluding and stigmatizing Taiwan, blocking the Belt and Road Initiative, and diluting norms.” It warned Congress that it was consolidating its power within the United Nations organization in order to “make the United Nations do as much as possible.” It may be used to pursue accountability. ”
Experts say the Chinese Communist Party is actively pursuing leadership roles for regime members at the head of influential UN agencies, directly investing in obscure UN projects, and acting in Beijing’s interests. He cited examples such as hijacking projects and using the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to force poor countries to defend themselves against human rights criticism at the United Nations.
The most notable example of the latter was China’s “universal periodic review” at the Human Rights Council this year. The Human Rights Council is currently staffed by the majority authoritarian regime and considers the records of various governments according to a schedule on human rights issues. China was one of 14 countries targeted for surveillance in 2024.
Although the Chinese Communist Party is one of the world’s most brutal and prolific human rights offenders, most notably responsible for the ongoing genocide against ethnic Turkic peoples in occupied East Turkestan, the Human Rights Council has received generous praise for its efforts. “Promoting the common values of humanity,” “improving the criminal procedure system,” and “remarkable progress in the field of social and economic development.” Countries praising the communists included rogue states such as Russia and Iran, but also nominal allies of the United States, including Belt and Road member Ukraine.
Experts also lamented China’s role in restricting appropriate action by the World Health Organization (WHO) and similar attempts to influence other United Nations agencies in the early days of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
The Congressional Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations hosted a hearing on Wednesday titled “The Chinese Communist Party’s Negative Influence at the United Nations—It’s Worsening.” The hearing, hosted by the Congressional Executive Committee on China, a bicameral body, followed a similar event in February that focused solely on the Universal Periodic Review. Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.) chaired both events.
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Wednesday, Smith I lamented “The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) negative influence at the United Nations is getting worse and more pervasive.”
“The Chinese Communist Party is not a benign rival to the United States or other free nations; it poses an existential threat to our regional neighbors and a serious military threat to the United States,” Congressman Smith argued. “Under Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party has mastered the art of subverting the international rules-based order through its involvement in the United Nations, and we are deeply concerned that the Biden administration is not doing enough to stop it. ing.”
He said the subversion would take the form of pressuring “Chinese people in leadership positions at the United Nations to put party interests ahead of their obligations to the UN Charter.”
“When Wu Hongbo was head of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, he admitted to acting in China’s interests at the UN, including expelling Xinjiang.” [East Turkistan] “Human rights supporters walked out of the UN building,” he recalled. “And if Chinese people attempt to carry out leadership tasks without following Xi Jinping’s orders, they will be summarily punished – as was the case with Meng Hongwei, the first Chinese director of Interpol.”
Hongwei disappeared in 2018, shortly after rescinding a “red notice” or arrest request against the head of the World Uyghur Congress, and reappeared in a Chinese prison two years later, where he was sentenced to 13 years on corruption charges.
Mr. Smith also spoke about the pressure Chinese authorities placed on WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the repeated communications from Wuhan regarding the spread of the coronavirus, which has ultimately claimed millions of lives around the world. He also recalled the Chinese government’s lack of respect for his requests.
Suzanne Nossel, president of the free speech group PEN America, said at the hearing. accused China said it was engaged in “coordinated efforts to secure senior positions across the United Nations.”
“From 2020 to 2022, China led four of the United Nations’ 15 specialized agencies, in stark contrast to the past two decades, during which time China led a permanent seat on the Security Council. It had the lowest number of UN executive posts of any country and future Security Council member,” Nossel pointed out.
Mr. Nossel also mentioned China’s influence in the Universal Periodic Review and its connection to the One Belt, One Road (One Belt, One Road) initiative. The Belt and Road Initiative is a global infrastructure initiative in which China provides predatory loans to poor countries to finance infrastructure projects. When countries are unable to pay their loans, China uses its influence to impose its policies, confiscate property, and demand political favors.
Commenting on the Human Rights Council’s assessment of China, Nossel said, “Many of the countries that spoke had borrowed large sums of money under the Belt and Road Initiative and were reportedly under economic threat from the Chinese government prior to the hearing.” “
Kelly Currie, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council testified During her stay, she observed the erosion of Chinese communist influence within organizations, which was not just about putting their elbows in positions of power or attacking weaker countries by force, but also about communist propaganda. He pointed out that this was an attempt to rewrite much of the United Nations’ philosophical structure by inserting catchphrases into critical language. International law.
“Xi Jinping Thought has entered the international lexicon,” Curry charged. “’Win-win cooperation on human rights’ has now become a permanent platform for China’s human rights attacks from within the United Nations system. They continue to parrot and ignorantly or intentionally spread these harmful phrases.”
She explained that the change in language within the UN system serves to promote a “mirror vision of human rights entertainment” created by dictator Xi Jinping to consolidate his power on the international stage.
Mr. Curry also recalled a disturbing incident in which a Chinese diplomat directly threatened United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Chinese diplomats have been accused of harassing civil society representatives on UN grounds, including blocking access to UN forums. During one such incident involving World Uyghur Congress President Dorkan Isa, the Chinese ambassador was reportedly heard on the phone shouting and threatening Mr. Guterres to prevent Mr. Isa from entering the United Nations.
This violation did not cause China to significantly lose access to the United Nations or reduce its influence. On the contrary, China’s influence and influence continues to grow.
So did Andrew Bremberg, honorary president of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations outpost in Geneva. accused Chinese officials said they had “actively sought to place Chinese nationals in key positions within the United Nations system, including specialized agencies, in order to quietly change the status quo.” Bremberg said that after falling into the BRI’s “debt trap,” the BRI’s influence on the actions of other countries that suddenly began to show “support for China’s positions on contentious issues and elections to UN bodies” pointed out.
Bremberg also cited significant evidence that the United Nations Human Rights Council has found that China is involved in genocide and other crimes against humanity, specifically leaked police information and the Xinjiang Police Department, which featured leaked police information and Communist Party officials. It said it ignored a 2022 report by the Foundation for Victims of Communism, known as File. ” speeches calling for genocide and the names and identities (including photos) of thousands of people forcibly interned in China’s Uyghur concentration camps.
“It is shameful that this report has never been discussed at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Committee.” [Human Rights Council]” Bremberg told Congress. “The US tried to put this on the HRC’s agenda at its 51st session in October 2022, but this effort failed by a two-vote margin. What I find even more embarrassing is that since then the US has The fact is that they are not trying to bring the book into any discussion.”
