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China Strikes Back at U.S. Through Human Rights Report
March 13, 2002
Summary
China's State Council on March 11 issued a report critical of the United States' human rights record. The report reveals Beijing's growing insecurities with Washington's expanding anti-terrorism campaign, and it shows how few options China has in responding to its concurrent diminishment on the international stage.
Analysis
The Chinese State Council released a report March 11 titled "Human Rights Record of the United States in 2001." In covering topics such as personal safety, law enforcement, racial discrimination and the so-called infringement on the human rights of other countries, the 10,000-word document cites U.S. government statistics and international media reports to build a case-by-case indictment of human rights practices in the United States.
The paper was a response to Washington's annual human rights report on China, and it was published not coincidentally on the six-month anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. China's leaders are feeling increasingly constrained by Washington's global war against terrorism and its new emerging foreign policy. As China struggles with a myriad of internal challenges and the growing presence of U.S. military forces around its periphery, the increasingly desperate government in Beijing is lashing out at the United States the only way it can without risking Washington's ire.
Looking at China now, it is hard to believe that less than a year ago, Beijing was gloating over the damaged U.S. reconnaissance plane sitting on a military runway on southern Hainan Island. That self-confident China, which was well on its way to winning both World Trade Organization entry and the right to host the 2008 summer Olympics, is now dealing with deep economic and social pressures and facing a United States that has little time for posturing or games. Insecurity within the Chinese regime is growing at a critical time, as the long-anticipated change in generational leadership is expected to begin in October.
The final section of the State Council report -- an indictment of perceived U.S. unilateralism and double standards when it comes to dealing with other nations -- represents the real meat of Beijing's argument. The report says the United States ranks first in the world "in terms of military spending and arms exports," and first in "wantonly infringing upon the sovereignty of, and human rights in, other countries." It highlights the spread of U.S. military bases overseas, the use of depleted uranium rounds without consideration for the countries being attacked -- or even for Washington's own allies -- and claims that the Bush administration's unilateral stance is demonstrated by it its non-accession to international agreements.
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(Story Source)
(c) 2002 Stratfor, Inc.
Related Stories:
* Human Rights Record of the United States in 2001
The Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
Monday, March 11, 2002
* US dismisses China's report on its record of human rights
l'Agence France-Presse (AFP) &
The Associated Press
Thursday, March 14, 2002
Dan
China Strikes Back at U.S. Through Human Rights Report . . .