Diplomat: China has best ideas, respects free speech

UNITED NATIONS - A Chinese diplomat with a human rights portfolio said on Monday that China has the largest amount of information and generates the richest ideas in the world.

China's Constitution and other laws fully respect and guarantee citizens' freedom of speech, said Liu Hua, special representative for Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at an interactive dialogue with the independent expert on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression held by the Third Committee of the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly.

Liu said that the Chinese government has continuously smoothed channels for the public to express their opinions, innovated methods for the masses to conduct supervision and established convenient and efficient online expression platforms.

In 2018, the number of internet users in China reached 829 million, the daily amount of information generated by internet users reached 30 billion pieces and 9.5 billion books of various types as well as nearly 12,000 newspapers and periodicals were published.

The international community should respect the rights of citizens to free expression, and build legal order in accordance with the rule of law, Liu said, adding that countries should conduct dialogue and cooperation on establishing common rules of internet governance on the basis of mutual respect, so as to ensure that freedom of speech is practiced under the rule of law.

Xinhua