Mme. President,
First of all, please
allow me to extend, on behalf of the Chinese Government,
congratulations on the convocation of the World Conference
Against Racism and to express our heartfelt gratitude to the
South African Government and people for their ample
preparations for the conference and for their kind
hospitality accorded to the delegates. I am
convinced that your outstanding wisdom and rich experience
will guide the conference to success. The courageous people of South Africa,
through years of unremitting efforts, buried Apartheid in
the 1990s once and for all, which marked a great victory of
the African people in their protracted struggle against
racism. At the beginning of the new century, it is
of great symbolic and historic significance for us to meet,
here in South Africa, a country with a glorious tradition
against racism, to discuss and work out the strategy and
measures against racism.
Mme.
President,
Colonialism, foreign invasion, slave
trade and Apartheid are all typical manifestations of
racism, which inflicted untold sufferings on the countries
and people across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
In Asia, innocent people were trampled underfoot
by colonialists and foreign invaders. From the
Pacific to the Indian Ocean and from South East Asia to
Middle East, none of the cradles of ancient human
civilization was spared by the wreckage and destruction.
In Africa, the colonialists treaded on every inch
of the land under their iron heels, and slave trade was the
darkest page written in human history with the blood and
tears of countless African sons and daughters. In
the Americas, the discovery of the New World deprived the
aboriginals of their peaceful life. Large numbers
of American Indians were slaughtered and almost all the land
on which the natives depended for a living was snatched
away.
Mme.
President,
Light will triumph over darkness and
justice over evil. Thanks to the strenuous and
protracted struggle by the people of Asia, Africa and Latin
America and the joint efforts of the international
community, nearly a hundred countries shook off the shackles
of the colonialist rule and won national emancipation and
independence. The UN, since its establishment, has
launched the Three Decades to Combat Racism and Racial
Discrimination and adopted the International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and
other important instruments, forcefully carrying forward the
fight against racism across the globe.
At this
very moment, however, we must be clearly aware that the
struggle against racism remains an uphill and prolonged
endeavor. As the pernicious influence of old
racism lingers on, many countries are still beset with
poverty, internal conflict and turmoil. Racism of
new forms continues to grow and incidents of xenophobia,
discrimination against immigrants, and racial violence keep
cropping up. Moreover, neo-Fascism and neo-Nazism
are rearing up their ugly heads in some countries.
All these are manifestations of contempt against
and trampling on the equality and dignity of mankind,
constituting a blatant challenge to world peace and
development. What is more, racial hatred and
bloodshed is on the rise in the Middle East and the
Palestinian people are still deprived of their legitimate
rights and interests. The international community
should take a clear stand on this issue. This
conference, which is highly necessary, is convened at just
the right time. At the onset of the new millenium,
it will help mankind formulate effective measures to combat
and finally root out racism. Here, I would like to
take this opportunity to stress the following three
points.
1. To face up to history and eliminate
the root of both old and new racism. Colonialism,
foreign invasion, slave trade and Apartheid used to inflict
untold sufferings and humiliation on countless families.
These heinous crimes are detested by the whole
mankind. They should never be repeated and
tragedies must be avoided. The countries that
committed acts of aggression, colonization and enslavement
against those Asian, African and Latin American countries in
the past should look squarely at history and draw lessons
from it. The international community should take
effective measures to uproot the causes of old and new
racism, and make the earth a tranquil and harmonious
homeland for all people regardless of race, gender, language
or religion, and shape a better future for them.
2. To advocate equality and mutual respect and
enhance mutual understanding through dialogue. The
world is diverse and colorful. Difference in race and
civilization is the basic characteristic of human society
and an expression of the diversity of the world.
Ancient Chinese always advocated the virtue of
"tolerance" and "harmony". Now
mankind has entered the 21st century. On the land
where we live together, society needs progress, and the
people need peace. To this end, efforts should be
made to abandon the mentality of racial superiority,
dissolve the piled-up grievances among nations, and to bury
the hatchet and turn hostility into friendship.
All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich
or poor, are equal members of the international family.
They should, in accordance with the purposes and
principles of the UN Charter and the widely recognized norms
of international law, respect each other and live as good
neighbors in harmony, amity and peace. People of
different nations should, through dialogue, promote
understanding and learn from one another and together carry
forward the quintessence of human civilization.
3. To boost cooperation for the
common development of all countries in the world.
Economic globalization is gaining momentum.
The vast number of countries in Asia, Africa and
Latin America and their people have to, on the one hand, get
rid of the adverse influence left over from history by
racism and colonialism and on the other, take up the
challenge of the ever-widening "digital divide".
Against this background, the international
community and the developed countries, in particular, have
both the duty and obligation to help developing countries
get out of their plight. The World Conference
Against Racism should commit itself to greater international
cooperation with a view to establishing a just and rational
new international political and economic order at an early
date so that all countries will be able to benefit from the
process of globalization and multipolarization, thus
eventually contributing to peace, development and prosperity
of all mankind.
Mme.
President,
The Chinese Government has attached
great importance to this conference and taken an active part
in all its preparation. In order to answer the
call of the UN and enhance the awareness of people from all
walks of life of the issue of racism, the Chinese Government
sponsored the Seminar on Internet and Spread of Racism last
July in Beijing. Chinese Foreign Minister Tang
Jiaxuan sent a letter of congratulation to the seminar,
calling on the international community to pay attention to
the severe damage incurred by the spread of racist rhetoric
via Internet. The seminar believed that all
countries, while strengthening nationwide education and
enhancing their citizens' awareness against racism, should
improve the related legislation so as to effectively stem
the spread of racist rhetoric via Internet. We
hope that the relevant bodies of the UN will, by making full
use of the available resources, carry out study of the
above-mentioned subjects and push forward effective
international cooperation.
Mme.
President,
Our forefathers left an old maxim
with us, "all men are brothers within the Four
Seas". Though we hail from different parts of
the world and vary in race and color, we have similar
genomes, and our ideal in pursuit of equality, happiness and
peace is the same. Let us, taking the opportunity
of the World Conference Against Racism, discard pride and
prejudice, deeply reflect on the past and present, and work
out effectual measures to uproot racism, a cancer on the
tissue of human society, once and for all, and work together
for a beautiful world of equality, amity, harmony and
prosperity.
Thank you Mme. President.
|