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Beijing's State Council pans US on rights abuses

China yesterday assailed the human cost of the US' overseas wars as well as rights abuses within the US in its annual riposte to Washington's criticism of Beijing's record on human rights.

"The United States has lorded it over other countries by condemning their human rights practices while ignoring its own problems, which exposes its double standard and hegemonism on the human rights issue," said a report released by the State Council.

"America's international image has been greatly hurt by its government's violation of human rights while flaunting the banner of `safeguarding human rights.'"

Abuse

The report, titled The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2006, cited massive civilian casualties in the Iraq conflict, violations of the Geneva Convention such as the abuse of Iraqi prisoners and terror suspects, and the killings of unarmed civilians by US troops in Iraq.

"The United States has a flagrant record of violating the Geneva Convention in systematically abusing prisoners during the Iraqi War and the war in Afghanistan," it said.

As it does every year, China also pointed out nagging US problems with crime, gun control and poverty.

It also cited infringements on the civil rights of US citizens such as the Bush administration's surveillance of private communications in the name of the war on terror.

The report went on to question Washington's touting of democracy, saying the US system was poisoned by moneyed interests and allowed the poor, minorities and other vulnerable segments of society to slip through the cracks.

China began issuing its report several years ago in retaliation for the annual congressionally mandated US assessment of global human rights, which routinely singles out China as one of the world's worst violators.

This year's State Department report, issued on Tuesday, accused China of stepping up the harassment and detention of journalists, writers, activists and defense lawyers, and tightening restrictions on freedom of speech, especially on the Internet.

Vulnerable

Paul Harris, a professor of politics at Hong Kong's Lingnan University, said the US will remain vulnerable to attacks on its rights record as long as it fails to mention itself in the annual reports.

"It's the double standard that really gets under the skin of the Chinese. To simply accuse is unacceptable, especially with China, which brooks no interference in its domestic affairs," Harris said.

Harris said that China's human rights record will become a bigger issue in years ahead as the Democrat-controlled Congress scrutinizes trade and other disputes with China, which will likely lead some Beijing critics to invoke human rights as a convenient criticism.

"It will absolutely stay on the radar but won't destroy the relationship," he said.
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