China Gives America a D

[Geezah]

Since 1977, the United States State Department has issued an annual global report card called the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

The document has long been a thorn in the side of authoritarian governments, including

China's, which responds with a nettled review of its own, called "The Human Rights Record of the United States," the 2004 version of which was recently released. (It is available in English at:People's Daily Online (http://english.people.com.cn/200503/03/eng20050303_175406.html) China's assessment, unlike the sober State Department tome, is a frank indictment and draws a picture of America that approaches caricature. But that doesn't mean it won't buttress the negative image of the United States held by its critics around the world.

Excerpts follow, with the document's grammatical and other errors intact.

Life, Liberty and Security of Person

American society is characterized with rampant violent crimes, severe infringement of people's rights by law enforcement departments and lack of guarantee for people's rights to life, liberty and security of person.

The United States has the biggest number of gun owners, and gun violence has affected lots of innocent lives. About 31,000 Americans are killed and 75,000 wounded by firearms each year, which means more than 80 people are shot dead each day.

The United States characterizes itself as "a paradise for free people," but the ratio of its citizens deprived of freedom has remained among the highest.

According to statistics from the Department of Justice, the number of inmates in the United States jumped from 320,000 in 1980 to two million in 2000, a hike by six times. The number of convicted offenders may total more than six million if parolees and probationers are also counted.

Political Rights and Freedom

The United States claims to be "a paragon of democracy," but American democracy is manipulated by the rich and malpractices are common. Elections in the United States are in fact a contest of money. The presidential and Congressional elections last year cost nearly $4 billion.

Campaign advertisement and political debates were full of distorted facts, false information and lies.

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Poverty, hunger and homelessness have haunted the world richest country.

Upper middle- and upper-class families that constitute the top 10 percent of the income distribution are prospering while many among the remaining 90 percent struggle to maintain their standard of living. According to the statistics released by the United States Census Bureau in 2004, the number of Americans in poverty has been climbing for three years. It rose by 1.3 million year on year in 2003 to 35.9 million.

Racial Discrimination

Racial discrimination has been deeply rooted in the United States, permeating into every aspects of society. The colored people are generally poor, with living condition much worse than the white. The death rate of illness, accident and murder among the black people is twice that of the white. The rate of being victim of murders for the black people is five times that of the white. The rate of being affected by AIDS for the black people is ten times that of the whites while the rate of being diagnosed by diabetes for the black people is twice that of the whites.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of the United States received 29,000 complaints in 2003 of racial bias in the workplace

The Declaration of Independence said all men are created equal, so the gap between black and white people is simply an insult to the founding essence of the United States.

After the Sept. 11 incident, the United States openly restricts the rights of citizens under the cloak of homeland security, and uses diverse means including wire tapping of phone conversations and secret investigations, checks on all secret files, and monitoring transfers of fund and cash flows to supervise activities of its citizens, in which, people of ethnic minority groups, foreigners and immigrants become main victims.

The Rights of Women and Children

The situation of American women and children was disturbing. The rates of women and children physically or ******ly victimized were high. According to F.B.I. Crime Statistics, in 2003 the United States witnessed 93,233 cases of raping. The statistics also showed that every two minutes one woman was ******ly assaulted and every six minutes one woman was raped.

Children were victims of *** crimes. Every year about 400,000 children in the U.S. were forced to engage in prostitution or other ****** dealings on the streets.

In recent years scandals about clergymen molesting children kept breaking out.

It is believed that from 1950 to 2002 more than 10,600 boys and girls were ******ly abused by nearly 4,400 clergymen.

The Human Rights of Foreign Nationals

In 2004, United States Army service people were reported to have abused and insulted Iraqi prisoners of war, which stunned the whole world. The United States forces were blamed for their fierce and dirty treatments for these Iraqi P.O.W.'s. They made the P.O.W.'s naked by force, masking their heads with underwear (even women's underwear), locking up their necks with a belt, towing them over the ground, letting military dogs bite them, beating them with a whip, shocking them with electric batons, needling them sometimes and putting chemical fluids containing phosphorus on their wounds.

