Fifty
Million
Murdered.
At least.
One of the greatest human rights abusers on earth, secret executions, detention without charge, corruption, slaughter of protesters, arrest of those that speak out, the tearing out of the condemned's organs before their execution, supporter of ALL the worst abusers on earth.......and these people think China is wonderful because they go there and have a nice time.
Gee Whiz Guys
What can I say??
Many things, but they would get deleted.
Smarten up.
What year was that Colpy? Are any of the people who did this still running China?
Referencing China's historical injustices in a debate about the state of human rights in China today is barely on-topic and about as relevant as referencing American historical injustices in a debate about the state of human rights in the US today. But if you want to go there, sure I'll compare historical injustices in China relative to historical injustices in the US even though neither issue has any significant relevance to the human rights situation today.
The US practiced ethnic cleansing and genocide against first nations people. Their soldiers murdered and slaughtered entire communities. Tens of thousands of people were forced from their homes and their land was awarded to mostly white people. The US also had an active slave trade for hundreds of years. White slave owners raped and murdered their black slaves with impunity.
But if I was to raise these issues in a discussion about American human rights today, I'd look just as ridiculous as you do now bringing up historical Chinese events... which have little to no bearing on the state of human rights in China today.
I never claimed that China is a human rights leader or that their current record is something the Chinese can take pride in.
I am saying that over the last 10 years, the human rights situation has improved in China and deteriorated in the US to the point where China can almost criticize the US on human rights issues and not appear hypocritical.
I'll keep repeating that statement until the subtlety sinks in, as some of you appear to believe I am actually defending China's human rights record. A few regulars here have made false claims about my meaning/intent in order to make straw man arguments.
Certainly the US no longer has a good enough human rights record to be able to criticize China without looking hypocritical.
Here are summaries from Amnesty International regarding the US, China and Canada:
AI Regarding China 2011
Fearful of a protest movement inspired by events in the Middle East and North Africa, in February the authorities unleashed one of the harshest crackdowns on political activists, human rights defenders and online activists since the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations. Harassment, intimidation, arbitrary and illegal detention, and enforced disappearances intensified against government critics. Ethnic minority regions were under heightened security as local residents protested against discrimination, repression and other violations of their rights. The authorities increased ongoing efforts to bring all religious practice within the control of the state; this included harsh persecution of some religious practitioners. China’s economic strength during the global financial crisis increased the country’s leverage in the domain of global human rights – mostly for the worse.
Details:
Amnesty International | Working to Protect Human Rights
AI Regarding the USA 2011:
Forty-three men were executed during the year, and concerns about cruel prison conditions continued. Scores of detainees remained in indefinite military detention at Guantánamo. The administration announced its intention to pursue the death penalty against six of these detainees in trials by military commission. Some 3,000 people were held in the US detention facility on the Bagram air base in Afghanistan by the end of the year. Use of lethal force in the counter-terrorism context raised serious concerns, as did continuing reports of the use of excessive force in the domestic law enforcement context.
Details:
Amnesty International | Working to Protect Human Rights
When you factor the US's much higher violent crime rate, US foreign policies support of brutal dictators and ethnic cleansing, its clear Americans can't take pride in their human rights record or legitimately criticize China's improving human rights record.
While China executes more people every year than any other country, they are also the world's most greatest population. So absolute values comparing a country with 1.5 billion people to a country with only 300 million people is misleading. Also China does not release information about its executions, so its difficult to know their exact per capita rate. But I did find this:
Eighty-eight per cent of all known executions in 2007 took place in five countries: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the USA. Saudi Arabia (eao: SA is a US supported dictatorship) had the highest number of executions per capita, followed by Iran and Libya. Amnesty International can confirm at least 470 executions by China - the highest overall figure. Lack of transparency and limited access to information about the number of executions in China means that the true figure is undoubtedly much higher.
2007 world death penalty statistics published - Amnesty International Australia
For balance, AI Regarding Canada
There were continuing systematic violations of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Limited progress was made in addressing concerns about human rights violations associated with counter-terror and policing operations.
Details:
Amnesty International | Working to Protect Human Rights
Based on the above I would still rate the US human rights record as better than China's... but not by that much. Certainly Canada has a MUCH better human rights record than the US or China. Canada can still improve regarding the rights of Indigenous Peoples and due process for alleged "terrorists"... The fact that we use the word terrorist and terrorism in our legal code instead of criminals or prisoners of war indicates we have a prejudicial biased legal process when it comes to certain crimes.
... Such a sad little wanker. Really sad.
Talk about sad... and pathetic. Make a post which is polite and you might get a response.