Look, Uncle Sam is busy cleaning up its own mess on human rights problems. Does the US still think it's the beacon of human rights? Illustration: GT

Just like thieves that cry "stop thief," agencies that claim to defend human rights and democracy, and even name themselves with these exact words, may be tarnishing the common pursuit of humanity. To discover what an agency truly stands for, one needs to put in some effort to find out that its financiers wield carrots as well as sticks. The largest pile of cash makes for the most vociferous of institutions. The new session convened at the Human Rights Council now offers us an opportunity to unveil some big names and their hidden agenda. 

Human Rights Watch (HRW), a so-called international NGO, made waves by dismissing the role of the Human Rights Council and other UN agencies on human rights protection and by emboldening anti-government movements around the world. "Defend rights. Secure Justice" it writes on its official webpage. What it leaves out is whose rights are secured and whether money can buy justice. 

Chinese people's rights are certainly not on the HRW's item list as the track record has shown. The right to employment of Uygur Muslims in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is rejected when the HRW alleges that forced labor, instead of voluntary work, prevails in the northwest part of China. Hong Kong residents' right to life and development in peace and stability is deprived when HRW endorses violence, crimes and separatist movements. The other concept in HRW's slogan - justice - cannot be upheld unless facts and evidence lead the way. But that spirit is also absent in the HRW's response to COVID-19 still ravaging the world. Instead of siding with scientists tracing the virus origins, the HRW and its Executive Director Kenneth Roth collude with politicians in spreading conspiracy theories targeting China, the first country that let the world know about the virus. But by putting China in the crosshairs, the "human rights defender" infringes upon people's right to knowledge in the fight against this formidable enemy. 

In addition to the denial of Chinese people's rights, the HRW deliberately sets out to besmirch China's image with its $1 billion annual budget. The NGO's patron George Soros, whose Open Society Foundations (OSF) helped to seal a deal for an entire floor of the Empire State building, holds a grudge against China. The Hungarian-born American multibillionaire is forthcoming about his hostility to China in his frequent remarks about the country. His hope for "more openness" in China in the early 2000s has now been replaced by the designation that China is an "enemy to open society." "As founder of the Open Society Foundations," noted Soros, "my interest in defeating China goes beyond US national interests." 

The tycoon did meet business setbacks in China, but a major irritant for him is a momentum beyond control: China is marching ahead on a path chosen by itself and that has proven successful, beyond the orbit of Soros' empire. What a jolt of dismay to his dream to "turn China into a neoliberal grabitization opportunity" through globalization, and an imminent threat to exploitation in other developing countries should they be inspired by China. So he went on at full steam with the old playbook - export US-led values propelled by financial machines and machinations, including the OSF, and train rebels and resistance forces to topple systems standing in easy money's way. What Soros aims at is indeed a "color revolution." 

Over the past decades, Soros has plotted and sponsored almost all the coups and "color revolutions" in the world with "moral" and monetary support to so-called "pro-democracy" groups. His subversive moves in broad daylight, which may dwarf the CIA, making him a key agent out in the public as described by some US media. The 2019 riots in Hong Kong is a case in point. Instead of sympathies with local residents trapped in chaos and anxiety, what Soros has expressed was excitement that the protests in Hong Kong had been "the most successful rebellion." 

According to Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao, Soros' OSF kept close contact with some representatives of the street protests in the city. "Occupy Central" leader Tai Yiu-ting, for example, worked in the Center for Comparative and Public Law of the University of Hong Kong, where the OSF was active in 2015. Brian Patrick Kern, a fixture at the Hong Kong protests, taught young Hongkongers how to organize demonstrations, attack police and destroy the rule of law. Not surprisingly, the money that all the activities relied on came from the OSF. The Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) in Hong Kong, not recognized by the Chinese government, sought financial aid from and submitted reports to the OSF. 

Countries including Russia and almost all Eastern European countries that were shaken by Soros-made political earthquakes passed laws to ban or put his institutions under tight watch. Some governments and media compared Soros' foundations to "pseudo" NGOs instigating social instability and violent clashes.

The talking money may make noises again at the gathering in Geneva. Be it Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International or other puppets under the cover of human rights protection and with strings manipulated by the Soros network, they are safeguarding, if not expanding the rights of the fat cats. Instead of defending the rights of the public, they leech blood out of people and nations striving for autonomy and prosperity. 

Don't get fooled by the fancy slogans and public sensation. When it comes to human rights, let's see who is holding the loudspeaker and what he/she stands for. 

The author is a commentator on international affairs, writing regularly for the Global Times, CGTN, China Daily and others. He can be reached at xinping604@gmail.com