The United States frequently commits wanton slaughters during external invasions and military attacks. Spain's Uprising newspaper on May 12, 2004, published a list of human rights infringement incidents committed by the United States troops, quoting two bloodthirsty sayings of two American generals, "The only good Indians I ever saw were dead" by Gen. Philip Sheridan, and "we should bomb Vietnam back to the Stone Age" by Air Force Gen. Curtis LeMay.

A survey on Iraqi civilian deaths, based on the natural death rate before the war, estimates that the United States-led invasion might have led to 100,000 more deaths in the country, with most victims being women and children. In addition, the United States troops often plunder Iraqi households when tracking down anti-United States militants since the invasion. The American forces has so far committed at least thousands of robberies and 90 percent of the Iraqis that have been rummaged are innocent.

Despite tons of problems in its own human rights, the United States continues to stick to its belligerent stance, wantonly trample on the sovereignty of other countries and constantly stage tragedies of human rights infringement in the world.

Instead of indulging itself in publishing the "human rights country report" to censure other countries unreasonably, the United States should reflect on its erroneous behavior on human rights and take its own human rights problems seriously.


The full report is here,NYTimes (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/weekinreview/27word.html?oref=login&oref=login)

[Legion]

Since 1977, the United States State Department has issued an annual global report card called the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

The document has long been a thorn in the side of authoritarian governments, including

China's, which responds with a nettled review of its own, called "The Human Rights Record of the United States," the 2004 version of which was recently released. (It is available in English at:People's Daily Online (http://english.people.com.cn/200503/03/eng20050303_175406.html) China's assessment, unlike the sober State Department tome, is a frank indictment and draws a picture of America that approaches caricature. But that doesn't mean it won't buttress the negative image of the United States held by its critics around the world.

Excerpts follow, with the document's grammatical and other errors intact.

Life, Liberty and Security of Person

American society is characterized with rampant violent crimes, severe infringement of people's rights by law enforcement departments and lack of guarantee for people's rights to life, liberty and security of person.

The United States has the biggest number of gun owners, and gun violence has affected lots of innocent lives. About 31,000 Americans are killed and 75,000 wounded by firearms each year, which means more than 80 people are shot dead each day.

The United States characterizes itself as "a paradise for free people," but the ratio of its citizens deprived of freedom has remained among the highest.

According to statistics from the Department of Justice, the number of inmates in the United States jumped from 320,000 in 1980 to two million in 2000, a hike by six times. The number of convicted offenders may total more than six million if parolees and probationers are also counted.

Political Rights and Freedom

The United States claims to be "a paragon of democracy," but American democracy is manipulated by the rich and malpractices are common. Elections in the United States are in fact a contest of money. The presidential and Congressional elections last year cost nearly $4 billion.

Campaign advertisement and political debates were full of distorted facts, false information and lies.

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Poverty, hunger and homelessness have haunted the world richest country.

Upper middle- and upper-class families that constitute the top 10 percent of the income distribution are prospering while many among the remaining 90 percent struggle to maintain their standard of living. According to the statistics released by the United States Census Bureau in 2004, the number of Americans in poverty has been climbing for three years. It rose by 1.3 million year on year in 2003 to 35.9 million.

Racial Discrimination

Racial discrimination has been deeply rooted in the United States, permeating into every aspects of society. The colored people are generally poor, with living condition much worse than the white. The death rate of illness, accident and murder among the black people is twice that of the white. The rate of being victim of murders for the black people is five times that of the white. The rate of being affected by AIDS for the black people is ten times that of the whites while the rate of being diagnosed by diabetes for the black people is twice that of the whites.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of the United States received 29,000 complaints in 2003 of racial bias in the workplace

The Declaration of Independence said all men are created equal, so the gap between black and white people is simply an insult to the founding essence of the United States.

After the Sept. 11 incident, the United States openly restricts the rights of citizens under the cloak of homeland security, and uses diverse means including wire tapping of phone conversations and secret investigations, checks on all secret files, and monitoring transfers of fund and cash flows to supervise activities of its citizens, in which, people of ethnic minority groups, foreigners and immigrants become main victims.

