On January 6, a violent demonstration took place in Washington, DC Some of the protesters broke into the Capitol building, and the joint meeting of the House of Representatives and Senate was interrupted. Throughout the incident, four protesters lost their lives and a Capitol Hill policeman died after being seriously injured.
The United States has always rejoiced to see these kinds of so-called demonstrations of civil resistance in other countries and regions, turning a blind eye to the riots and the social unrest they cause, ignoring the interference and damage. to normal social order, the threat and damage to the safety of life and property of others, damage and attacks on public transport, government buildings and facilities, and the safety of personnel, even describing this kind of atrocities as “magnificent scenes”. There are also human rights officials and experts from international organizations who, like some Western media, advocate simplistic political correctness, especially when it comes to China and other developing countries. It seems then that all people are right and that all attacks on governments are justified. It also seems that human rights can always become tools and weapons to criticize other governments. In this kind of absolute thought, there is no legal logic, which is totally contrary to the spirit of the rule of law. Human rights are not slogans or mere political labels, they have legal connotations and limits, but also obligations and responsibilities.
Human rights, the rule of law and development are important dimensions for examining the process of social development. Respect and protection of human rights is the essential pursuit of the rule of law and the internal objective of development. At the same time, the development of human rights cannot be separated from specific national conditions and cannot be separated from the support and guarantee of the rule of law.
The endless and large-scale social unrest caused by the “Amendment Storm” in China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region directly damaged the political, social and economic order of the territory, and they were damaging not only to the country. Hong Kong’s political system and the Special Administrative Region government, but also for the national unity and security of China as a whole. Violent protesters hit mainland citizens and tourists, hampered police enforcement, hampered law enforcement’s rescue of attacked individuals, destroyed and looted shops, directly attacked police , from whom they sometimes even stole weapons, harassed and attacked government departments, blocked traffic lanes, inspected and attacked passing vehicles, occupied university campuses for a long time and even violently attacked the Hong Kong Legislative Council building . No society governed by the rule of law can tolerate such direct, gross and serious violations of the law. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government and its police departments have come under enormous pressure, including unreasonable accusations and criticism from the United States and other Western countries, as well as from human rights officials and experts from international organizations. They showed great patience and restraint. In particular, the United States, always quick to fall into unilateralism and adherents of “long-armed jurisdiction,” passed a bill by Congress to sanction Hong Kong and the officials concerned, seriously interfering in internal affairs of other countries and seriously undermining their national sovereignty, as well as the rights and interests of institutions, businesses and citizens of other countries.
Although the violent protests in Washington did not last long, the reaction from all quarters in the United States was very strong. American politicians have expressed their point of view one after another, stressing the illegality of these acts and their intolerance. In a televised statement, a White House spokesperson strongly condemned the violence, saying those who broke the law should be punished with the utmost severity. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, who once wrongly called the unrest in Hong Kong a “magnificent scene”, suddenly seems to have become a different person, calling the incident an indescribable attack on United States and the American people. The US government has arrested a large number of people who demonstrated and stormed into Congress, and said it is ready to prosecute them on various charges. He has adopted a clear position, his action is resolute and the punishments are expected to be severe. This contrasts sharply with Washington’s earlier attitude towards similar events in other countries.
“Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want to be done to yourself” is philosophically called the “golden rule,” reflecting the wisdom of life and social morality. These kinds of ideas exist in different civilizations, but America’s double standards, both at home and abroad, and between different countries and regions, are too obvious.
In the information age, different countries are facing new governance opportunities and challenges. Countries should promote the protection and development of human rights in the spirit and framework of the rule of law. All countries should treat all members of the international community with a responsible attitude and respect the right of the peoples of all countries to choose their own path of development. There is a principle of estoppel in international law, which requires that a country’s legal position and proposal be consistent, and there should be the same legal logic to deal with the same legal question.
When you don’t believe what you say, you don’t know what you can do. It reminds politicians in the United States and other Western countries, as well as people who are used to looking at developing countries with prejudice, that legal logic is very important in matters of democracy and rights. human rights, and that we must respect the rule of law and be consistent.
(the author is Liu Huawen, Executive Director of the Human Rights Research Center and Deputy Director of the Institute of International Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
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