Full text of Human Rights Record of the US in 2005
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Following is the full text of the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2005, released by the Information office of China's State Council Thursday.
The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2005
The Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
March 9, 2006
On March 8, the U.S. Department of State, posing once again as "the world's judge of human rights," released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005. As in previous years, the State Department pointed the finger at human rights situations in more than 190 countries and regions, including China, but kept silent on the serious violations of human rights in the United States. To help people realize the true features of this self-styled "guardian of human rights," it is necessary to probe into the human rights abuses in the United States in 2005.
I. On Life and Security of Person
For a long time, the life and personal security of people of the United States have not been under efficient protection. American society is characterized with rampant violent crimes. Across the country each year, 50,000 suicides and homicides are committed (Va.Violent Deaths Are Mostly Suicides, The Washington Post, October12, 2005).
The U.S. Justice Department reported on Sept. 25, 2005 that there were 5,182,670 violent crimes in the United States in 2004. There were 21.4 victims for every 1,000 people aged 12 and older, which amounts to about one violent crime victim for every 47 U.S. citizens (Crime Rate Remains at 2003 Level, Study Says, The Washington Post, September 26, 2005).
According to figures released by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), murder increased by 2.1 percent across the United States during the first six months of 2005, compared with the same period of 2004. A total of 4,080 murders were reported in cities with more than 10,000 people, while homicides were up 13 percent in cities with a population of 10,000 or less (Murder Rate in Small Cities Jumps 13%, USA Today, Dec. 20, 2005).
The Washington D.C., with a population of less than 600,000, had 194 slayings in 2005 (D. C. Area Slaying Climbed In 2005, The Washington Post, Jan. 2, 2006).
In Chicago, the number of various crimes exceeded 125,000 from January to September of 2005, including 352 murders, 11,564 robberies, 8,903 assaults and 534 arsons (http://egov.cityofchicago.org).
From January to mid-November of 2005, 334 persons were murdered in Philadelphia, exceeding the total number of murderees in the city in 2004 ( Philly: 334 Killings So Far This Year, Philadelphia Daily News, Nov. 14,2005).
During the first half of 2005, 198 murders were reported in Los Angeles, 11 percent more than the same period of 2004 (Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2005).
Seventy-two people were murdered in Compton, California, with a population of only 96,000 ( Compton Killings Highest in Years, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 2, 2006). Camden in New Jersey has become the most dangerous city in the United States, with its homicide rate more than ten times the national average and robbery rate, more than seven times the national average (Camden, N.J., Ranked Most Dangerous U.S. City, The Washington Post, Nov. 22, 2005).
The United States has the largest number of privately owned guns in the world. According to statistics released in June 2005 by the Brady Campaign, an organization aiming to prevent gun violence, there were approximately 192 million privately owned firearms in the United States (Firearm Facts, Issued by The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, June 2005, in: http://www.bradycampaign.org/facts/factsheets/).
A survey conducted by the Washington Post and the American Broadcasting Company showed that about ten percent of the surveyed were once shot, and 14 percent threatened by guns.
According to figures released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Justice Department in 2005, in the year 2004 the United States recorded 339,200 firearm-related crimes, including 11,300 murders, 162,900 robberies, and 165,000 assaults (Statistics Crimes Committed with Firearms, Issued by U.S. Bureau of Justice, in: http://www.ojb.usdoj.gov/bjs).
The Washington Post reported on Dec. 25, 2005 that every year nearly 12,000 Americans use guns to kill people. In the reports of crimes received by American police in 2004, 70 percent of the murders, 41 percent of the robberies and 19 percent of assaults on persons were committed with firearms.
The unchecked spread of guns has caused incessant murders. In February 2005, mother and husband of U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow were shot to death at home in Chicago.
In March, a rape suspect killed one judge and two others at a courthouse in Fulton County in Atlanta and hijacked four cars to escape.
On March 12, a gunman opened fire at a church service being held at the Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield, Wisconsin, killing seven people and injuring four.
On March 21, 17-year-old Jeff Weise killed his grandparents and went on a shooting rampage at the Red Lake High School in Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota, killing another eight persons including school security guard, teacher and students and injuring 14 others (CNN, March 21, 2005).
On April 25, a 14-year-old girl shot her father to death in Colorado. On Christmas Day of 2005, a man shot and killed his mother at home in the suburb of Washington and then drove eight miles to another home and killed three other people, before turning the gun on himself (Washington, AP April 30, 2005).
Full text of Human Rights Report
What do yall think of this kind of accusations by the US government on 190 different countries but do a blind eye on their own personal issue within it own country? I'm really fed up with how this adminstration is handling foreign policy... They like to point fingers at others... It's not about finger pointing it's about being a leader and take action what is right... There are constantly human rights abuse within the US but our President is too buzy sticcin his nose in others countries internal affairs when we have issues of our own... He need to stop all this democracy rampage around the world... If a country that is being suppress by a tyrant wouldn't you think the people will revolt to make the lives better... The Iraq war is actually going nowhere more cascualties then we ever expect... I guess it gotta hit a 10K marked before we actually think of bring our troops bacc home... I'm fed up with the government foreign policy when they should be focusin on domestic policy... I wished that this time American people can find a way to impeached this incompetant GWB...
Full Version: Human Rights Record of the US in 2005
QUOTE (Infamous JC @ Mar 10 2006, 03:19 PM) 
Full text of Human Rights Record of the US in 2005
font size ZoomIn ZoomOut
Following is the full text of the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2005, released by the Information office of China's State Council Thursday.
The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2005
The Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
March 9, 2006
On March 8, the U.S. Department of State, posing once again as "the world's judge of human rights," released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005. As in previous years, the State Department pointed the finger at human rights situations in more than 190 countries and regions, including China, but kept silent on the serious violations of human rights in the United States. To help people realize the true features of this self-styled "guardian of human rights," it is necessary to probe into the human rights abuses in the United States in 2005.
I. On Life and Security of Person
For a long time, the life and personal security of people of the United States have not been under efficient protection. American society is characterized with rampant violent crimes. Across the country each year, 50,000 suicides and homicides are committed (Va.Violent Deaths Are Mostly Suicides, The Washington Post, October12, 2005).
The U.S. Justice Department reported on Sept. 25, 2005 that there were 5,182,670 violent crimes in the United States in 2004. There were 21.4 victims for every 1,000 people aged 12 and older, which amounts to about one violent crime victim for every 47 U.S. citizens (Crime Rate Remains at 2003 Level, Study Says, The Washington Post, September 26, 2005).
According to figures released by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), murder increased by 2.1 percent across the United States during the first six months of 2005, compared with the same period of 2004. A total of 4,080 murders were reported in cities with more than 10,000 people, while homicides were up 13 percent in cities with a population of 10,000 or less (Murder Rate in Small Cities Jumps 13%, USA Today, Dec. 20, 2005).
The Washington D.C., with a population of less than 600,000, had 194 slayings in 2005 (D. C. Area Slaying Climbed In 2005, The Washington Post, Jan. 2, 2006).
In Chicago, the number of various crimes exceeded 125,000 from January to September of 2005, including 352 murders, 11,564 robberies, 8,903 assaults and 534 arsons (http://egov.cityofchicago.org).
From January to mid-November of 2005, 334 persons were murdered in Philadelphia, exceeding the total number of murderees in the city in 2004 ( Philly: 334 Killings So Far This Year, Philadelphia Daily News, Nov. 14,2005).
During the first half of 2005, 198 murders were reported in Los Angeles, 11 percent more than the same period of 2004 (Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2005).
Seventy-two people were murdered in Compton, California, with a population of only 96,000 ( Compton Killings Highest in Years, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 2, 2006). Camden in New Jersey has become the most dangerous city in the United States, with its homicide rate more than ten times the national average and robbery rate, more than seven times the national average (Camden, N.J., Ranked Most Dangerous U.S. City, The Washington Post, Nov. 22, 2005).
The United States has the largest number of privately owned guns in the world. According to statistics released in June 2005 by the Brady Campaign, an organization aiming to prevent gun violence, there were approximately 192 million privately owned firearms in the United States (Firearm Facts, Issued by The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, June 2005, in: http://www.bradycampaign.org/facts/factsheets/).
A survey conducted by the Washington Post and the American Broadcasting Company showed that about ten percent of the surveyed were once shot, and 14 percent threatened by guns.