The Rights of Women and Children

The situation of American women and children was disturbing. The rates of women and children physically or ******ly victimized were high. According to F.B.I. Crime Statistics, in 2003 the United States witnessed 93,233 cases of raping. The statistics also showed that every two minutes one woman was ******ly assaulted and every six minutes one woman was raped.

Children were victims of *** crimes. Every year about 400,000 children in the U.S. were forced to engage in prostitution or other ****** dealings on the streets.

In recent years scandals about clergymen molesting children kept breaking out.

It is believed that from 1950 to 2002 more than 10,600 boys and girls were ******ly abused by nearly 4,400 clergymen.

The Human Rights of Foreign Nationals

In 2004, United States Army service people were reported to have abused and insulted Iraqi prisoners of war, which stunned the whole world. The United States forces were blamed for their fierce and dirty treatments for these Iraqi P.O.W.'s. They made the P.O.W.'s naked by force, masking their heads with underwear (even women's underwear), locking up their necks with a belt, towing them over the ground, letting military dogs bite them, beating them with a whip, shocking them with electric batons, needling them sometimes and putting chemical fluids containing phosphorus on their wounds.

The United States frequently commits wanton slaughters during external invasions and military attacks. Spain's Uprising newspaper on May 12, 2004, published a list of human rights infringement incidents committed by the United States troops, quoting two bloodthirsty sayings of two American generals, "The only good Indians I ever saw were dead" by Gen. Philip Sheridan, and "we should bomb Vietnam back to the Stone Age" by Air Force Gen. Curtis LeMay.

A survey on Iraqi civilian deaths, based on the natural death rate before the war, estimates that the United States-led invasion might have led to 100,000 more deaths in the country, with most victims being women and children. In addition, the United States troops often plunder Iraqi households when tracking down anti-United States militants since the invasion. The American forces has so far committed at least thousands of robberies and 90 percent of the Iraqis that have been rummaged are innocent.

Despite tons of problems in its own human rights, the United States continues to stick to its belligerent stance, wantonly trample on the sovereignty of other countries and constantly stage tragedies of human rights infringement in the world.

Instead of indulging itself in publishing the "human rights country report" to censure other countries unreasonably, the United States should reflect on its erroneous behavior on human rights and take its own human rights problems seriously.


The full report is here,NYTimes (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/weekinreview/27word.html?oref=login&oref=login)



http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/qwkzx2/potkettle.gif

[Durandal]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/qwkzx2/potkettle.gif

Hardly, that actually supports the PRC's claim...

The low down:
http://www.hrichina.org/public/contents/history?cid=1066

Reports for February Alone 2005


Death Penalty

China executed 650 prisoners in the two months leading up to the Lunar New Year. Amnesty International, which provided the figure, said that 200 people were executed in just the last two weeks prior to Chinese New Year’s Day. These executions, intended to scare would-be pickpockets and con artists during the holiday season, were described by the Chinese government as a means to preserve stability.

Violent Crimes:
Xiong Xudong (???), a construction worker from central Anhui, was sentenced to death by a Dongguan People's Intermediate Court on February 3 for killing a Taiwanese businessman, his pregnant mainland mistress, her son and their domestic helper.

Financial Crimes:
Huang Kai (??), a senior bank official of the China Construction Bank's Henan branch, was sentenced to death by the Shangqiu County People’s Intermediate Court on January 24, 2005 for embezzling bank funds totaling 73.48 million yuan from 1993 to 1998.

Zhu Fuzhong (???), Party Secretary of Long Quan Yi District in Chengdu County, was sentenced to death by the Chengdu County People's Intermediate Court on February 21. He was convicted of taking bribes totally 14.13 million yuan from 1998 to 2004.*

Commuted:
On January 26, Sichuan Province’s high court announced that Tenzin Deleg's death sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment. Tenzin, a 52-year-old Tibetan monk, was originally sentenced in 2002 after being convicted of involvement in the Chengdu, Sichuan Province bombing incident in April of that year. He was also charged with supporting Tibetan separatists.


