Part 14 - LA36 KB articles 1988 98 and cuttings 005 014

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14 countries, we are in favour of human rights, and we tell others about our experiences and our struggle. I think this attitude is very good." About six weeks later, speaking to the 'Irish Times' correspondent in Beijing, just prior to the visit to China by the Irish Foreign Minister, David Andrews, Comrade Qian said: "To enjoy human rights is the common aspiration of all humanity...The Chinese people, who were subject to foreign aggression many times, know full well that state sovereignty and territorial integrity are the fundamental guarantee of human rights. "The one billion and more Chinese people who have basic needs for food, clothing, housing, travelling and education are deeply aware of the vital importance of the rights to subsistence and development. "I think if either Britain or Ireland or both could concern themselves more about the settlement of the Northern Ireland issue, that would be a major contribution to the development of human rights, a matter of universal concern." Comrades who read the report in the 'New Worker', and, of course, the far more extensive reports in 'An Phoblacht / Republican News', on the first session of the recent Sinn Fein Ard Fheis (Annual Conference) will know how important this strategy of 'telling others about our experiences and our struggle' was in terms of the contribution of ANC Deputy General Secretary Thenjiwe Mtintso. As a result, four of the ANC's top leaders, Mac Maharaj, Valli Moosa, Cyril Ramaphosa and Matthew Phosa, travelled across Ireland, including visiting 120 republican prisoners in Long Kesh, to enable the broad Irish Republican family to assess and absorb the experiences and lessons of the South African freedom struggle for their own situation. Importantly, the ANC delegation's other appointments also included a meeting with the Progressive Unionist Party. Here, in a vivid way, we can see the effectiveness of the new types of internationalism that China has played a key role in formulating and developing, on the basis of its own struggles and experiences, including with regard to the old tendency of domination, once prevalent in the international communist movement; that it applies in its own dealings with fraternal parties and friendly countries; and which will acquire greater force in the 21st century.

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