According to figures released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Justice Department in 2005, in the year 2004 the United States recorded 339,200 firearm-related crimes, including 11,300 murders, 162,900 robberies, and 165,000 assaults (Statistics Crimes Committed with Firearms, Issued by U.S. Bureau of Justice, in: http://www.ojb.usdoj.gov/bjs).
The Washington Post reported on Dec. 25, 2005 that every year nearly 12,000 Americans use guns to kill people. In the reports of crimes received by American police in 2004, 70 percent of the murders, 41 percent of the robberies and 19 percent of assaults on persons were committed with firearms.
The unchecked spread of guns has caused incessant murders. In February 2005, mother and husband of U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow were shot to death at home in Chicago.
In March, a rape suspect killed one judge and two others at a courthouse in Fulton County in Atlanta and hijacked four cars to escape.
On March 12, a gunman opened fire at a church service being held at the Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield, Wisconsin, killing seven people and injuring four.
On March 21, 17-year-old Jeff Weise killed his grandparents and went on a shooting rampage at the Red Lake High School in Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota, killing another eight persons including school security guard, teacher and students and injuring 14 others (CNN, March 21, 2005).
On April 25, a 14-year-old girl shot her father to death in Colorado. On Christmas Day of 2005, a man shot and killed his mother at home in the suburb of Washington and then drove eight miles to another home and killed three other people, before turning the gun on himself (Washington, AP April 30, 2005).
Full text of Human Rights Report
What do yall think of this kind of accusations by the US government on 190 different countries but do a blind eye on their own personal issue within it own country? I'm really fed up with how this adminstration is handling foreign policy... They like to point fingers at others... It's not about finger pointing it's about being a leader and take action what is right... There are constantly human rights abuse within the US but our President is too buzy sticcin his nose in others countries internal affairs when we have issues of our own... He need to stop all this democracy rampage around the world... If a country that is being suppress by a tyrant wouldn't you think the people will revolt to make the lives better... The Iraq war is actually going nowhere more cascualties then we ever expect... I guess it gotta hit a 10K marked before we actually think of bring our troops bacc home... I'm fed up with the government foreign policy when they should be focusin on domestic policy... I wished that this time American people can find a way to impeached this incompetant GWB...
font size ZoomIn ZoomOut
Following is the full text of the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2005, released by the Information office of China's State Council Thursday.
The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2005
The Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
March 9, 2006
On March 8, the U.S. Department of State, posing once again as "the world's judge of human rights," released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005. As in previous years, the State Department pointed the finger at human rights situations in more than 190 countries and regions, including China, but kept silent on the serious violations of human rights in the United States. To help people realize the true features of this self-styled "guardian of human rights," it is necessary to probe into the human rights abuses in the United States in 2005.
I. On Life and Security of Person
For a long time, the life and personal security of people of the United States have not been under efficient protection. American society is characterized with rampant violent crimes. Across the country each year, 50,000 suicides and homicides are committed (Va.Violent Deaths Are Mostly Suicides, The Washington Post, October12, 2005).
The U.S. Justice Department reported on Sept. 25, 2005 that there were 5,182,670 violent crimes in the United States in 2004. There were 21.4 victims for every 1,000 people aged 12 and older, which amounts to about one violent crime victim for every 47 U.S. citizens (Crime Rate Remains at 2003 Level, Study Says, The Washington Post, September 26, 2005).
According to figures released by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), murder increased by 2.1 percent across the United States during the first six months of 2005, compared with the same period of 2004. A total of 4,080 murders were reported in cities with more than 10,000 people, while homicides were up 13 percent in cities with a population of 10,000 or less (Murder Rate in Small Cities Jumps 13%, USA Today, Dec. 20, 2005).
The Washington D.C., with a population of less than 600,000, had 194 slayings in 2005 (D. C. Area Slaying Climbed In 2005, The Washington Post, Jan. 2, 2006).
In Chicago, the number of various crimes exceeded 125,000 from January to September of 2005, including 352 murders, 11,564 robberies, 8,903 assaults and 534 arsons (http://egov.cityofchicago.org).
From January to mid-November of 2005, 334 persons were murdered in Philadelphia, exceeding the total number of murderees in the city in 2004 ( Philly: 334 Killings So Far This Year, Philadelphia Daily News, Nov. 14,2005).
During the first half of 2005, 198 murders were reported in Los Angeles, 11 percent more than the same period of 2004 (Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2005).
Seventy-two people were murdered in Compton, California, with a population of only 96,000 ( Compton Killings Highest in Years, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 2, 2006). Camden in New Jersey has become the most dangerous city in the United States, with its homicide rate more than ten times the national average and robbery rate, more than seven times the national average (Camden, N.J., Ranked Most Dangerous U.S. City, The Washington Post, Nov. 22, 2005).
The United States has the largest number of privately owned guns in the world. According to statistics released in June 2005 by the Brady Campaign, an organization aiming to prevent gun violence, there were approximately 192 million privately owned firearms in the United States (Firearm Facts, Issued by The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, June 2005, in: http://www.bradycampaign.org/facts/factsheets/).
A survey conducted by the Washington Post and the American Broadcasting Company showed that about ten percent of the surveyed were once shot, and 14 percent threatened by guns.
According to figures released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Justice Department in 2005, in the year 2004 the United States recorded 339,200 firearm-related crimes, including 11,300 murders, 162,900 robberies, and 165,000 assaults (Statistics Crimes Committed with Firearms, Issued by U.S. Bureau of Justice, in: http://www.ojb.usdoj.gov/bjs).
The Washington Post reported on Dec. 25, 2005 that every year nearly 12,000 Americans use guns to kill people. In the reports of crimes received by American police in 2004, 70 percent of the murders, 41 percent of the robberies and 19 percent of assaults on persons were committed with firearms.
The unchecked spread of guns has caused incessant murders. In February 2005, mother and husband of U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow were shot to death at home in Chicago.
In March, a rape suspect killed one judge and two others at a courthouse in Fulton County in Atlanta and hijacked four cars to escape.
On March 12, a gunman opened fire at a church service being held at the Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield, Wisconsin, killing seven people and injuring four.
On March 21, 17-year-old Jeff Weise killed his grandparents and went on a shooting rampage at the Red Lake High School in Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota, killing another eight persons including school security guard, teacher and students and injuring 14 others (CNN, March 21, 2005).
On April 25, a 14-year-old girl shot her father to death in Colorado. On Christmas Day of 2005, a man shot and killed his mother at home in the suburb of Washington and then drove eight miles to another home and killed three other people, before turning the gun on himself (Washington, AP April 30, 2005).
Full text of Human Rights Report
What do yall think of this kind of accusations by the US government on 190 different countries but do a blind eye on their own personal issue within it own country? I'm really fed up with how this adminstration is handling foreign policy... They like to point fingers at others... It's not about finger pointing it's about being a leader and take action what is right... There are constantly human rights abuse within the US but our President is too buzy sticcin his nose in others countries internal affairs when we have issues of our own... He need to stop all this democracy rampage around the world... If a country that is being suppress by a tyrant wouldn't you think the people will revolt to make the lives better... The Iraq war is actually going nowhere more cascualties then we ever expect... I guess it gotta hit a 10K marked before we actually think of bring our troops bacc home... I'm fed up with the government foreign policy when they should be focusin on domestic policy... I wished that this time American people can find a way to impeached this incompetant GWB...
Im not sure individual crimes are the fault of GWB. More the fault a broken judical system. When I think of a countries human rights violations I tend to look at Goverment sponcered violations. example Nerve gasing a village. Or Goverment sponcered torture of political rivals. remember GWB was condemed because he took a hard stand against murders in texas he signed more death warrents than any other govenor at the time. He also carried out more executions. I am for the death penalty and disappointed they don't use it enough. The war in Iraq? Whats that have to do with crime in the USA? I am no fan of GWB but i believe in placing blame were it belongs. Blame liberal politicians for passing weak laws, for making prisons a vacation get away. That is why crime is so rampant in the USA. But wait the death penalty is considered a human rights violation isn't it? I don't mean you any disrespect I meerly offer a differing perspective.
Yes, the death penalty is considered a human rights violation.
QUOTE (Suijen @ Mar 11 2006, 10:36 PM)
Yes, the death penalty is considered a human rights violation.
Too bad. so many criminals are so deserving of it
^ Yeah. Human Rights is weird.
Personally, I think the U.S. go too lightly on their criminals. Some that commit serious offenses are not even put to death or life in prison. They let them out and continuing their "work" over and over again, it's total bull$hit.
