As it turns out, the Chinese government is unhappy with US criticism of their human rights record.  They seem to think the US lacks the prerogative to chastise their behavior because “the United States is beset by violence, racism and torture and has no authority to condemn other governments.”  I know I’m not the only one who shook my head shamefully at these accusations.  As abhorrent as the US human rights record has been in the past, there is no comparison to that of China, especially now that we have a liberal, constitution-loving, law-abiding President like Barack Obama, right?

China’s human rights violations are atrocious and getting worse.  There is a rising trend of disappearances and detentions of human rights activists in China and those of us who cherish freedom and democracy should be outraged.  But let us not pretend that the US isn’t responsible for similar abuses.  It is no secret that President “constitutional law professor” Obama has created a formal system of indefinite detention for Guantanamo detainees, or that he punishes American citizens without trial.  Our government still kidnaps people from around the world, and ships them to other countries to be tortured.  Most dangerous of all, our “very liberal” President has reserved the right to assassinate American citizens abroad, far from any battlefield, based exclusively on unchecked accusations by the Executive Branch that they’re involved in Terrorism.

In its own annual report about US human rights, China accuses the US of racism, alleging that “Racial discrimination is deeply rooted in the United States, permeating every aspect of social life.”  Clearly China isn’t one to preach about discrimination, but sadly the facts are on their side.  Look no further than the American criminal justice system for proof.  The US holds 25% of the world’s prisoners, but has less than 5% of the world’s population.  And the impact of excessive incarceration on the African-American community is quite revealing.  More black men are in jail, on probation, or on parole than were enslaved in 1850, prior the Civil War.  Those in denial like to  suggest that this is the result of a black culture riddled with illegal drug use.  But contrary to the racist undertones on display in movies and television, this has been refuted by studies which show that higher rates of black drug arrests do not reflect higher rates of black drug offenses.  In fact, whites and blacks engage in drug offenses, possession, and sales, at roughly comparable rates.  The US prison system is just one of many forms of institutionalized racism that continues to torment American minorities, particularly African-Americans.

The treatment of dissidents by the US is not nearly as extreme as China’s, but this mentality neglects the countless human rights violations endured by millions of people around the world at the hands of US imperialism.  America is brutally occupying two countries (three if you include the indirect occupation of Palestine) and bombing Libya, while unofficially waging war on Pakistan and Yemen, in addition to being the world’s number one arms dealer, in many cases arming some of the most brutal dictators and despots imaginable.  I am by no means defending the Chinese government, as any sane and compassionate person would condemn such violent and repressive, state-sanctioned behavior.  Nevertheless, China has successfully demonstrated that criminal US conduct at home and abroad compromises the ability of the US to employ any amount of moral authority around the world.