While setting itself up as a defender of human rights around the world, Britain has violated human rights.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with Britain as a major player in the US-led military operations, resulted in a massive number of civilian casualties.

Britain's remote drone operations in Afghanistan have spurred anti-war protests at home. Even before innocent civilians were slaughtered, the protestors demanded an end to the remote killing when the Royal Air Force started to operate drones in Afghanistan from British soil.

The UK phone-hacking scandal involving Rupert Murdoch's News International, which dominated media coverage worldwide, also cast doubts over the "freedom of the press" upheld by Western media organizations and raised concerns about privacy rights in the country.

Differences still exist among nations on human rights issues due to their different levels of cultural and economic development, and China stands for narrowing them through dialogue on the basis of mutual respect and equality.

China is ready to discuss human rights issues with Britain, and they have established mechanisms for dialogue to exchange ideas and settle differences.

But a human rights dialogue between China and Britain scheduled this week has been called off because of Britain's latest human rights report, which includes irresponsible comments about China's political system and has tarnished the country's human rights record.

Instead of helping to create a way to see and feel the real China, Britain has built a wall that stands in China's way to the world and closed the door for dialogue by taking human rights issues as a pretext for interfering in China's internal affairs and judicial sovereignty.

It is advisable for Britain to refrain from making wrong accusations against China on human rights and create conditions conducive to future human rights dialogue.

 

(China Daily 04/18/2014 page8)