They should both just stop nagging at each other. This is stupid and immature.
QUOTE (Wu Fei @ Mar 11 2006, 10:44 PM)
Personally, I think the U.S. go too lightly on their criminals. Some that commit serious offenses are not even put to death or life in prison. They let them out and continuing their "work" over and over again, it's total bull$hit.
Yes exactly! The US jury system is a joke!
QUOTE (Suijen @ Mar 11 2006, 10:45 PM)
They should both just stop nagging at each other. This is stupid and immature.
U.S. started the junk first, China will probably stop if they do.
QUOTE (Wu Fei @ Mar 11 2006, 10:44 PM)
Personally, I think the U.S. go too lightly on their criminals. Some that commit serious offenses are not even put to death or life in prison. They let them out and continuing their "work" over and over again, it's total bull$hit.
YES IT IS. did you know that if you were robbed repeatedly ,and you set a booby trap in your house. If a criminal is injured by your trap you get to go to jail? The criminal can sue you and win .
china coming out with a Human Rights report? 
2 what's next? sudan must be preparing its human rights report too.
2 what's next? sudan must be preparing its human rights report too.
QUOTE (tinman01 @ Mar 11 2006, 08:47 PM)
YES IT IS. did you know that if you were robbed repeatedly ,and you set a booby trap in your house. If a criminal is injured by your trap you get to go to jail? The criminal can sue you and win .
Yeah that's funny, lollercopter.
QUOTE (Wu Fei @ Mar 11 2006, 08:47 PM)
U.S. started the junk first, China will probably stop if they do.
Probably, but the idea of even doing it is stupid in itself.
QUOTE (tinman01 @ Mar 11 2006, 10:47 PM)
YES IT IS. did you know that if you were robbed repeatedly ,and you set a booby trap in your house. If a criminal is injured by your trap you get to go to jail? The criminal can sue you and win .
Seriously, that's one of the stupidest thing the U.S. has in their laws.
2QUOTE
Probably, but the idea of even doing it is stupid in itself.
Well, its all about propagada and crappy stuff. U.S. just don't want China to have the spot light and making people look at China as an evil-inhuman empire. But yeah it is stupid.
Yeah. That really baffles me.
QUOTE (tinman01 @ Mar 11 2006, 10:47 PM)
YES IT IS. did you know that if you were robbed repeatedly ,and you set a booby trap in your house. If a criminal is injured by your trap you get to go to jail? The criminal can sue you and win .
Make sure he doesn't survive the booby trap.
Ridiculous self-defense laws as well. You know you can't hurt a man if he's stealing your TV?
QUOTE (Suijen @ Mar 11 2006, 10:52 PM)
Ridiculous self-defense laws as well. You know you can't hurt a man if he's stealing your TV?
That depends on what state you live in.
what about the law that says you can't hit your children?
if i ever have kids, im planning to beat them to a pulp so i guess my @$$ is going to jail then
if i ever have kids, im planning to beat them to a pulp so i guess my @$$ is going to jail then
Can't smoke in bars, even though the culture of bars revolved around $hit like drinking and smoking.
Neo-nazi groups free to roam around.
Honestly.
Neo-nazi groups free to roam around.
Honestly.
QUOTE (Suijen @ Mar 11 2006, 10:56 PM)
Can't smoke in bars, even though the culture of bars revolved around $hit like drinking and smoking.
Neo-nazi groups free to roam around.
Honestly.
Neo-nazi groups free to roam around.
Honestly.
Speaking of groups, is there a Communist party or group in the U.S. currently and are they roaming around?
QUOTE (Suijen @ Mar 11 2006, 10:56 PM)
Can't smoke in bars, even though the culture of bars revolved around $hit like drinking and smoking.
Neo-nazi groups free to roam around.
Honestly.
Neo-nazi groups free to roam around.
Honestly.
Almost as bad as going to prison for advocating free elections or being fined for having a second child.
Stupid americans! That is so cruel for banning smoking from bars and allowing free speech!
hitting your own children?
QUOTE (Wu Fei @ Mar 11 2006, 10:59 PM)
Speaking of groups, is there a Communist party or group in the U.S. currently and are they roaming around?
Yes there is but they just get laughed at every place they show up.
2
QUOTE (Suijen @ Mar 11 2006, 10:51 PM)
Yeah. That really baffles me.
I would still set the trap hahaha.I once caught some kids breaking into cars at a shopping center. Maybe 16 years old. 1 Got away. the one in my car he got pain. He was trying to get my stereo. He got my karate instead. The cop said to me he couldn't press charges against this kid. Know why? Because then he would have to arrest me to. The kid was a monor and I had violated his rights.
Another time. I went to the store to by my daughter a chocolate bar. For her it was a treat. When I came out of the store 3 boys high school age were rocking my truck, spitting on the windows and telling my daughter to expose her chest. my daughter doesn't like to go in the store so she waited in the truck.
Needless to say it turned hostile in a hurry.I left before the police arrived. 2 weeks later they came to my house and interviewed me. I of course denied everything . hahaha But they warned me not to do it again if it was me. They said thoise boys had rights.
What about my daughters rights? She is defencless. I felt safe small store, small parking lot. I can see the truck from inside the store. Doors are locked.
This is why I hate our legal system . so much is put on the rights of the criminal.
QUOTE (Reiko @ Mar 11 2006, 11:02 PM)
Yes there is but they just get laughed at every place they show up. 2
2There goes another Human Rights Violation in the U.S..
2
QUOTE (Wu Fei @ Mar 11 2006, 11:10 PM)
There goes another Human Rights Violation in the U.S.. 2
2Being laughed at is a human rights violation?? then you just violated my human rights!!
QUOTE (Reiko @ Mar 11 2006, 11:11 PM)
Being laughed at is a human rights violation?? then you just violated my human rights!!
Lol, I was refering to the C. Party in the U.S.
QUOTE (Wu Fei @ Mar 11 2006, 11:12 PM)
Lol, I was refering to the C. Party in the U.S.
Freedom sucks I guess. It even allows a communist party to exist.
Like china should dare make a human rights report.
QUOTE
Controls on Expressions and Associations
The PRC detains individuals for exercising their rights to freedom of association, freedom of religion and freedom of expression, including the right to impart and receive information, and other basic rights. The total number of persons in China detained without charge, sentenced administratively to reeducation or reform camps, or held by other means, solely for peacefully exercising these rights is unknown. However, that figure is estimated to be far in excess of the approximately 3,000 individuals that the PRC currently acknowledges imprisoning for "counter-revolutionary" or political crimes. Many of those detained are held under circumstances that constitute clear violations of due process. Such violations include lengthy detention without charge or trial and depriving defendants of access to legal counsel.
Restrictions on Independent Organizing: Although the Chinese Constitution guarantees freedom of association and assembly, national regulations severely limit association and give the authorities absolute discretion to deny applications for public gatherings or demonstrations. In practice, only organizations that are approved by the authorities are permitted to exist, and any organization that is not registered is considered "illegal." In this manner, independent advocacy on labor, human rights, environmental, development or political issues is effectively outlawed. The CCP-controlled labor union and women and youth organizations are the only permitted avenues for organizing in these areas. Unofficial labor groups have been a particular target for suppression. In December 1994, the Beijing Intermediate People's Court imposed severe sentences of between 15 and 20 years' imprisonment on three prisoners of conscience, convicted of "leading counter-revolutionary organizations." The sentences, based on the defendants' alleged formation of non-government-approved organizations, were the harshest delivered to political dissidents in recent years.
On 4 June, 1994, the fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, China promulgated new implementing regulations for the 1993 State Security Law. The repressive new measures threaten the few legal means of operation left to democracy and human rights activists, independent religious adherents and other independent voices, by criminalizing: contact with and funding from foreign organizations defined as "hostile"; the publication or dissemination of "written or verbal speeches" or "using religion" to carry out activities "which endanger state security;" and the creation of "national disputes." The regulations also give state security officials virtually unlimited power to detain individuals, confiscate property and determine what constitutes a "hostile" organization.
Restrictions on Free Speech and the Media: Although the PRC's 1982 Constitution guarantees citizens freedom of expression and of the press, its preamble mandates adherence to "four basic principles"-- the CCP's leadership, socialism, dictatorship of the proletariat and Marxism-Leninism Mao Zedong Thought. In practice, the PRC employs a wide range of controls that violate the right to free expression and interfere with independent media. These include severe restrictions on contact between foreign news media and Chinese viewed by the government as critical of the regime. An extensive censorship bureaucracy licenses all media outlets and publishing houses and must approve all books before publication.