Labor

Disasters:
An underground gas explosion at the state-owned Haizhou Coal Mine (Sunjiawan) in Fuxin, Liaoning Province on February 14 led to the deaths of 215 miners. Only 29 miners were rescued in this disaster, considered the worst since the CCP came to power in 1949.

At an illegal coal mine in Songlin Village, Yunan Province, a blast killed 24 people, injured 14, and left three missing on February 15. The owner of the mine fled soon after the incident.

On February 25, four miners died in the state-run Jinniu Coal Mine in Shilatan Village, Yulin, Shaanxi Province after the steel rope of their suspending cage broke, causing them to fall to the bottom of the mine’s 124-meter shaft.



Media Censorship

Orders from the propaganda department of Liaoning Province shortly after the February 14 coal mine disaster restricted access to the mine and directed local newspapers to avoid covering the story. Local journalists were told to use information supplied by the official Xinhua News Agency.

In February 2005, the Washington National Press Club revealed that the Chinese embassy had asked it to censor one of its events. Prior to a December event hosting the Epoch Times, Sun Weide, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., had called and emailed the club to complain about the paper’s connections with the Falun Gong spiritual movement. In response, John Donnelly, chairman of the board of governors, stated, “We would never bow to a request to silence anyone.”

Barred:
Jin Zhong ???), editor of the Hong Kong-based monthly Open Magazine, was barred from entering Macau on February 14. Although Hunan-born Jin had been banned from the mainland since 1996, he had always been able to enter Macau freely. Jin attributed his barred entry to an article he wrote commemorating the death of former CCP secretary Zhao Ziyang.



Petitions and Protests

Chinese workers protest in Hong Kong
Chinese laborers traveled to Hong Kong on February 1 to protest at the headquarters of Lucky International Holdings, a jewelry maker. The workers charged that the Hong Kong company's factories on the mainland caused them to become ill with silicosis, a respiratory disease. Protest organizers said it was the first time that mainland workers had gone to Hong Kong to protest occupational health hazards.

Tiananmen Mothers
In late February, Ding Zilin ?????and more than 100 other family members of those killed or injured in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown issued an open letter to the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In the open letter, the family members said that the June 4th Incident remains a blot on China’s history, which can only be removed through an unbiased reassessment, including a rehabilitation of former Party Secretary Zhao Ziyang. The letter reiterated the demands that the families have been making for the past 10 years: a new official investigation into the events of June 1989; legal redress and compensation for the victims and their families; and inquiries by the procuratorate to establish official accountability for June 4th.

UN
A petition letter to the UN by 106 mainland political activists called for intervention in China's human rights issues and the release of several dissidents, including Shi Tao (??), Ye Guozhu (???), Zhao Xin (??) and Zhang Lin (??). In the letter, the activists addressed their concerns over China's deteriorating human rights situation amid a crackdown against intellectuals launched by mainland authorities in the second half of last year.

Detention/imprisonment
Plainclothes police in Beijing forcibly removed at least 10 petitioners who had made their way to Beijing to lodge complaints about official abuses of power with top government leaders attending a CCP seminar.










Political Dissidents

Arrests:
Zhang Lin (??), an activist who played a leading role in the 1989 pro-democracy protest sin Anhui Province, was detained by Anhui police on his return from Beijing on January 29, where authorities had prevented him from paying respects to the family of Zhao Ziyang. Anhui police said Zhang had been detained for threatening state security and sent to jail.

Released:
Political dissidents Hu Jia (??), Yang Tianshui (???) and Dai Xuewu (???) were freed from house arrest after being subjected to monitoring by the authorities since Zhao Ziyang's death. Hu regained his freedom on February 1, while Yang and Dai were informed of their release on February 3. Police had watched their homes since January 17, the day Zhao Ziyang died in a Beijing hospital.



