Op-Ed Contributors

Peace Prize ignores its ideals

By Wu Miaofa (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-13 08:02

Sovereignty is always the prerequisite of human rights and it is wrong to claim the latter is superior to the former

The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize must be one of the most controversial incidents this year. Many intellectuals, some from Western countries, have criticized the Nobel Committee granting a peace prize to a criminal who has rendered no service to the ideals of the prize; more than 100 countries and NGOs have also expressed their opposition, emphasizing this year's award will add no glory to the prize.

Are the gentlemen of the Nobel Committee really being faithful to the will of Alfred Nobel?

The answer is no.

By granting the Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Committee has forgotten its own principles and assumed the role of defending a criminal who acted against the peace and prosperity of his country. The prize and the ceremony have now become not only a farce, but also a political tool. However, the Nobel Committee merely humiliated itself, instead of China, as was its intent.

To justify their action, the Nobel Committee claimed that human rights are superior to sovereignty and the nation. But, no country in the world has given up its sovereignty to human rights. Even Norway is no exception.

The fact is sovereignty has always been the prerequisite of human rights; it's hard for people without a homeland to have rights. As is universally acknowledged, national sovereignty was established ever since the Treaty of Westphalia was signed in 1648. Its concept, just like that of nation and country, might have changed over time; but it has never lost effect.

Even after the establishment of the United Nations, this sacred principle has not changed. I advise the gentlemen from the Nobel Committee to read Article 2: "Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter."

Liu Xiaobo, the laureate selected by the Nobel Committee, openly claimed that China would benefit from colonial rule.

This is absurd.

He never experienced colonial life and cannot understand the pain and shame of living under the oppression of a foreign race.

Having "benefited" enough historically, the Chinese people now find it better to live in a strong and prosperous nation.

Let's ask not only Chinese, but also other Asian, African and Latin American people. Colonial rule is accompanied by merciless exploitation and the denial of human rights. Countless writings testify to the sufferings of people during colonial days. One should learn about the past before making conclusions about the present.

Some Western countries including the United States have said human rights took a step backwards in China in 2010. But have they made any just inquiry? Human rights conditions in China have actually improved greatly during the past several years, from which ordinary people have benefited most.

The Nobel Committee has turned a blind eye to the fact that the Chinese government has done a great deal to improve human rights for its people by simply exaggerating the situation in this country.

Nobel Peace Prize Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said at a press conference on Dec 9, that the prize was awarded based on universal rights and values, instead of Western standards. But the Western world is forcing its ideas of human rights on China.

In fact, there is only one standard in judging the human rights condition of any country, that set by the United Nations Charter and Universal Human Rights Declaration. Only by the will of all countries can we make conclusions about the improvement or decline of human rights; only their representative body, namely the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and its periodic review can draw conclusions.

Therefore, countries have no right to evaluate the human rights situation in other countries. They are in fact interfering in the domestic affairs of another country. Only through dialogue and communication can we better improve human rights for all.

The author is a researcher with the China Institute of International Studies.

(China Daily 12/13/2010 page8)