US should improve its own human rights record

Both Republican and Democrat lawmakers reaffirmed on Thursday the United States' "commitment" to democracy and human rights in Hong Kong and "warned" Beijing against its "increased interference" in the territory. US senators and representatives also introduced a "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act", a measure that could lead to the removal of Hong Kong from the US' special trading partners' list.

To begin with, the US has no business interfering in China's internal affairs, as Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. It also has to understand that Beijing's idea of human rights is different from Washington's. Beijing believes in the people-centric principle of human rights that gives priority to the right to life, education and livelihood. It combines the universal principle of human rights with China's actual conditions and protects human rights through the law.

Thanks to four decades of economic growth and social development, China has lifted close to 800 million people out of abject poverty, which has greatly promoted the global poverty alleviation work, and improved people's livelihoods, and therefore developed human rights in an all-round way.