Religious Persecution

Arrested and sentenced:
Five Tibetan monks were imprisoned for two to three years each for publishing politically sensitive poems in Qinghai Province. The authorities arrested all five around January 16 and sentenced them 20 days later. The monks were identified as the monastery's lead abbot, Gen Tashi Gyaltsen, along with Tsultrim Phelgyal, Tsesum Samten, Jhamphel Gyatso and Lobsang Thargyal. They had been living in a monastery in the Tsolho area, where they published a newsletter that the authorities claimed carried tacit political messages. Tashi Gyaltsen, Tsultrim Phelgyal and Jhamphel Gyatso, the lead editors, were given 3-year sentences, while Tsesum Samten and Lobsang Thargyal were handed two-year jail terms.

[TacoDelRio]

Double-U Tee Eff?!?!

Thanks for the article, Geezah, as always.

[2Sheds_Jackson]

Asking one simple question of the Chinese government will instantly dispel any questions as to the validity of their report;

Can we organize a demonstration in a public place, say Tiananmen Square, to discuss the merits of democracy & of the people determining their own government?

No? It's forbidden to criticize the government? You'll crush us with tanks? But they'll let us do that in Washington D.C....

[Legion]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/qwkzx2/potkettle.gif

Hardly, that actually supports the PRC's claim...

The low down:
http://www.hrichina.org/public/contents/history?cid=1066

Reports for February Alone 2005


Death Penalty

China executed 650 prisoners in the two months leading up to the Lunar New Year. Amnesty International, which provided the figure, said that 200 people were executed in just the last two weeks prior to Chinese New Year’s Day. These executions, intended to scare would-be pickpockets and con artists during the holiday season, were described by the Chinese government as a means to preserve stability.

Violent Crimes:
Xiong Xudong (???), a construction worker from central Anhui, was sentenced to death by a Dongguan People's Intermediate Court on February 3 for killing a Taiwanese businessman, his pregnant mainland mistress, her son and their domestic helper.

Financial Crimes:
Huang Kai (??), a senior bank official of the China Construction Bank's Henan branch, was sentenced to death by the Shangqiu County People’s Intermediate Court on January 24, 2005 for embezzling bank funds totaling 73.48 million yuan from 1993 to 1998.

Zhu Fuzhong (???), Party Secretary of Long Quan Yi District in Chengdu County, was sentenced to death by the Chengdu County People's Intermediate Court on February 21. He was convicted of taking bribes totally 14.13 million yuan from 1998 to 2004.

Commuted:
On January 26, Sichuan Province’s high court announced that Tenzin Deleg's death sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment. Tenzin, a 52-year-old Tibetan monk, was originally sentenced in 2002 after being convicted of involvement in the Chengdu, Sichuan Province bombing incident in April of that year. He was also charged with supporting Tibetan separatists.


Labor

Disasters:
An underground gas explosion at the state-owned Haizhou Coal Mine (Sunjiawan) in Fuxin, Liaoning Province on February 14 led to the deaths of 215 miners. Only 29 miners were rescued in this disaster, considered the worst since the CCP came to power in 1949.

At an illegal coal mine in Songlin Village, Yunan Province, a blast killed 24 people, injured 14, and left three missing on February 15. The owner of the mine fled soon after the incident.

On February 25, four miners died in the state-run Jinniu Coal Mine in Shilatan Village, Yulin, Shaanxi Province after the steel rope of their suspending cage broke, causing them to fall to the bottom of the mine’s 124-meter shaft.



Media Censorship

Orders from the propaganda department of Liaoning Province shortly after the February 14 coal mine disaster restricted access to the mine and directed local newspapers to avoid covering the story. Local journalists were told to use information supplied by the official Xinhua News Agency.

In February 2005, the Washington National Press Club revealed that the Chinese embassy had asked it to censor one of its events. Prior to a December event hosting the Epoch Times, Sun Weide, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., had called and emailed the club to complain about the paper’s connections with the Falun Gong spiritual movement. In response, John Donnelly, chairman of the board of governors, stated, “We would never bow to a request to silence anyone.”

