On March 6, 2007, the U..S.. Department of State released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2006. The report said that China’s already poor human rights record deteriorated in 2006, with officials harassing and arresting reporters, activists, and defense lawyers seeking to exercise their lawful rights. This year’s version singled out China for "increased harassment, detention, and imprisonment" of people seen as threats to the government.
On March 8, 2007, China blasted the United States for trampling on Iraq’s sovereignty, using its campaign against terrorism as an excuse to carry out torture and violate the rights of its citizens.
For the eighth year, through the state-run Xinhua news agency, China’s State Council answered the State Department’s annual report on human rights around the world by releasing its Human Rights Record of the United States for 2006.
"As in previous years, the State Department pointed the finger at human rights conditions in more than 190 countries and regions, including China, but avoided touching on the human rights situation in the United States," the report said. [1]
The report consists of seven parts:
I. On Life, Property, and Security of Person
II. On Human Rights Violations by Law Enforcement and Judicial Departments
III. On Civil and Political Rights
IV. On Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
V. On Racial Discrimination
VI. On the Rights of Women, Children, the Elderly, and the Disabled
VII. On the United States’ Violation of Human Rights in Other Countries
The U.S. State Department report, has issued annually its Country Report on Human Rights Practices since 1977. It covers all the countries in the world except for the United States.
China’s report deals only with the United States. Obviously it’s a measure to counter the U..S.. report ofon China’s poor human right records since itChina has no interest in the human rights of the people in other countries.
"It is tit-for-tat," said Prof. Dong Yunhu, Vice President and Secretary-general of the China Human Rights Research Society. Publishing the U..S.. human rights records with details of how the United States violates the human rights of its own people is a "payback" tofor the State Department’s Country Report.
{mospagebreak}
China always tells its people that the U..S.. State Department Country Report deliberately twists the facts and makes irresponsible accusations. An extensive search of China media using top Chinese search engines online has not produced any web page containing a full text of the U..S.. State Department Country Report. Not the full text of the Iintroduction. Not even a quote. Until now, Chinese citizens can have no idea what facts were twisted and how irresponsible the accusations were.
What we found in abundance awere web pages of Chinese media containing full texts of the Human Rights Record of the United States for 2006. For exampleIn fact, before its March 8 release, the China Ministry of Education issued a directive on March 6 to its local counterparts ordering universities and colleges to re-publish the full text aton their respective official websites and making it mandatory theat students study of the report for students. [2] One such notice read as follows:
"Liaoning Province Education Department is transmitting this Notice issued by the Ministry of Education Administrative Office on Mandating all Higher Education Institutions to Publish Online, in Full, the Text of the Human Rights Record of the United States for 2006." [3]
"You are required to timely post, in full, text aton your school official website the Human Rights Record of the United States for 2006. The State Council’s Press Office will issue the Human Rights Record of the United States for 2006 on March 8, 2007, in order to support our country’s struggle against external elements at the United Nations Human Rights Conference this year, and to rebut the attack toon our human rights situation launched by the United States’ Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2006.
"In accordance with the spirit of the instructions from the leaders of the Central Committee of the Chinaese Communist Party to expand the domestic propaganda (would this word really be in a government directive?] coverage of Human Rights Record of the United States for 2006, higher education institutions throughout the country are hereby requested [ordered? Expected? Responsible for carrying?] to carry the report in full text aton their official web sites as well in addition to the reporting and publishing of the report by the media directly under the Central Committee of Chinese Communist Party.
"All higher education institutions, please take this as priority and do well in re-publishing the report.
"Ministry of Education Administrative Office
March 6, 2007"
{mospagebreak}
References:
[1] http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-03/08/content_822735.htm;
http://english.people.com.cn/200703/08/eng20070308_355469.html
[2] http://www.jz-bpi.com/gsb_c.asp?ID=20;
http://www.nfdx.net/xwkd_5.asp?id=1603&lb=21;
http://news.xctc.edu.cn/news/yxdt/C04/200703/2927.html;
http://news.xctc.edu.cn/news/yxdt/C04/200703/2927.html
[3] http://www.jz-bpi.com/gsb_c.asp?ID=20
Xiao Tian is a correspondent for Chinascope.