WASHINGTON: The latest US human rights report, which underlined widespread abuses in China, has led to a counter-report from Beijing, which points out similar violations in America.

On Thursday, the US State Department released its annual report on human rights, claiming that “repression and coercion were routine,” in China particularly against organisations and individuals involved in civil and political rights advocacy and public interest issues, ethnic minorities, and law firms that took on sensitive cases.

“Officials continued to employ harassment, intimidation, and prosecution of family members and associates to retaliate against rights advocates and defenders,” the report added.

On Friday, China issued a counter report, saying that the United Sates was “haunted by spreading guns” and racial discrimination.

“Individuals and groups regarded as politically sensitive by authorities continued to face tight restrictions on their freedom to assemble, practice religion, and travel,” said the US report on China.

In a lengthy report carried by the official Xinhua news agency, the information office of the State Council of China said the United States “violated human rights in other countries in a more brazen manner, and was given more ‘red cards’ in the international human rights field”.

“Authorities (in China) resorted to extralegal measures such as enforced disappearance and strict house arrest, including house arrest of family members, to prevent public expression of independent opinions,” said the US report.

The Chinese report, which was mostly compiled from US media articles, said “racial discrimination has been a chronic problem in the United States human rights record”, adding that the United States suppressed the voting rights of minorities.

As in previous years, in 2014 Chinese “citizens did not have the right to change their government, and citizens had limited forms of redress against official abuse,” the US report said.

“In 2014, multiple cases of arbitrary police killing of African-Americans have sparked huge waves of protests, casting doubts on the racial ‘equality’ in the United States and giving rise to racial hatred factors,” China responded.

“Other human rights problems during the year included alleged extrajudicial killings, including executions without due process; enforced disappearance and incommunicado detention,” the US report said.

The Chinese report criticised the United States for conducting surveillance on world leaders and civilians and for allowing a few interest groups to influence the government’s decision-making.

Human rights have long been a source of tension between the United States and China, especially since 1989, when the United States imposed sanctions on China after a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

China has always rejected criticism of its rights’ record and has pointed to its success at lifting millions out of poverty.

The State Council report was “an equal and mutually beneficial way of reciprocating” the United States, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily briefing.

The State Department report came in the same week that the United States and China held three days of high-level talks in Washington.

The US report also labelled countries such as Iran, Cuba, Myanmar and Vietnam serial human rights abusers, even as it seeks to improve relations with them.

The report also denounced the “brutality” of extremist groups and said: “The year 2014 will be remembered as much for atrocities committed by non-state actors.”

The world has “witnessed the brutality and nihilism of the horrific attacks by Pakistani Taliban and Boko Haram on schoolchildren,” said US Secretary of State John Kerry while releasing the report.

“Groups like ISIL burn human beings alive, barbarically behead prisoners, sell girls into slavery, and execute innocents widely and indiscriminately,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2015

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