From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Sat Feb 28 2009 - 09:23:11 EST
China tells US to mind its own business
Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:27:57 GMT
Beijing reacts to the release of a US report on China by issuing a
report critical of human rights violations by the United States.
The Chinese response came after the Wednesday release of a US State
Department report that criticized Beijing for its human rights record.
China increased its repression of ethnic minorities in such areas as
Tibet and Xinjiang in 2008 and restricted dissent and religious freedom,
said the US report.
The Chinese hit back by underscoring the 1.4 million violent crimes,
including 17,000 murders, recorded by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation in 2007, describing the frequency of gun crimes as a
"serious threat" to the lives of US citizens.
"The US practice of throwing stones at others while living in a glass
house is testimony to its double standards and hypocrisy and has
undermined its international image," responded a spokesman for the
Chinese State Council.
In its introduction, the report issued by China says that it was
designed to "help people around the world understand the real situation
of human rights in the United States, and as a reminder for the United
States to reflect upon its own issues".
"As in previous years, the [US] reports are full of accusations of the
human rights situation in more than 190 countries and regions, including
China, but mention nothing of the widespread human rights abuses on its
own territory," adds the report.
The 9,000-word report also cites a statement by the US Census Bureau
released in 2008 that 37.3 million Americans -- 12.5 per cent of the US
population -- were living in poverty in 2007.
The facts, according to China, show the miserable reality of the United
States where racial discrimination exists in "every aspect of social
life".
"The United States has a string of records of trampling on the
sovereignty of and violating human rights in other countries," the
report adds, referring to such examples as the Iraq war, the abuse of
prisoners at Guantanamo and the 50-year embargo against Cuba -- which
has also been criticized by the United Nations.
According to the report, the war in Iraq has claimed more than one
million civilian lives and caused the same number of people to become
homeless. US arms sales reached $32 billion in 2007 and weapons were
sold to more than 174 nations and regions, the report claims.
The US government should "face its own human rights problems with
courage, and to stop applying double standards to human rights issues,"
the Chinese report concludes.
MVZ/AA
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=87051
<http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=87051§ionid=351020404>
§ionid=351020404
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