Beijing points finger at human rights violations in United States

Beijing (AsiaNews) – Today China released a scathing counterattack on the status of human rights in the United States. It mimicked exactly what US State Department did in a report it issued some days ago when accusing China of taking steps backward in terms of improving human rights in its country.  Not happy with the US government's attempt to "interfere in China's internal affairs", Beijing has decided to meddle in those of the United States.

In a government statement concerning  "human rights violations in the United States" China cited Washington's "international policy of unilateralism" and its "military adventures…while invading other sovereign nations" as some of the country's main violations. The statement also said that "since the beginning of the war in Iraq 16,000 Iraqis have been killed, including 10,000 civilians."

The United States are accused of being a state spending more money on weapons ("more than the rest of world put together"), being responsible for 48% of sales in the arms trade in the developed world and being the country with the largest number of privately-owned arms. This makes the United States "one of the most violent countries in the world," the report says.  

To criticize the United States, the report cites sources such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International when documenting violence found in American prisons. It must be pointed out that when HRW and Amnesty International have criticized China, Beijing has responded adversely, claiming information they report  "manipulated" information about the country.   

In the end the report criticizes American democracy as "politics for the wealthy", referring to George W. Bush's 113 million dollar presidential campaign and to that the fact his next one will cost 200 million.

Beijing also points its finger at the gap between rich and poor Americans, stating "11% of this richest sector of the population possesses wealth equal to 40% of that of the poorest in society."

There was nothing said regarding freedom of expression, enterprise or religion, human rights issues in China heavily criticized by the US State Department's report.

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