China thanks Gabon for support on human rights .
BEIJING 1996-08-27
China has publicly thanked Gabon for its strong support at the United Nations Human Rights Commission , where Beijing has come under attack from Western nations for its human rights record .
China 's President Jiang Zemin offered his gratitude in a meeting on Monday with visiting Gabon President Omar Bongo , the official Xinhua news agency said .
Jiang also acknowledged the Central African nation 's support for China 's stance on Taiwan , which Beijing views as a renegade province , while Bongo was quoted as thanking China for economic and technological aid , the agency said late on Monday .
In April , China quashed a draft resolution by the U.N. Human Rights Commission expressing concern over continuing reports of Beijing 's violations of fundamental freedoms .
After the defeat of the resolution , drafted by the European Union and the United States , China 's Foreign Ministry thanked 26 countries for backing its motion for " no action " on the document .
It was the sixth year in a row that China avoided censure at the U.N. 's main human rights forum .
China has been accused of a wide range of human rights abuses , often in violation of its own legal code , in an effort to silence dissent .
A Xinhua commentary earlier this year said a plot by the West to force its human rights standards and values on other countries was doomed to failure .