Barred:
Jin Zhong ???), editor of the Hong Kong-based monthly Open Magazine, was barred from entering Macau on February 14. Although Hunan-born Jin had been banned from the mainland since 1996, he had always been able to enter Macau freely. Jin attributed his barred entry to an article he wrote commemorating the death of former CCP secretary Zhao Ziyang.



Petitions and Protests

Chinese workers protest in Hong Kong
Chinese laborers traveled to Hong Kong on February 1 to protest at the headquarters of Lucky International Holdings, a jewelry maker. The workers charged that the Hong Kong company's factories on the mainland caused them to become ill with silicosis, a respiratory disease. Protest organizers said it was the first time that mainland workers had gone to Hong Kong to protest occupational health hazards.

Tiananmen Mothers
In late February, Ding Zilin ?????and more than 100 other family members of those killed or injured in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown issued an open letter to the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In the open letter, the family members said that the June 4th Incident remains a blot on China’s history, which can only be removed through an unbiased reassessment, including a rehabilitation of former Party Secretary Zhao Ziyang. The letter reiterated the demands that the families have been making for the past 10 years: a new official investigation into the events of June 1989; legal redress and compensation for the victims and their families; and inquiries by the procuratorate to establish official accountability for June 4th.

UN
A petition letter to the UN by 106 mainland political activists called for intervention in China's human rights issues and the release of several dissidents, including Shi Tao (??), Ye Guozhu (???), Zhao Xin (??) and Zhang Lin (??). In the letter, the activists addressed their concerns over China's deteriorating human rights situation amid a crackdown against intellectuals launched by mainland authorities in the second half of last year.

Detention/imprisonment
Plainclothes police in Beijing forcibly removed at least 10 petitioners who had made their way to Beijing to lodge complaints about official abuses of power with top government leaders attending a CCP seminar.










Political Dissidents

Arrests:
Zhang Lin (??), an activist who played a leading role in the 1989 pro-democracy protest sin Anhui Province, was detained by Anhui police on his return from Beijing on January 29, where authorities had prevented him from paying respects to the family of Zhao Ziyang. Anhui police said Zhang had been detained for threatening state security and sent to jail.

Released:
Political dissidents Hu Jia (??), Yang Tianshui (???) and Dai Xuewu (???) were freed from house arrest after being subjected to monitoring by the authorities since Zhao Ziyang's death. Hu regained his freedom on February 1, while Yang and Dai were informed of their release on February 3. Police had watched their homes since January 17, the day Zhao Ziyang died in a Beijing hospital.



Religious Persecution

Arrested and sentenced:
Five Tibetan monks were imprisoned for two to three years each for publishing politically sensitive poems in Qinghai Province. The authorities arrested all five around January 16 and sentenced them 20 days later. The monks were identified as the monastery's lead abbot, Gen Tashi Gyaltsen, along with Tsultrim Phelgyal, Tsesum Samten, Jhamphel Gyatso and Lobsang Thargyal. They had been living in a monastery in the Tsolho area, where they published a newsletter that the authorities claimed carried tacit political messages. Tashi Gyaltsen, Tsultrim Phelgyal and Jhamphel Gyatso, the lead editors, were given 3-year sentences, while Tsesum Samten and Lobsang Thargyal were handed two-year jail terms.

And I thought http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/qwkzx2/potkettle.gif was such a witty retort. I got nothin'. A big bag of nothin'.

Really it was just to point out the hypocrisy of the whole thing, seeing how the PRC has such a sterling human rights record. :roll:

[Buckeye67]

The only thing that'll be funnier than that article is going to be the yo-yo's who will post in this thread agreeing with it. rofl

[formerLT]

ROFL that article is hilarious. I guess until we run protestors over in public squares with tanks we'll just have to settle for a "D"

[Jeremiah]

http://www.christusrex.org/www1/sdc/tank-1.jpg

three words=Tiananmen square Massacre

rofl

[kutter]

All I know is that I'd rather live in the good ol' U.S. of A rather than China.