Gun ownership: China slams US, says Washington should learn from Beijing to protect human rights

Editorial in party newspaper points the finger at others where gun ownership is more important than life. China rejects criticism on human rights, but persecutes activists and lawyers.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The United States should learn from China and “genuinely” protect human rights by restricting gun ownership, a state-run Chinese newspaper claims.

The editorial in Global Times newspaper follows a massacre in which 17 students and staff were killed at a Florida high school last week.

“Washington has been pointing an accusing finger at other countries over human rights . . . However, more Americans have been killed by gunfire in the country than American soldiers being killed in all U.S. wars,” the paper said.

Turning a blind eye to gun violence is “inhumane”, the editorial noted, adding that “Gun ownership in China is strictly regulated”.

“The U.S.,” it went on to say, “has no other choice but to adopt gun control. The right of life is the most fundamental (of) human rights. The right to bear arms cannot overpower the individual’s right to live”.

Human rights have long been a source of tension between the world’s two largest economies, especially since 1989, when the United States imposed sanctions on China after a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

China has always rejected criticism of its rights record, whilst at the same time cracking down on rights activists and lawyers.

• china
• united states
• florida
• shooting
• gun violence