A document published by the Chinese government grills the United States on its human rights record.
The report, titled “Human Rights Record of the United States in 2010”, was released by China’s State Council Information Office on April 10, reports Xinhua News. It includes 12 pages of information on issues ranging from racism and gender discrimination to unemployment and pregnancy care.
Of special note are its mentions of the immigration laws passed in Arizona, civilian deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the TSA full body scanners, and the shooting of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords.
It also attacks the United States’ admonitions to other countries to allow free access to the internet, pointing out the Patriot Act — legislation being considered that would allow an internet shutdown in the case of a national emergency — and the prevalence of pornography.
“The United States applies double standards on Internet freedom by requesting unrestricted ‘Internet freedom’ in other countries, which becomes an important diplomatic tool for the United States to impose pressure and seek hegemony, and imposing strict restriction within its territory,” the report states.
The report takes its information from newspapers, such as The New York Times and the Washington Post, and from government reports.
There has been little response from the United States’ government.
“The U.S. cannot respond to (the report), because all of the data is published,” said Associate Professor of Political Science George Guo. “The U.S. will say, ‘This is not a problem for government, this is the nature of society. Some government officials are corrupt, we still have a lot of social problems, but we are trying to improve that.'”
The motive of China in publishing the “Human Rights Record of the United States in 2010” is self-defense, explained Guo. Every year, the United States issues a report on the human right violations of other countries, and China has increasingly been a target.
“China’s motive in the report is to show the Chinese people that (their) record is not as bad as the United States’, to justify (their) policy to the Chinese people and the world, to defend themselves,” said Guo.
The report is not a new development. The United States and China have been issuing these reports against each other since 1998, according to the Chinese embassy’s website. According to Guo, the pattern will continue every year.
This does not mean the report is useless.
“(The report) should have value because it combines all those records into one thesis,” said Guo. “We should understand that a lot of social problems exist.”
The “Human Rights Record of the United States in 2010” is not the only report criticizing the U.S. for human rights violations.
According to National Public Radio, the U.S. allowed the U.N. to review its human rights record on Nov. 5, 2010 for the first time.
Among those testifying in the council was Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, reports CBS. In addition, a 421 page document was submitted by the U.S. Human Rights Network, which showed “the gross shortcomings in (the United States’) human rights protections.”
According to NPR, the U.S. was criticized for its racial profiling, the death penalty, its embargo on Cuba, and its use of Guantanamo Bay, all of which were also dealt with in China’s “Human Rights Record of the United States in 2010.”