3rd Ld: China hits back with report on U.S. human rights record

3rd Ld: China hits back with report on U.S. human rights record

BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- China retorted the U.S. criticismon its human rights situation by publishing a report of the U.S.human rights record on Sunday.

The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2010 was releasedby the Information Office of China's State Council, or cabinet, inresponse to the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2010issued by the U.S. Department of State on April 8.

The U.S. reports are "full of distortions and accusations of thehuman rights situation in more than 190 countries and regionsincluding China. However, the United States turned a blind eye toits own terrible human rights situation and seldom mentioned it,"China's report said.

The United States has taken human rights as "a politicalinstrument to defame other nations' image and seek its own strategicinterests," the report said.

While illustrating a dismal record of the United States on itsown human rights, China's report said the United States could not bejustified to pose as the world's "human rights justice."

"However, it released the Country Reports on Human RightsPractices year after year to accuse and blame other countries fortheir human rights practices," the report said.

These moves fully expose the United States' hypocrisy byexercising double standards on human rights and its malicious designto pursue hegemony under the pretext of human rights, it said.

The report advised the U.S. government to "take concrete actionsto improve its own human rights conditions, check and rectify itsacts in the human rights field, and stop the hegemonistic deeds ofusing human rights issues to interfere in other countries' internalaffairs."

VIOLATION OF CITIZENS' RIGHTS

In the United States, the violation of citizens' civil andpolitical rights by the government is severe, said the report.

Citizen's privacy has been undermined. More than 6,600 travelershad been subject to electronic device searches between October 1,2008 and June 2, 2010, nearly half of them American citizens, saidthe report, citing figures released by the American Civil LibertiesUnion (ACLU) in September 2010.

The report said abuse of violence and torturing suspects to getconfession is serious in the U.S. law enforcement, and "wrongfulconviction occurred quite often."

While advocating Internet freedom, the U.S. in fact imposesfairly strict restriction on cyberspace, said the report.

The United States applies double standards on Internet freedom byrequesting unrestricted "Internet freedom" in other countries, whichbecomes an important diplomatic tool for the U.S. to impose pressureand seek hegemony, and imposing strict restriction within its ownterritory, the report said.

The U.S. regards itself as "the beacon of democracy." However,its democracy is largely based on money, the report said.

According to media report in 2010, U.S. House and Senatecandidates shattered fundraising records for a midterm election,taking in more than 1.5 billion U.S. dollars as of October 24. Themidterm election, held in November 2010, finally cost 3.98 billionU.S. dollars, the most expensive in the U.S. history.

HIGHEST INCIDENCE OF VIOLENT CRIMES

One out of every five people is a victim of a crime in the UnitedStates every year, said the report.

The United States reports the world' s highest incidence ofviolent crimes, and its people's lives, properties and personalsecurity are not duly protected, the report said.

In 2009, an estimated 4.3 million violent crimes, 15.6 millionproperty crimes and 133,000 personal thefts were committed againstU.S. residents aged 12 or older, and the violent crime rate was 17.1victimizations per 1,000 persons, said the report, quoting figuresfrom the U.S. Department of Justice.

The United States also ranks first in the world in terms of thenumber of privately-owned guns and had high incidence of gun-related crimes, said the report, noting that the United Statesexercised lax control on the already rampant gun ownership.

Some 90 million people own an estimated 200 million guns in theUnited States, which has a population of about 300 million, thereport said citing figures from the public media.

Statistics showed there were 12,000 gun murders a year in theUnited States, the report said.

The report also said that the frequent campus shootings incolleges in the United States came to the spotlight in recent years.

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION DEEP-SEATED

"Racial discrimination, deep-seated in the United States, haspermeated every aspect of social life," said the report.

Minority groups confront discrimination in their employment andoccupation. The black people are treated unfairly or excluded inpromotion, welfare and employment, the report quoted U.S mediareports as saying.

It is reported that one-third of black people confronteddiscrimination at work, against which only one-sixteenth of theblack people would lodge a complaint.

The New York Times reported on September 23, 2010 that by the endof September 30, 2009, Muslim workers had filed a record 803 claimsof complaints over employment discrimination, up 20 percent from theprevious year.

The report said U.S. minority groups have high unemployment rate,and do not enjoy the same political status as white people.

Poverty proportion for U.S. minorities is high in the UnitedStates. The poverty proportion of the black was 25.8 percent in2009, and those of Hispanic origin and Asian were 25.3 percent and12.5 percent respectively, much higher than that of the non-Hispanic white at 9.4 percent, said the report, citing U.S. mediafigures.

The report also said that U.S. minority groups face obviousinequality in education, and the health care for African-Americanpeople is worrisome.

Racial discrimination is evident in the law enforcement andjudicial systems, racial hate crimes are frequent, and immigrants'rights and interests are not guaranteed, said the report.

RIGHTS OF WOMEN, CHILDREN IS BOTHERING

Gender discrimination against women widely exists in the UnitedStates, and women in the country often experience sexual assault andviolence.

Statistics showed that some 20 million women are rape victims inthe country, some one fifth female students on campus are victims ofsexual assault, and nearly 3,000 female soldiers were sexuallyassaulted in fiscal year 2008, up nine percent from the year before.

Women are also victims of domestic violence in the United States,said the report, as some 1.3 million people fall victim to domesticviolence every year, with women accounting for 92 percent.

Many children in the U.S. live in poverty and their physical andmental health is not ensured as nearly one in four childrenstruggles with hunger, according to the report.

The report also pointed out that violence against children isvery severe in the country, citing figures from the official websiteof Love Our Children USA that every year, over three millionchildren are victims of violence reportedly and the actual number isthree times greater.

More than 93,000 children are currently incarcerated in theUnited States, and between 75 and 93 percent of children haveexperienced at least one traumatic experience, including sexualabuse and neglect, the report said.

According to the report, pornographic content is rampant on theInternet and severely harms American children as seven in 10children have accidentally accessed pornography on the Internet andone in three has done so intentionally.