China hailed on Wednesday the defeat of a U.N. draft resolution critical of its human rights record, saying justice had prevailed and the vote proved the hegemonism practiced by the West was unpopular.
In Geneva on Tuesday, China quashed a draft resolution by the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) expressing concern over continuing reports of its violations of fundamental freedoms.China appeared relieved. A Foreign Ministry spokesman thanked 26 other countries for "upholding justice" by backing its motion for "no action" on the UNHRC resolution.
A total of 20 countries voted against China's motion on the resolution, which was drafted by the European Union and United States. Six countries abstained.
It was the sixth year in a row that China managed to avert censure at the U.N.'s main rights forum.
"This shows that the practice of using human rights to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and to carry out hegemonism and power politics is increasingly unpopular," Xinhua news agency quoted the spokesman as saying.