The primary mechanism of control over the news media and publishing is self-censorship. Chinese journalists, editors and publishers are expected to make the information they disseminate conform to CCP Propaganda Department guidelines. For example, news coverage is required to be "80% positive and 20% negative." Sanctions for infringements range from official criticism of the coverage to the demotion, firing or imprisonment of the individuals responsible and the closing or banning of the offending publication.
Dissidents who make their opinions known to the foreign media are often subject to threats, detention, harassment, intensive surveillance or imprisonment. During 1994, at least 20 Chinese writers, journalists, editors and publishers were persecuted in connection with their work. Also during the year, foreign correspondents from the British Broadcasting Corporation, Newsweek, Reuters, United Press International, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, U.S. television networks (NBC, CBS) and other foreign media outfits were detained and interrogated by PRC police regarding their work as journalists, including the interviewing of Chinese dissidents and students and filming in Tiananmen Square. Police also banned broadcasts of CNN in Beijing hotels for five days surrounding the fifth anniversary of the 4 June 1989 military crackdown on democracy demonstrators.
Suppression of Religious Freedom: The PRC prohibits all religious activities outside establishments registered under the official branches of four state-recognized religions (Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity and Islam), established by the PRC government during the 1950s, through which Chinese and Tibetan religious adherents are required to practice their faith. Individuals conducting or participating in public worship without government authorization, including Catholics loyal to the Vatican and Protestants who worship in house churches, have been arrested, detained, placed under close police surveillance or internal exile, fined and, in some cases, tortured. PRC police have also confiscated religious literature and church property, and human rights organizations have documented the closure of hundreds of house churches since 1989.
China's laws restricting contact with foreign coreligionists, prohibiting parents from exposing children under the age of 18 to religion, and outlawing nongovernment-controlled churches violate the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. In January 1994, the PRC government increased restrictions on religious practice by foreigners in China through State Council Decrees 144 and 145. Decree 144 states that foreign nationals may bring in religious materials only "for their own use," and bans materials deemed "harmful to the public interest." The decree also prohibits evangelizing, establishing religious schools and other missionary activities. Decree 145 gives authorities substantial leeway in restricting religious activities deemed harmful to "national unity" or "social stability," and limits the practice of religion by foreign nationals to state-sanctioned places of worship.
Torture and Ill-Treatment of Prisoners
Torture of detainees is endemic in Chinese detention centers and prisons. Although China became party to the UN Convention Against Torture in 1988, the government has not taken effective measures to diminish the risk of prisoners being tortured or ill-treated. Despite strong evidence of torture in several cases of death in custody, state prosecutors have refused to release autopsy results to families or to initiate investigations. In many detention centers, beatings, inadequate food and poor hygiene appear to be a routine part of the process of eliciting confessions and compliance from detainees. Such treatment is applied to ordinary prisoners as well as political detainees.
According to prisoner reports, methods commonly used by guards include: beatings using electric batons; rubber truncheons on hands and feet; long periods in handcuffs and/or leg irons, often tightened so as to cause pain; restriction of food to starvation levels; and long periods in solitary confinement. Furthermore, corrupt authorities at detention centers, prisons and labor camps have extorted large sums of money from families of detainees for the state's provision of "daily supplies" and "medical expenses."
Despite continuing efforts by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations, PRC officials have not agreed to allow open and unannounced visits to prisoners. PRC authorities acknowledge that there are some 1.2 million prisoners and detainees in China.
Lack of Judicial Independance and Due Process
Few legal safeguards exist in China to ensure fair trials, and the judicial system is controlled at every level by CCP political-legal committees that may determine the outcome of cases before the court hears evidence presented at trial. Legal scholars within China have called for an end to this widespread practice of "verdict first, trial second." With the political-legal committees exercising extensive control, detainees are highly unlikely to receive fair, impartial hearings that are free from official manipulation.
China's Criminal Procedure Law provides for detainees to have access to lawyers no later than one week before trial. However, even this minimal protection is not always observed. Prisoners typically cannot call witnesses for the defense or question witnesses against them. In politically sensitive cases, lawyers have been instructed that they may enter a not-guilty plea only if they get approval from the judicial administration. Even in death-penalty cases, appeals are usually cursory, and defendants may have only several days to file an appeal.
Arbitrary Detention: In addition to judicial convictions, PRC authorities consistently use administrative procedures to detain hundreds of thousands of Chinese and Tibetans each year.
Individuals sentenced administratively by police are not charged or brought before a judge, thereby denying them access to a lawyer and the right to defend themselves. The majority of these individuals are ordinary people, but democracy and human rights activists, independent religious adherents and worker-rights advocates are also frequently detained in this way.
The most common forms of administrative detention are:
1) "reeducation through labor," under which police, without trial, can send individuals to labor camps for up to four years; and
2) "shelter and investigation," under which police can detain people without charge or trial for up to three months, a time limit that is routinely ignored.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has determined that the practice of "reeducation through labor" is "inherently arbitrary" when intended for "political and cultural rehabilitation." According to PRC government sources, 100,000 people are sent to "reeducation through labor" camps and one million are "sheltered" each year.
Conditional Releases with Continued Deprivation of Rights: The PRC infrequently has released political prisoners of conscience before the completion of their sentences, predominantly as a result of international pressure. However, those released have been forced into exile, subjected to continuing police surveillance and harassment or, in some cases, detained again for alleged violations of the restrictive conditions of parole or new "crimes" of free expression. Many former prisoners of conscience are not granted the identity cards necessary to gain employment or travel without express official permission.
Death Penalty
During the past two years, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of the death penalty in China. This growth in the number of death sentences and executions is partly due to anti-crime campaigns launched by the government. Defendants can be put to death for criminal offenses, including nonviolent property crimes such as theft, embezzlement and forgery. In 1993, 77% of all executions worldwide were carried out in China. On a single day, 9 January 1993, 356 death sentences were handed down by Chinese courts; 62 executions took place that day. During that year alone, 2,564 people were sentenced to death. At least 1,419 of them are known to have been executed. The total number of death sentences and executions is believed to be higher. Defendants do not always have access to lawyers, and when a lawyer is available, he or she usually has no more than one or two days to prepare a defense. Death sentences have been imposed based on forced confessions and are often decided in advance of the trial by "adjudication committees," thereby circumventing defendants' rights to a fair and public hearing and presumption of innocence.
Tibet
In Tibet, hundreds of Tibetans have been incarcerated for peacefully expressing their political and religious beliefs. Conditions in prisons are reported to be dismal, with numerous accounts of torture and ill-treatment. In particular, PRC law enforcement officials have perpetrated violent acts against Tibetan women in detention centers and prisons. Buddhist nuns and lay women have been subject to torture or violent, degrading and inhuman treatment, including assault, rape and sexual abuse. In June 1994, one Tibetan nun died while in custody, reportedly as a result of a beating by guards. PRC authorities also have severely restricted religious practice; out of the 6,000 Buddhist monasteries that were destroyed by the PRC since its 1949 invasion of Tibet, only a few hundred have been rebuilt.
PRC policies, including population transfers of hundreds of thousands of Chinese into Tibet, threaten to make Tibetans a minority in their own land and to destroy Tibetans' distinct national, religious and cultural identity.
Women
The Chinese Constitution and other laws provide equal rights for men and women in all spheres of life, including ownership of property, inheritance and educational opportunities. Equality between the sexes has been a part of the CCP's agenda from its early days, and women's rights are perceived to be in a separate category from human rights. Therefore, women's organizations in China, even though they remain under CCP control, are able to advocate effectively on some issues involving abuses of women's human rights. However, when women's rights or interests conflict with Party or government policy, the latter takes precedence. This means, for example, that abuses related to the family planning policy are not reported in the media or discussed publicly. Information about other issues, such as the extent of domestic violence, trafficking in women or abuses directed at lesbians, is effectively prevented by the CCP's injunction that most news should be positive. Thus, the controls on freedom of expression and association, which so affect democracy and human rights activists, have a strong impact on women's human rights as well.
Violence Against Women: According to some researchers, spousal abuse is far too common and, in many parts of the country, still socially acceptable. However, comprehensive statistics about the extent of domestic violence are not available or have not been made public. The official All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) has been studying this problem and seeking solutions.
