BEIJING – The United States should stop its hegemonic practice of portraying itself as a human rights “preacher” and using human rights issues to interfere in other nations’ said internal affairs, Chinese experts.
In its annual report on human rights situation in more than 190 countries and regions, which was released on Friday, the United States claimed that a “negative” trend in China’s human rights record continued, an accusation that Chinese experts categorically refuted.
The U.S. began issuing such human rights reports as part of its efforts to initiate “human rights diplomacy” starting with the Carter administration in the 1970s, said Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Peking University.
“The report highlights the interests and values of the U.S. and represents a rude interference in other nations’ internal affairs by an advantaged superpower,” he said.
As a retort to the U.S. criticism of its human rights status, China on Sunday published a document illustrating a dismal record of human rights in the U.S., including violations of its citizens’ rights, racial discrimination, poverty and international human rights violations, among other problems.
Saying that the U.S. reports are “full of distortions and accusations,” the China document states that “the U.S. turned a blind eye to its own terrible rights situation and seldom mentioned it.”
Hong Lei, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said on Saturday that China and the U.S. have disagreements on human rights issues and that China is willing to engage in dialogues about these issues based on equality and mutual respect.
“But we are firmly against interfering in our internal affairs under the pretext of human rights issues,” Hong said.
Liu Jie, a researcher on human rights at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said that the U.S. claims regarding China’s human rights are “groundless.”
Outsiders should view the remarkable progress that China has achieved over the years in the promotion and development of human rights objectively, Liu said.
In April 2009, China published the National Human Rights Action Plan (2009-2010), its first working plan on human rights, which listed goals slated for implementation in less than two years.
This action made China one of 26 countries since 1993 that have
responded to the United Nations’ call to establish a national human
rights plan.
