It appears that the Rebels have entered Tripoli yesterday without much resistance, although pockets of intense fighting continue to exist. The WSJ reported world reaction as follows:
U.S. President Barack Obama: “The people of Libya are showing that the universal pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator. The surest way for the bloodshed to end is simple: Moammar Gadhafi and his regime need to recognize that their rule has come to an end.”
China: “The Chinese side respects the choice of the Libyan people,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said a brief statement posted Monday on the ministry’s website. “The Chinese side is willing to work with the international society to play a positive role in the reconstruction process of Libya in the future.” Read more…
Ronda Hauben
“International Media ‘the 16th Member of the Security Council'”
Ronda Hauben
13:19 BeiJing Time,Thursday, March 17, 2011
“You are the sixteenth member of the Security Council.”
– China’s UN Ambassador Li Baodong speaking to the international media
In March, China took over the rotating presidency of the Security Council for the month. As is the practice at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, on March 2, the 2nd day of his presidency, Li Baodong, China’s Ambassador to the UN, held a press conference for journalists at the UN.(1) At the beginning of the press conference, he welcomed the media, saying that the media is the “sixteenth member of the Security Council.” (There are 15 member nations on the UN Security Council.) Read more…
The idea of “human rights” is neither new nor did it suddenly sprang into existence after WWII. It has arguably existed since the dawn of human existence, as portrayed in human stories and mythologies and exemplified throughout human history in man’s struggle against the arbitrariness of a higher power, be they of gods, fortune, nature or tyrants.
In Chinese society, such struggles are found in the stories and mythologies of 大禹 (Great Yu) taming the floods, 神農 (Shennong) inventing agriculture or the Monkey King’s rebellion against Heaven. Socio-politically, a central theme of Confucianism is the rights and duties of each member of society, from the peasant to that of the Emperor. Subsequently, 孟子 (Mencius) argued for the rights of the citizens to just rule, while later 王夫之 (Wang Fuzhi) favoured governing in the interest of the people (i.e. for the people) instead of for the benefit of the rulers. Read more…
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