Few battered women have the opportunity to escape abuse, because shelters and other resources are not available. Women are under considerable social pressure to keep families together regardless of the circumstances. Legal action is not taken against batterers unless the victim initiates it, and if she withdraws her testimony, the proceedings are ended.
Abduction and Trafficking of Women: Trafficking and sale of women as brides or into prostitution is a serious problem in certain parts of China, and Chinese women have been sold into brothels in Southeast Asia. The PRC government has enacted various laws to combat the sale of women, but the statistics released by the government do not reliably indicate the scale of the problem. PRC officials stated that there were 15,000 cases of kidnapping and trafficking in women and children in 1993. Yet according to one estimate, 10,000 women were abducted and sold in 1992 in Sichuan Province alone.
Until recently, the authorities have not prosecuted men who purchase women as wives; thus, the trade has continued unabated. Official action to rescue victims of trafficking is generally initiated only if a complaint is made by the woman or her family. Local officials often turn a blind eye, even formally registering marriages into which the woman has been sold.
Discrimination in Employment and Education: The PRC ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1980 and enacted the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests in 1992. However, open discrimination against women in China has continued to grow during the period of reform of the last 15 years.
According to PRC government surveys, women's salaries have been found to average 77% of men's, and most women employed in industry work in low-skill and low-paying jobs. An estimated 70 to 80% of workers laid off as a result of downsizing in factories have been women, and, although women make up 38% of the work force, they are 60% of the unemployed. At job fairs, employers openly advertise positions for men only, and university campus recruiters often state that they will not hire women. Employers justify such discrimination by saying that they cannot afford the benefits they are required to provide for pregnant women, nursing mothers and infants.
The proportion of women to men declines at each educational tier, with women comprising some 25% of undergraduates in universities. Institutions of higher education that have a large proportion of female applicants, such as foreign language institutes, have been known to require higher entrance exam grades from women.
Although China has a law mandating compulsory primary education, increasing numbers of rural girls are not being sent to school. Rural parents often do not want to "waste" money on school fees for girls who will "belong" to another family when they marry. According to official statistics, about 70% of illiterates in China are female.
Violations Resulting from Family Planning Policy: The Chinese Constitution mandates the duty of couples to practice family planning. Since 1979, the central government has attempted to implement a family planning policy in China and Tibet that the government states is "intended to control population quantity and improve its quality." Central to this initiative is the "one child per couple" policy. Central authorities have verbally condemned the use of physical force in implementing the one-child policy; however, its implementation is left to local laws and regulations.
To enforce compliance, local authorities employ incentives such as medical, educational and housing benefits, and punishments including fines, confiscation of property, salary cuts or even dismissal. Officials also may refuse to issue residence cards to "out of plan" children, thereby denying them education and other state benefits.
Methods employed to ensure compliance have also included the forced use of contraceptives, primarily the I.U.D., and forced abortion for pregnant women who already have one child. In Zheijang Province, for example, the family planning ordinance states that "fertile couples must use reliable birth control according to the provisions. In case of pregnancies in default of the plan, measures must be taken to terminate them." As an official "minority", Tibetans are legally allowed to have more than one child. However, there have been reports of forced abortions and sterilizations of Tibetan women who have had only one child. There are also reports of widespread sterilization of certain categories of women, including those suffering from mental illness, retardation and communicable or hereditary diseases. Under previous local regulations superseded by the 1994 Maternal and Infant Health Care Law, such sterilization was mandatory in certain provinces. Under the new law, certain categories of people still may be prevented from bearing children.
Violations Against Female Children: The one-child policy, in conjunction with the traditional preference for male children, has led to a resurgence of practices like female infanticide, concealment of female births and abandonment of female infants. Female children whose births are not registered do not have any legal existence and therefore may have difficulty going to school or receiving medical care or other state services. The overwhelming majority of children in orphanages are female and/or mentally or physically handicapped.
The one-child policy has also contributed to the practice of prenatal sex identification resulting in the abortion of female fetuses. Although the government has outlawed the use of ultrasound machines for this purpose, physicians continue the practice, especially in rural areas. Thus, while the average worldwide ratio of male to female newborns is 105/100, Chinese government statistics show that the ratio in the PRC is 114/100 and may be higher in some areas.
The PRC detains individuals for exercising their rights to freedom of association, freedom of religion and freedom of expression, including the right to impart and receive information, and other basic rights. The total number of persons in China detained without charge, sentenced administratively to reeducation or reform camps, or held by other means, solely for peacefully exercising these rights is unknown. However, that figure is estimated to be far in excess of the approximately 3,000 individuals that the PRC currently acknowledges imprisoning for "counter-revolutionary" or political crimes. Many of those detained are held under circumstances that constitute clear violations of due process. Such violations include lengthy detention without charge or trial and depriving defendants of access to legal counsel.
Restrictions on Independent Organizing: Although the Chinese Constitution guarantees freedom of association and assembly, national regulations severely limit association and give the authorities absolute discretion to deny applications for public gatherings or demonstrations. In practice, only organizations that are approved by the authorities are permitted to exist, and any organization that is not registered is considered "illegal." In this manner, independent advocacy on labor, human rights, environmental, development or political issues is effectively outlawed. The CCP-controlled labor union and women and youth organizations are the only permitted avenues for organizing in these areas. Unofficial labor groups have been a particular target for suppression. In December 1994, the Beijing Intermediate People's Court imposed severe sentences of between 15 and 20 years' imprisonment on three prisoners of conscience, convicted of "leading counter-revolutionary organizations." The sentences, based on the defendants' alleged formation of non-government-approved organizations, were the harshest delivered to political dissidents in recent years.
On 4 June, 1994, the fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, China promulgated new implementing regulations for the 1993 State Security Law. The repressive new measures threaten the few legal means of operation left to democracy and human rights activists, independent religious adherents and other independent voices, by criminalizing: contact with and funding from foreign organizations defined as "hostile"; the publication or dissemination of "written or verbal speeches" or "using religion" to carry out activities "which endanger state security;" and the creation of "national disputes." The regulations also give state security officials virtually unlimited power to detain individuals, confiscate property and determine what constitutes a "hostile" organization.
Restrictions on Free Speech and the Media: Although the PRC's 1982 Constitution guarantees citizens freedom of expression and of the press, its preamble mandates adherence to "four basic principles"-- the CCP's leadership, socialism, dictatorship of the proletariat and Marxism-Leninism Mao Zedong Thought. In practice, the PRC employs a wide range of controls that violate the right to free expression and interfere with independent media. These include severe restrictions on contact between foreign news media and Chinese viewed by the government as critical of the regime. An extensive censorship bureaucracy licenses all media outlets and publishing houses and must approve all books before publication.
The primary mechanism of control over the news media and publishing is self-censorship. Chinese journalists, editors and publishers are expected to make the information they disseminate conform to CCP Propaganda Department guidelines. For example, news coverage is required to be "80% positive and 20% negative." Sanctions for infringements range from official criticism of the coverage to the demotion, firing or imprisonment of the individuals responsible and the closing or banning of the offending publication.
Dissidents who make their opinions known to the foreign media are often subject to threats, detention, harassment, intensive surveillance or imprisonment. During 1994, at least 20 Chinese writers, journalists, editors and publishers were persecuted in connection with their work. Also during the year, foreign correspondents from the British Broadcasting Corporation, Newsweek, Reuters, United Press International, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, U.S. television networks (NBC, CBS) and other foreign media outfits were detained and interrogated by PRC police regarding their work as journalists, including the interviewing of Chinese dissidents and students and filming in Tiananmen Square. Police also banned broadcasts of CNN in Beijing hotels for five days surrounding the fifth anniversary of the 4 June 1989 military crackdown on democracy demonstrators.
Suppression of Religious Freedom: The PRC prohibits all religious activities outside establishments registered under the official branches of four state-recognized religions (Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity and Islam), established by the PRC government during the 1950s, through which Chinese and Tibetan religious adherents are required to practice their faith. Individuals conducting or participating in public worship without government authorization, including Catholics loyal to the Vatican and Protestants who worship in house churches, have been arrested, detained, placed under close police surveillance or internal exile, fined and, in some cases, tortured. PRC police have also confiscated religious literature and church property, and human rights organizations have documented the closure of hundreds of house churches since 1989.
