China Blasts US in "The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2010" Report

On Friday, the U.S. State Department released a report titled "2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices".

The aim of the report - to provide "encyclopedic detail on human rights conditions in over 190 countries in 2010".

As you can imagine, a number of the countries who were prominently featured in the report are none too pleased with the contents of the report.

Russia, for instance, was highlighted in the report as a country where "abuses where especially serious". The Russian government, according to the report, infringed on civil and political freedoms "by detaining certain demonstrators and pressuring select NGOs, independent media, some religious minorities, independent labor unions and political opposition".

According to the Moscow Times, the head of the Kremlin's human rights council called the report "propaganda material".

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China was especially miffed by the report from the U.S. State Department and quickly swung into action.

China, which currently holds over $1.15 trillion in US debt, released their own report just two days later titled "The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2010".

The report states that the United States has "turned a blind eye to its own terrible human rights situation" yet has "seldom mentioned it".

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Let's take a quick peek at the contents of China's scathing report. China states that:

-the United States frequently violates the civil and political rights of its own citizens

-the United States frequently tortures suspects, which often leads to "wrongful convictions"

-the United States has a double standard on Internet freedom, preaching unrestricted freedoms in other countries but not adhering to the same policy at home

-US democracy is based on "money"

-the United States has the world's highest incidence of violent crimes and that it's citizens (and their property) are not "duly protected"

-racial discrimination is "deep-seated" in the United States and has "permeated every aspect of social life"

-immigrants' rights and interests are not guaranteed

-the number of US residents in poverty has risen to a record high

-gender discrimination "widely exists" in the United States

-the United States is guilty of numerous international human rights violations

-the United States has been holding individuals "based on the pretext of the war on terror" and "abusing detainees with various methods".

-the United States has "refused to join several key international human rights conventions" and has "failed to fulfill its international obligations"

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China's Foreign Ministry spokesman had this to say:

"We advise the US side to reflect on its own human rights issues and not to position itself as a preacher of human rights. The US should stop using the issue of human rights reports to interfere in other countries' internal affairs."

Ouch - not exactly the words that you want to hear from a country that is being expected to continue sopping up massive amounts of US debt over the next decade or two.

Source: English.xinhuanet.com - China hits back with report on U.S. human rights record

Source: BBC News - China tells US: Stop preaching on human rights

Filed under: General Knowledge