China's laws restricting contact with foreign coreligionists, prohibiting parents from exposing children under the age of 18 to religion, and outlawing nongovernment-controlled churches violate the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. In January 1994, the PRC government increased restrictions on religious practice by foreigners in China through State Council Decrees 144 and 145. Decree 144 states that foreign nationals may bring in religious materials only "for their own use," and bans materials deemed "harmful to the public interest." The decree also prohibits evangelizing, establishing religious schools and other missionary activities. Decree 145 gives authorities substantial leeway in restricting religious activities deemed harmful to "national unity" or "social stability," and limits the practice of religion by foreign nationals to state-sanctioned places of worship.
Torture and Ill-Treatment of Prisoners
Torture of detainees is endemic in Chinese detention centers and prisons. Although China became party to the UN Convention Against Torture in 1988, the government has not taken effective measures to diminish the risk of prisoners being tortured or ill-treated. Despite strong evidence of torture in several cases of death in custody, state prosecutors have refused to release autopsy results to families or to initiate investigations. In many detention centers, beatings, inadequate food and poor hygiene appear to be a routine part of the process of eliciting confessions and compliance from detainees. Such treatment is applied to ordinary prisoners as well as political detainees.
According to prisoner reports, methods commonly used by guards include: beatings using electric batons; rubber truncheons on hands and feet; long periods in handcuffs and/or leg irons, often tightened so as to cause pain; restriction of food to starvation levels; and long periods in solitary confinement. Furthermore, corrupt authorities at detention centers, prisons and labor camps have extorted large sums of money from families of detainees for the state's provision of "daily supplies" and "medical expenses."
Despite continuing efforts by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations, PRC officials have not agreed to allow open and unannounced visits to prisoners. PRC authorities acknowledge that there are some 1.2 million prisoners and detainees in China.
Lack of Judicial Independance and Due Process
Few legal safeguards exist in China to ensure fair trials, and the judicial system is controlled at every level by CCP political-legal committees that may determine the outcome of cases before the court hears evidence presented at trial. Legal scholars within China have called for an end to this widespread practice of "verdict first, trial second." With the political-legal committees exercising extensive control, detainees are highly unlikely to receive fair, impartial hearings that are free from official manipulation.
China's Criminal Procedure Law provides for detainees to have access to lawyers no later than one week before trial. However, even this minimal protection is not always observed. Prisoners typically cannot call witnesses for the defense or question witnesses against them. In politically sensitive cases, lawyers have been instructed that they may enter a not-guilty plea only if they get approval from the judicial administration. Even in death-penalty cases, appeals are usually cursory, and defendants may have only several days to file an appeal.
Arbitrary Detention: In addition to judicial convictions, PRC authorities consistently use administrative procedures to detain hundreds of thousands of Chinese and Tibetans each year.
Individuals sentenced administratively by police are not charged or brought before a judge, thereby denying them access to a lawyer and the right to defend themselves. The majority of these individuals are ordinary people, but democracy and human rights activists, independent religious adherents and worker-rights advocates are also frequently detained in this way.
The most common forms of administrative detention are:
1) "reeducation through labor," under which police, without trial, can send individuals to labor camps for up to four years; and
2) "shelter and investigation," under which police can detain people without charge or trial for up to three months, a time limit that is routinely ignored.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has determined that the practice of "reeducation through labor" is "inherently arbitrary" when intended for "political and cultural rehabilitation." According to PRC government sources, 100,000 people are sent to "reeducation through labor" camps and one million are "sheltered" each year.
Conditional Releases with Continued Deprivation of Rights: The PRC infrequently has released political prisoners of conscience before the completion of their sentences, predominantly as a result of international pressure. However, those released have been forced into exile, subjected to continuing police surveillance and harassment or, in some cases, detained again for alleged violations of the restrictive conditions of parole or new "crimes" of free expression. Many former prisoners of conscience are not granted the identity cards necessary to gain employment or travel without express official permission.
Death Penalty
During the past two years, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of the death penalty in China. This growth in the number of death sentences and executions is partly due to anti-crime campaigns launched by the government. Defendants can be put to death for criminal offenses, including nonviolent property crimes such as theft, embezzlement and forgery. In 1993, 77% of all executions worldwide were carried out in China. On a single day, 9 January 1993, 356 death sentences were handed down by Chinese courts; 62 executions took place that day. During that year alone, 2,564 people were sentenced to death. At least 1,419 of them are known to have been executed. The total number of death sentences and executions is believed to be higher. Defendants do not always have access to lawyers, and when a lawyer is available, he or she usually has no more than one or two days to prepare a defense. Death sentences have been imposed based on forced confessions and are often decided in advance of the trial by "adjudication committees," thereby circumventing defendants' rights to a fair and public hearing and presumption of innocence.
Tibet
In Tibet, hundreds of Tibetans have been incarcerated for peacefully expressing their political and religious beliefs. Conditions in prisons are reported to be dismal, with numerous accounts of torture and ill-treatment. In particular, PRC law enforcement officials have perpetrated violent acts against Tibetan women in detention centers and prisons. Buddhist nuns and lay women have been subject to torture or violent, degrading and inhuman treatment, including assault, rape and sexual abuse. In June 1994, one Tibetan nun died while in custody, reportedly as a result of a beating by guards. PRC authorities also have severely restricted religious practice; out of the 6,000 Buddhist monasteries that were destroyed by the PRC since its 1949 invasion of Tibet, only a few hundred have been rebuilt.
PRC policies, including population transfers of hundreds of thousands of Chinese into Tibet, threaten to make Tibetans a minority in their own land and to destroy Tibetans' distinct national, religious and cultural identity.
Women
The Chinese Constitution and other laws provide equal rights for men and women in all spheres of life, including ownership of property, inheritance and educational opportunities. Equality between the sexes has been a part of the CCP's agenda from its early days, and women's rights are perceived to be in a separate category from human rights. Therefore, women's organizations in China, even though they remain under CCP control, are able to advocate effectively on some issues involving abuses of women's human rights. However, when women's rights or interests conflict with Party or government policy, the latter takes precedence. This means, for example, that abuses related to the family planning policy are not reported in the media or discussed publicly. Information about other issues, such as the extent of domestic violence, trafficking in women or abuses directed at lesbians, is effectively prevented by the CCP's injunction that most news should be positive. Thus, the controls on freedom of expression and association, which so affect democracy and human rights activists, have a strong impact on women's human rights as well.
Violence Against Women: According to some researchers, spousal abuse is far too common and, in many parts of the country, still socially acceptable. However, comprehensive statistics about the extent of domestic violence are not available or have not been made public. The official All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) has been studying this problem and seeking solutions.
Few battered women have the opportunity to escape abuse, because shelters and other resources are not available. Women are under considerable social pressure to keep families together regardless of the circumstances. Legal action is not taken against batterers unless the victim initiates it, and if she withdraws her testimony, the proceedings are ended.
Abduction and Trafficking of Women: Trafficking and sale of women as brides or into prostitution is a serious problem in certain parts of China, and Chinese women have been sold into brothels in Southeast Asia. The PRC government has enacted various laws to combat the sale of women, but the statistics released by the government do not reliably indicate the scale of the problem. PRC officials stated that there were 15,000 cases of kidnapping and trafficking in women and children in 1993. Yet according to one estimate, 10,000 women were abducted and sold in 1992 in Sichuan Province alone.
Until recently, the authorities have not prosecuted men who purchase women as wives; thus, the trade has continued unabated. Official action to rescue victims of trafficking is generally initiated only if a complaint is made by the woman or her family. Local officials often turn a blind eye, even formally registering marriages into which the woman has been sold.
Discrimination in Employment and Education: The PRC ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1980 and enacted the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests in 1992. However, open discrimination against women in China has continued to grow during the period of reform of the last 15 years.
According to PRC government surveys, women's salaries have been found to average 77% of men's, and most women employed in industry work in low-skill and low-paying jobs. An estimated 70 to 80% of workers laid off as a result of downsizing in factories have been women, and, although women make up 38% of the work force, they are 60% of the unemployed. At job fairs, employers openly advertise positions for men only, and university campus recruiters often state that they will not hire women. Employers justify such discrimination by saying that they cannot afford the benefits they are required to provide for pregnant women, nursing mothers and infants.
The proportion of women to men declines at each educational tier, with women comprising some 25% of undergraduates in universities. Institutions of higher education that have a large proportion of female applicants, such as foreign language institutes, have been known to require higher entrance exam grades from women.
Although China has a law mandating compulsory primary education, increasing numbers of rural girls are not being sent to school. Rural parents often do not want to "waste" money on school fees for girls who will "belong" to another family when they marry. According to official statistics, about 70% of illiterates in China are female.
Violations Resulting from Family Planning Policy: The Chinese Constitution mandates the duty of couples to practice family planning. Since 1979, the central government has attempted to implement a family planning policy in China and Tibet that the government states is "intended to control population quantity and improve its quality." Central to this initiative is the "one child per couple" policy. Central authorities have verbally condemned the use of physical force in implementing the one-child policy; however, its implementation is left to local laws and regulations.
To enforce compliance, local authorities employ incentives such as medical, educational and housing benefits, and punishments including fines, confiscation of property, salary cuts or even dismissal. Officials also may refuse to issue residence cards to "out of plan" children, thereby denying them education and other state benefits.
Methods employed to ensure compliance have also included the forced use of contraceptives, primarily the I.U.D., and forced abortion for pregnant women who already have one child. In Zheijang Province, for example, the family planning ordinance states that "fertile couples must use reliable birth control according to the provisions. In case of pregnancies in default of the plan, measures must be taken to terminate them." As an official "minority", Tibetans are legally allowed to have more than one child. However, there have been reports of forced abortions and sterilizations of Tibetan women who have had only one child. There are also reports of widespread sterilization of certain categories of women, including those suffering from mental illness, retardation and communicable or hereditary diseases. Under previous local regulations superseded by the 1994 Maternal and Infant Health Care Law, such sterilization was mandatory in certain provinces. Under the new law, certain categories of people still may be prevented from bearing children.
Violations Against Female Children: The one-child policy, in conjunction with the traditional preference for male children, has led to a resurgence of practices like female infanticide, concealment of female births and abandonment of female infants. Female children whose births are not registered do not have any legal existence and therefore may have difficulty going to school or receiving medical care or other state services. The overwhelming majority of children in orphanages are female and/or mentally or physically handicapped.
The one-child policy has also contributed to the practice of prenatal sex identification resulting in the abortion of female fetuses. Although the government has outlawed the use of ultrasound machines for this purpose, physicians continue the practice, especially in rural areas. Thus, while the average worldwide ratio of male to female newborns is 105/100, Chinese government statistics show that the ratio in the PRC is 114/100 and may be higher in some areas.
The communist party in the US doesn't do much. They're not as violent as te neo-nazi groups. Frankly, they're not very violent/active at all.
QUOTE (tinman01 @ Mar 11 2006, 10:35 PM)
Im not sure individual crimes are the fault of GWB. More the fault a broken judical system. When I think of a countries human rights violations I tend to look at Goverment sponcered violations. example Nerve gasing a village. Or Goverment sponcered torture of political rivals. remember GWB was condemed because he took a hard stand against murders in texas he signed more death warrents than any other govenor at the time. He also carried out more executions. I am for the death penalty and disappointed they don't use it enough. The war in Iraq? Whats that have to do with crime in the USA? I am no fan of GWB but i believe in placing blame were it belongs. Blame liberal politicians for passing weak laws, for making prisons a vacation get away. That is why crime is so rampant in the USA. But wait the death penalty is considered a human rights violation isn't it? I don't mean you any disrespect I meerly offer a differing perspective.
I have to agree with you that individual crime is not GWB fault but one thing he's too damn buzy worrying about others people internal affairs when we got one of our own... The only crime I hold GWB accountable for is lying to the public to rage a war on Iraq and illegal wire tapping on American citizen... One thing is he got a lot of people kill during this war now were in so deep that we can't really even pull out our troops... The no disrespect taken... I understand everyone is intitle to their own opinions about things... But I'm just fed up with how the judicial system works and stuff... Yeah death penalty is a human rights violation funny how it is but that's what they say... Even criminals got the rights to live even though they kill a lot of people... Justice will department is all fucc up here in the states... It's all good I still love this country but just fed up on how they run things...
You see I don't believe GWB mislead anyone. As far as politicians go he is a terrible liar. At the time the population was really pissed. We wanted action. 8 years of Clintons limp wrist approach ended up with 911 happening. Thats how many saw it. Congress and senate they can lie all they want but they looked at the same evidence as GWB. They played the card of what they thought voters wanted. It was a safe card for them. If we kicked butt and everything ended like a fairytale then they could say we were part of the team.
If it turned out as it has then they could cry they didn't know all the facts, GWB lied.
I agree with you the justice system due to liberal interventions has become a joke. Criminals have more rights than the law abiding citizen.
If it turned out as it has then they could cry they didn't know all the facts, GWB lied.
I agree with you the justice system due to liberal interventions has become a joke. Criminals have more rights than the law abiding citizen.
That's why people in the US can easily procure arms and shoot themselves up, I bet US also has the highest domestic violence.
QUOTE (tinman01 @ Mar 11 2006, 09:47 PM)
YES IT IS. did you know that if you were robbed repeatedly ,and you set a booby trap in your house. If a criminal is injured by your trap you get to go to jail? The criminal can sue you and win .
You won't go to jail if you put up a clear, visible sign warning of the trap. Who knows? Maybe the thief will be too rushed to notice it or just disregard it. Even if the thief sues you, you can always countersue for tresspassing, damage your property, etc.
QUOTE (Reiko @ Mar 12 2006, 03:18 PM)
Freedom sucks I guess. It even allows a communist party to exist.
Like china should dare make a human rights report.
Like china should dare make a human rights report.
freedom allows everything to happen that's why people want to restrict that but it's just that some of them go too far.
also, do you know what communism means?
QUOTE (Reiko @ Mar 11 2006, 11:18 PM)
Freedom sucks I guess. It even allows a communist party to exist.
Like china should dare make a human rights report.
Like china should dare make a human rights report.
Well China did make a human rights report didn't they... So what are you talkin about that they should dare to make a human rights report... Those reports are base on the US findings... China didn't make all these result to make themselves look better... The facts came from sources in the US itself... I guess Reiko don't really know the true meaning of Communism cuzz she too brainwashed by the West ideology... I think you should watch China Rise on the Discovery channel on Apr. 10, 2006 to see inside of China... China has change a lot since the 1949 era... I consider China a Socialist/Communist Party...
1. A theoretical economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labor for the common advantage of all members.
2. Communism
1. A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people.
2. The Marxist-Leninist version of Communist doctrine that advocates the overthrow of capitalism by the revolution of the proletariat.
QUOTE (tinman01 @ Mar 13 2006, 06:45 PM)
You see I don't believe GWB mislead anyone. As far as politicians go he is a terrible liar. At the time the population was really pissed. We wanted action. 8 years of Clintons limp wrist approach ended up with 911 happening. Thats how many saw it. Congress and senate they can lie all they want but they looked at the same evidence as GWB. They played the card of what they thought voters wanted. It was a safe card for them. If we kicked butt and everything ended like a fairytale then they could say we were part of the team.
If it turned out as it has then they could cry they didn't know all the facts, GWB lied.
I agree with you the justice system due to liberal interventions has become a joke. Criminals have more rights than the law abiding citizen.
If it turned out as it has then they could cry they didn't know all the facts, GWB lied.
I agree with you the justice system due to liberal interventions has become a joke. Criminals have more rights than the law abiding citizen.
Yes GWB did mislead the nations into war with Iraq... If it's not lying I don't know what is... First of all 9/11 shouldn't have happen in the first place... GWB lagged on Osama threats... Come on we got a President that enjoy takin vacation instead of worrying about domestic affairs... He's too busy tryin to put his ideology around the world instead of worrying about the internal affairs within the US. Now he gonna tell us that he don't know when we gonna b able to pull troops outta of Iraq... I rather have a President admit his mistake instead of trying to tell the public different situation everytime... Come on now his BS days are over... The American people can C what really happening in Iraq... But he would tell the American people otherwise just to try win there heart bacc... Yes I gotta agree wit you that the Democrat party has been really gutless these past fews years... They need to start stepping up and speak their freakin mind cuzz they are allowing the Republican to run all over them... Tell you the truth I want GWB to get impeached ASAP...
QUOTE (Infamous JC @ Mar 15 2006, 04:51 PM)
Well China did make a human rights report didn't they... So what are you talkin about that they should dare to make a human rights report... Those reports are base on the US findings... China didn't make all these result to make themselves look better... The facts came from sources in the US itself... I guess Reiko don't really know the true meaning of Communism cuzz she too brainwashed by the West ideology... I think you should watch China Rise on the Discovery channel on Apr. 10, 2006 to see inside of China... China has change a lot since the 1949 era... I consider China a Socialist/Communist Party...
1. A theoretical economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labor for the common advantage of all members.
2. Communism
1. A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people.
2. The Marxist-Leninist version of Communist doctrine that advocates the overthrow of capitalism by the revolution of the proletariat.
Yes GWB did mislead the nations into war with Iraq... If it's not lying I don't know what is... First of all 9/11 shouldn't have happen in the first place... GWB lagged on Osama threats... Come on we got a President that enjoy takin vacation instead of worrying about domestic affairs... He's too busy tryin to put his ideology around the world instead of worrying about the internal affairs within the US. Now he gonna tell us that he don't know when we gonna b able to pull troops outta of Iraq... I rather have a President admit his mistake instead of trying to tell the public different situation everytime... Come on now his BS days are over... The American people can C what really happening in Iraq... But he would tell the American people otherwise just to try win there heart bacc... Yes I gotta agree wit you that the Democrat party has been really gutless these past fews years... They need to start stepping up and speak their freakin mind cuzz they are allowing the Republican to run all over them... Tell you the truth I want GWB to get impeached ASAP...
1. A theoretical economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labor for the common advantage of all members.
2. Communism
1. A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people.
2. The Marxist-Leninist version of Communist doctrine that advocates the overthrow of capitalism by the revolution of the proletariat.
Yes GWB did mislead the nations into war with Iraq... If it's not lying I don't know what is... First of all 9/11 shouldn't have happen in the first place... GWB lagged on Osama threats... Come on we got a President that enjoy takin vacation instead of worrying about domestic affairs... He's too busy tryin to put his ideology around the world instead of worrying about the internal affairs within the US. Now he gonna tell us that he don't know when we gonna b able to pull troops outta of Iraq... I rather have a President admit his mistake instead of trying to tell the public different situation everytime... Come on now his BS days are over... The American people can C what really happening in Iraq... But he would tell the American people otherwise just to try win there heart bacc... Yes I gotta agree wit you that the Democrat party has been really gutless these past fews years... They need to start stepping up and speak their freakin mind cuzz they are allowing the Republican to run all over them... Tell you the truth I want GWB to get impeached ASAP...
I agree with some of what you say, some I don't. Congress and senate I truelly believe saw the same data as GWB. It was The Clinton administration that allowed the hijackers in, allowed them to learn to pilot those planes, not to mention a host of attacks against other US assets and people. Our entire government is a mess right now. GWB is just the festering sore that is most evident. The elected reps are supposed to work together and improve our nation. Instead they back bite and point fingers. Iraq is a mess. How do you pull out? Afghanistan its worked out alot better for now... As for issues within the US I blame the state and local goverments for most of it Especially the Katrina disaster. Everyone wants a smaller FED GOV. But then everyone wants the fed to manage everything. The bigger the beast the bigger the trouble. As it gets ever bigger it becomes ever harder to react in a timely manner. RED TAPE.... The biggest problem is the american voter. Too many vote party line, Lets fira all of them vote for the other guy. Demand term limits, but we need the younge blood to step up the most. Its your energy and drive that will make change happen.
I would vote for you...
it's propaganda by the CCP to deflect attention from its record.
QUOTE (tinman01 @ Mar 15 2006, 05:04 PM)
I agree with some of what you say, some I don't. Congress and senate I truelly believe saw the same data as GWB. It was The Clinton administration that allowed the hijackers in, allowed them to learn to pilot those planes, not to mention a host of attacks against other US assets and people. Our entire government is a mess right now. GWB is just the festering sore that is most evident. The elected reps are supposed to work together and improve our nation. Instead they back bite and point fingers. Iraq is a mess. How do you pull out? Afghanistan its worked out alot better for now... As for issues within the US I blame the state and local goverments for most of it Especially the Katrina disaster. Everyone wants a smaller FED GOV. But then everyone wants the fed to manage everything. The bigger the beast the bigger the trouble. As it gets ever bigger it becomes ever harder to react in a timely manner. RED TAPE.... The biggest problem is the american voter. Too many vote party line, Lets fira all of them vote for the other guy. Demand term limits, but we need the younge blood to step up the most. Its your energy and drive that will make change happen.
I would vote for you...
I would vote for you...
Yes I agree that our entired government is a big mess... Well you say it start that the state and local levels... Well Katrina was a warning days before it actually hit... But you gotta keep in mind that there are some that couldn't evaculate the premises due to the fact that they don't have any motor vehicle to move to higher ground so they pretty much stucc... Put it this way there were cry for help from local and state level... But what I don't really get is why did it take like over three days for the federal government to issue help to the needy when they know damn well they see what is actually going on in the news come on now... When $hit hit fans everything goes upwards not down hill... You should know that... If I'm the guy that is in charge and my employee fucc up who will get the blame it would be me right cuzz I am the leader of the pacc... But then again when hurricane hit Florida damn help come within 24 hrs... Now that was no comparison to what hit NO... We had thousand of our own people stranded without food or water for atleast 3 days... Thousands have die also... One thing Bush did was phrase Michael Brown for a job well done when in fact he was just using Brown as an escapegoat for not sending help right away... So a lot of the public attention was focus on Brown instead on Bush... But guess what everything rolls up hill or down hill vise versa... Regardless which way you look at it... The leader are alwayz the one to blame for their follower failure or actions... If he couldn't even handle disaster like Katrina in a timely manner... What more can he do for the country except to succ us dry of all our taxes... Come on now... The American people are suffering... We suffer from healthcare reform, social security, war, housing, unemployment, illegal immigrant, invasion of privacy, and many more that I can't think of right now... The only people who actually benefit for the tax cut was the rich or wealthy peeps cuzz they can write off all their donation to charity and get probably get some of the tax money bacc... I wish I could run for congress but I can't... Not enuff qualifying credentials... Plus one thing is I would be out voted by the Republican on my views... The way I look at things is I will tax the rich and give bacc to poor cuzz I want everyone living well... I don't like see others trying make themselves look better cuzz they got more money while others are suffering and trying make it through the day... It's not right to see greedy CEO ship jobs oversea and in return import that product from overseas to sell it at 300% mark up... This is wat you call Capitalism where only the rich will benefit and the poor will alwayz stay the same...
The reason why GWB got re-elected cuzz of the religion game... You gotta remember that this country alone is built on Christian belief... Even though it's a country of freedom of religion but majority of the people either a Christian or a Roman Catholic... People can't just base the votes on faith... Cuzz sometimes faith will let us down...
QUOTE (bobvu @ Mar 15 2006, 05:12 PM)
it's propaganda by the CCP to deflect attention from its record.
We know that China have their flaws... But then again which country don't... Even US got flaws but I guess were so used to living so well that we don't keep that in mind... We got so much issues that need to be dealt wit but instead we like to deal with other countries internal affairs to deflect issue within our own... What I like to this government do is keep their fuccin words... Say what you do... That's the reason y we voted you into office cuzz we believe in you... Not to vote you in for your BS...
QUOTE (Suijen @ Mar 11 2006, 10:56 PM)
Can't smoke in bars, even though the culture of bars revolved around $hit like drinking and smoking.
Neo-nazi groups free to roam around.
Honestly.
Neo-nazi groups free to roam around.
Honestly.
People voted for the smoking ban in bars. It's the will of the people.
Neo-nazis have the right to roam around, have websites, whatever as long as they do not physically hurt others or instigate violence.
China does not allow pornography.
QUOTE (StephenDedalusFromAsia @ Mar 15 2006, 05:00 PM)
Neo-nazis have the right to roam around, have websites, whatever as long as they do not physically hurt others or instigate violence.
You know they're going to do it. They call it isolationism, but so did the earlier nazis in the forties.
then they are put in jail by the police.
They probably wouldn't be able to commit the crime if you didn't allow the movements to grow.
Why can't people get together and talk??
I don't care about Stormfront people. They can do whatever they want. If you show them tolerance, perhaps they'll reform one day. Supress it, and it grows stronger and more resentful.
I don't care about Stormfront people. They can do whatever they want. If you show them tolerance, perhaps they'll reform one day. Supress it, and it grows stronger and more resentful.
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